Sanctus Forum

Conspiracy Commentaries: §33 Some Puzzling Facts

Every year we hear news of some church leader who messed up and possibly in a way that apologizing and admitting that he or she is a sinner isn't enough. This phenomenon isn't new with the falls of Mark Driscoll, Bill Hybels and Ravi Zacharias, to name a few recent examples. Dallas Willard observed it in his day. Why did he think of it? What did he think was at the bottom of it? BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Conspiracy Commentaries §34: God Really Doesn’t Change Our Behavior?

Failure. It is going to happen. To you or to someone you know. But how do we interpret failure when it happens? In this section of The Divine Conspiracy Dallas Willard explores the interpretations of two people who, in the 1990's at least, were well-regarded as leaders - Mike Yaconelli and Philip Yancey. Needless to say, he doesn't think they should be followed. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Conspiracy Commentaries: §35 Shifting the Focus

Regarding implementing spiritual formation and discipleship in a church, Michael Stewart Robb often tells people that if it does not come out of the mind and soul of the main person who does the teaching and leading, then it is not likely to go far. Dallas Willard believes the failures we see in church are often due to what we are actually doing, that is, teaching. Even spiritual formation won't help. It has to be approached in a different way. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Conspiracy Commentaries: §36 Gospels of Sin Management

In American history the Fundamentalist/Modernist controversy of the earth 20th century explains a lot. In this episode on Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy Michael Stewart Robb talks about how the right and the left of today's church share many common characteristics. They both, as Willard says, teach a gospel of sin management. But they also share in a typically American way of seeking good in the world. And in the end everybody is messed up and failure is normal. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Conspiracy Commentaries: Conversations ft. Mary Poplin // on “The Gospel on the Left” by Dallas Willard

Left. Liberal. What do these words mean? What do they mean in the church? Why does Dallas Willard call the gospel of the left a gospel of sin management? This time Michael Stewart Robb is joined by Mary Poplin, Professor of Education at Claremont in California and author of Finding Calcutta and Is Reality Secular? They won't answer all these questions but they will have a good conversation about education, the poor, the sexual revolution, the left and Dallas Willard. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Conspiracy Commentaries: §37 Atonement as the Whole Story

Michael Stewart Robb has been learning more about the iconic American preacher of the 20th century, Billy Graham, and how he gathered together, around the globe, people with common theological interests. But then there is Dallas with his criticism of a sin management gospel centered around believing a theory of the atonement and going to heaven when you die. Isn't that what Billy Graham preached? BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Conspiracy Commentaries: §38 ”Lordship Salvation”

There was a day when pastors and the people listening to them dove deep into the details of salvation. Possibly we've lost that today but we've also lost the ability to understand why "those who profess Christian commitment consistently show little or no behavioral and psychological difference from those who do not." Dalles uses the early 90's "lordship salvation debate" featuring John MacArthur and Charles Ryrie as an illustration of what's wrong. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Conspiracy Commentaries: §39 Salvation Cut Off from Life

Does anyone still hear a gospel of heaven still being preached in churches on the right? Dallas Willard still did in his day but by the time The Divine Conspiracy came out, many "evangelical" churches were shifting to another way of presenting faith in Jesus. This makes this particular section of Dallas's book a little dated. What do churches now preach? Is it another gospel of sin management? BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Conspiracy Commentaries: Conversations ft. Jos Douma // on “Toward Integration of Life and Faith” by Dallas Willard

After his critiques of the reigning gospels of left and right, Dallas Willard attempts to put things back together, to put faith back together with life. Jos Douma, a seasoned pastor from the Netherlands, has been ministering along very similar lines as Dallas. Michael Stewart Robb and Jos discuss the role of preaching in finding Christlikeness, as well as the role of silence and meditation. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Conspiracy Commentaries: §40 But Is That the Issue?

Despite what it seems there is a great deal of unity among the theological right, often called evangelicals, Dallas Willard, in this section, wants to call the right's view of salvation into question. Merit, forgiveness, heaven are important issues but are they THE ISSUE? Michael Stewart breaks it down from Ohio, the land of lawn mowers. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute