The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God’s Kingdom on Earth. Dallas Willard

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СКАЧАТЬ chapters are discussion questions designed to encourage both individual reflection and group dialog. The authors’ hope is that reflecting on these questions will allow readers to better unpack and integrate the insights and ideas within each section of the book.

      In these introductory chapters, Willard and Black seek to make the case that all followers of Jesus Christ have the responsibility in their sphere of influence to teach, proclaim, model, and intentionally live out the reality of God’s “divine conspiracy.” Since we live at the “mercy of our ideas,” the following questions will help you to examine your thoughts about the kingdom of God, the kingdoms of this world, and our vocations in light of God’s calling upon our lives.

      1. What life experiences led you into your present vocation? As a leader who influences others, you often reflect those who have influenced you. Who were the role models who worked to form you in your current role? How did they influence your vision, mission, values, conduct, character, and communication?

      2. When was the first time you heard a teaching about the “kingdom of God”? Did that teaching include the idea that God’s kingdom is presently available and accessible, or was it assumed that the kingdom of God is only a future reality? Share with one another how these dissimilar teachings on the kingdom of God affect our thinking, behaviors, and vocational responsibilities. Discuss what you believe is God’s overarching mission or goal for our world.

      3. Willard and Black suggest that there are significant problems (i.e., inaccurate views of the end times and of the purposes of the gospel) in many of our churches and Christian institutions of higher learning that have hindered us from experiencing God’s rule through his Son, Jesus, the king. Do you agree or disagree with the authors’ viewpoints? What is the “good news” according to Jesus Christ? What other problems may be created, although unintended, in our Christian doctrines and beliefs that have hindered both individuals and organizations from more fully living in the reality of God’s kingdom? Give support for your views.

      4. The authors suggest that one of the best places for us to begin developing a better understanding of the kingdom of God in our contemporary contexts is found in the concept of shalom, or peace, defined in Psalm 23. Do you believe a Psalm 23 kind of life is preferable or even possible? If so, how is it possible?

      5. Fear is the absence of shalom. Proverbs 29:25 states: “The fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the Lord is secure.” How does fear separate us from the peace of God? How does our fear separate us from others? How does fear make us compare ourselves with others or seek dominance over them? In what ways does fear distort what is true? Give examples.

      6. Exercise: Seek to memorize Psalm 23. Read it daily for the next thirty days slowly, focusing on both the images and ideas it conveys.

CHAPTER 4

       Servant Leadership

       A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

      LUKE 22:24-27

      IF THE KINGDOMS of our contemporary world are to be transformed into a kingdom that manifests the grace, truth, justice, and mercy of Christ the king, there must be leaders who are willing and able to demonstrate Christlike qualities and courage and then use them to influence the power structures of contemporary society. Today, the roles and responsibilities of our leaders cannot be underestimated. In a world overtaken by an instantaneous, global media culture, leaders do not need to be of international renown for the consequences of their words and actions to have immediate, international effects. Thus, in many ways a leader’s ability to influence, guide, and direct has never been more powerful.

      However, the degree of impotent, misguided, and ineffectual leadership also appears to be on the rise. Evidence of it is seen not only in our elected officials and the political quagmires and deadlock they produce, but also in leaders responsible for our educational systems, our financial and medical institutions, our legal proceedings, and our religious organizations. Therefore it is imperative that we reimagine the overarching call or vocation of a leader in order to create the most beneficial environments possible for shalom and well-being to flourish.

      Primarily, leaders are those who are followed or emulated because they possess the ability, experience, or knowledge necessary for achieving an objective that is pursued, valued, or required by others. Thus a leader is in the position of serving others by providing the direction and guidance necessary for a particular outcome or result. Leaders influence or persuade followers to work toward certain ends. But how do leaders accomplish these tasks, what ends do they seek, and why?

      History helps us track the different ways God has attempted to develop and use leaders to guide the world toward his loving ways. The vision of life in the kingdom of God that has come to us in the example of Jesus the Christ is a very beautiful, dynamic story—one in which God is moving in and through human history. At the beginning of this story is God, the maker and creator of all things. We also discover in this story God’s personal agency working to make righteousness and joy cover the earth like water fills the seas; his moral features are seen and experienced in his Logos, the cosmic Christ, Jesus the Nazarene, the reconciler of humanity to God.¹ The aim of God’s story is the establishment of an all-inclusive community of loving persons, of which God is more than a participant; he is the prime sustainer, the prime minister if you will, and most glorious inhabitant.²

      Human history demonstrates that the crux of this story has remained a catalyst for worldwide revolution; indeed, that is its aim. In every civilization, religious and cultural leaders have attempted, each in unique ways, to offer a parallel story that directs people toward answering the questions of why and how life should proceed. Even a cursory reflection on world religions demonstrates this point. Each society or cultural group has leaders who recommend precise sacrifices, ceremonies, propitiations, and other practices that play a significant role in directing their constituents toward a means of satisfying an enduring hunger for meaning, existential purpose, and universal well-being. Ultimately, the leaders and practices of these countless religious and political movements have left untold billions unsatisfied, to a greater or lesser degree, with regard to their ultimate pursuit. This is not an attempt to be overly critical of socioreligious movements or their leadership. It is simply a perspective gained from reflecting on the wide-ranging effects various worldviews have had on the course of human history.

      The religious path is not the only means leaders have used in the quest for meaning, purpose, and well-being. Ancient philosophers also wrestled with four very basic questions they surmised formed the basis of all human problems. If these questions were resolved, classic philosophers believed flourishing could be attained and maintained. These four questions match four basic human problems and deal, respectively, with reality, well-being, virtue, and the development of personal character.³ In the common parlance these questions can be posed in very straightforward terms:

      What is real?

      What is the good life?

      Who is a good person?

      How does one become an authentically good person?

      The four questions СКАЧАТЬ