We are starting a New 20 day devotional study on Monday August 2nd, 2010 at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302

Join this faceBook Group to get this devotional by email daily.
The First 10 days will study, Recognizing Christ in Others
The second 10 days will study, Where Two or Three Are Gathered

FELLOWSHIP

Engaging with other disciples in the common activities of worship, study, prayer, celebration and service, which sustain our life together and enlarge our capacity to experience more of God.
       From the first pages of Genesis, when God created a mate for Adam, through the pages of Paul’s Letters, with his timeless advice on living together in joy and love, to the final pages of Revelation, where we see a glimpse of the company we will keep in heaven, it’s clear that the Christian life is to be a life lived together. Although Jesus often prayed in solitude, He did not travel Judea alone during His Ministry, but called the disciples to travel and minister with Him. Paul’s description of the Church as the Body of Christ (Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 12:12-26; Eph 4) makes it clear that each of us has different gifts and abilities and only together can the Church run smoothly for God’s glory.
       Fellowship can bring us great joy, encouragement, and comfort. It can also bring frustration and disappointment, as we bump up against each other’s sins, shortcomings, and failures to hear and follow God’s voice in our lives. The amount of text that Paul devotes to solving the problems of community living is testimony to just how hard it can be. One way we can sustain our fellowship and focus it upon God is by sharing Communion together. Jesus commanded us to gather together and remember Him when we ate the bread and drank of the cup. Following Jesus’ example at the Last Supper and the example of the early Church, this sharing is one way we focus our fellowship on Jesus.
       The whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love..—Ephesians 4:16
Day 206 Spiritual Practice: Recognizing Christ in Others
Day 207 The Good Work of Unity
Day 208 Growing Together
Day 209 Building Up Christ’s Body
Day 210 Many Members, One Body
Day 211 How to Live in Community
Day 212 Joy in Fellowship
Day 213 Passing Judgment on One Another
Day 214 Loving Our Brothers and Sisters
Day 215 Pleasing Our Neighbors
Day 216 Spiritual Practice: Where Two or Three Are Gathered
Day 217 Devoted Fellowship
Day 218 Life Among the Believers
Day 219 The Worldwide Community
Day 220 Meeting Together
Day 221 Bearing One Another’s Burdens
Day 222 Pray for One Another
Day 223 Sharing in the Lord’s Supper
Day 224 Be at Peace Among Yourselves
Day 225 That They May Be One
The Material above is from the book, ‘A Year With God,’ Edited by Richard Foster

SOLITUDE, the Secret Place of Power With God!

This 20 day Study Starts 07/13/2010 Hosted by the Passionate Participation in God Project at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302

SOLITUDE The creation of an open, empty space in our lives by purposefully abstaining from interaction with other human beings, so that, freed from competing loyalties, we can be found by God.


The Gospels tell us that Jesus’ very public ministry was interspersed with periods of solitude during which He, either completely by Himself or with the disciples, left the crowds behind to pray. These times of solitude appeared to nourish Jesus for those times when He was in the public eye. He began His ministry with forty days in the desert, just after He was baptized. And He continued the practice of going off alone to pray, often just at the times when His ministry seemed to demand the most from Him.


Solitude is not about becoming a hermit or misanthrope. Indeed, times of solitude can enhance our times of fellowship with others. Neither is solitude loneliness. It is time spent with God. Put this way, it sounds so natural, yet for most of us this time does not just happen. One of the keys to the definition above is the phrase “the creation of an open, empty space.” We must work to create this space, to “purposefully” withdraw even when—especially when—it seems that we have no time to do so. We can all learn from Jesus’ example and take time to focus on our relationship with God, replenishing and nourishing ourselves for busy lives.
Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while. —Mark 6:31


Day 186 Spiritual Practice: Withdrawing to a Deserted Place
Day 187 The Tent of Meeting
Day 188 Wrestling With God
Day 189 Spending the Night in Prayer
Day 190 Hide Yourself
Day 191 I Alone Am Left
Day 192 I Sat Alone
Day 193 He Is With Me
Day 194 Yet I Am Not Alone
Day 195 Opening Ourselves
Day 196 Spiritual Practice: Retreat with God
Day 197 In the Wilderness
Day 198 I Will Bring Her Into the Wilderness
Day 199 Shaping the Soul
Day 200 The Crowds Were Looking for Jesus
Day 201 Rising Early to Pray
Day 202 Come Away and Rest a While
Day 203 I Went Away at Once
Day 204 Preparation Time
Day 205 Down From the Mountaintop

2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity

Discover the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in Church History. This is information that many church history books leave out and it will change your perception of scripture and God's work in His Church throughout the last 2000 years.

I have required this book as essential reading in Church History classes for several years. This is a the best primer on this subject and is extremly helpful in understanding how the work of the Holy Spirit as seen in the Books of Acts has continued in the church.

The majority of current church history books are written by evangelical scholars and while they are good they were written without and acceptance to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in Church History. The information include in this book can be found if you dig into the original sources and writings of the people mentioned, however Hyatt saves us a lot of work and opens the door to let the light of truth in on much of the Holy Spirit's work in Church History.


Book Preview:
Overwhelming evidence reveals contemporary Christianity roots in Pentecost!
The world is taking notice and realizing that the fastest-growing segment in Christianity has an undeniable history with a pattern and a rich, deep foundation dating back to the New Testament. Explore overwhelming evidence that reveals how the gifts of the Holy Spirit not only have existed in the centuries since the early apostles, but have also survived the Middle Ages, the politicized church of Europe, and have experienced a spectacular revival this century. Learn invaluable lessons from the experiences of courageous men and women who sought God and saw His power in their generation. The reader of this volume will gain a greater appreciation for the work of the Holy Spirit in history and will experience a sharpened sense to discern what God is doing in the church today.


2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity offers convincing evidence that the modern Pentecostal and Charismatic movements are rooted in the two-thousand-year history of the church. Those who identify with these movements will be affirmed in the experience of the Holy Spirit and will gain a new respect and appreciation for the movement of which they are a part. Those outside the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements will also benefit by reading this volume in that they will gain an understanding of this movement that Harvard professor Dr. Harvey Cox says is "reshaping religion in the 21st century."


About the Author:
Eddie Hyatt is the cofounder and president of Hyatt International Ministries, which includes Hyatt Press, The International Christian Women's History Project and The American Center for Revival & Reformation. Eddie holds a doctorate of ministry from Regent University and a master of divinity and master of arts from Oral Roberts University. Eddie and his wife, Dr. Susan Hyatt, reside in Dallas/Fort Worth where they carry out their ministry of preaching, teaching and writing.

There is also good review at http://www.pneumafoundation.com/article.jsp?article=article_0039.xml by Raul L. Mock who is Executive Editor of the Pneuma Review and one of the founding directors of the Pneuma Foundation.

A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years

A History of Christianity, a six-part series presented by Diarmaid MacCulloch, an Oxford history professor. A History of Christianity investigates the origins of Christianity and what it means to be a Christian. Diarmaid MacCulloch does a magnificent job presenting his argument that the first Christians stayed much closer to its Middle-Eastern roots as it spread east. He describes not only the main ideas and personalities of Christian history, its organization and spirituality, but how it has changed politics, sex, and human society.

This Video presentation of Church history is fast paced and creatively presents the unique spread of Christianity to the east from Jerusalem all the way into China in the seventh century. This was evident to Marco Polo when he visited China and discovered a church in hiding estimated at 700,000 or more adherents. The in depth research which is at the heart of the presentation comes though in many fascinating historic and archeological discoveries.

Diarmaid MacCulloch does everyone an immense favor as he unfolds his research in a fast paced and well told presentation. Christianity’s division into Eastern and Western branches over the issue of Christ divine and human nature is described in brief but precise detail. This serves as the launching point for the video’s unfolding tale of how the message of Good News spread east. The cultures and challenges faced as the Gospel spreads east are portrayed accurately and in a concise manner.

The influence of the early Christians on the Muslim faith as it spread west is just one of the fascinating series of insights gained. The Church’s spread east was not supported by the power of the Roman emperor and therefore was challenged to explain its faith and win people through interpersonal interaction and living out their faith in the face of many opposing religions and cultures.

This video series should be seen by every Christian from teenager to adult. It would also be useful for anyone wanting to know more about the birth and expansion of Christianity. The insights and information provide an excellent foundation from which followers of Jesus the Messiah will be able to interact more effectively with the cultures and religions around them in the world today, as well as, providing an informative fast paced and visually captivating documentation of Christianities spread from its birth place in Israel to become the world most followed faith.

You can find out more about this video series and purchase it at http://www.ambrosevideo.com/items.cfm?id=1344

SECRECY

SECRECY-By Richard Foster in 'A Year With God.' This is part of our new study at The Passionate Particpation in God Project at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302 Sign Up Today

SECRECY: Consciously refraining from having our good deeds and qualities generally known, which in turn rightly disciplines our longing for recognition.

We often long to talk about the good deeds that we do, wanting others to think well of us. The danger of this inclination is that approval will become our motivation. When we fast or pray or give in secret, as Jesus advises us in Matthew 6, we can know we are doing so for the right reasons, looking to God for approval rather than to our fellow humans. God knows all that we are and all that we do; His heavenly reward for any good that we do will far outweigh any earthly approbation (Matt 6:1). Deliberately avoiding earthly recognition, fame, and attention helps to cultivate within us humility and true love for others. It also gives us the opportunity to meditate on the nature of our God, who the Bible tells us is also “hidden” (Isa 45:15) and “in secret” (Matt 6).

That is not to say that our good qualities will never be recognized by others, just that we leave it to God to point them out, We see Jesus avoiding crowds and performing miracles in private, but the crowds invariably find Him and spread the word about Him. Jesus told us that a city set on a hill cannot be hid, and that we are to be the light of the world, not hidden under a bushel (Matt 5:14-16). Practicing the discipline of secrecy simply relinquishes to God the power to reveal our light. This submission is only appropriate, because everything in us that is good comes from God.

Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. —Matthew 6:6

Day 126 Spiritual Practice: Keeping Our Works Private
Day 127 Not Seen by Others
Day 128 The Appearance of Righteousness
Day 129 In My Secret Heart
Day 130 He Could Not Escape Notice
Day 131 The Light of the World
Day 132 God Will Judge Our Secret Thoughts
Day 133 Riches Hidden in Secret Places
Day 134 Hidden with God
Day 135 The Shelter of the Most High
Day 136 Spiritual Practice: Praying for Others’ Success
Day 137 The One Who is More Powerful Than I
Day 138 Jesus Humbled Himself
Day 139 God’s Splendor
Day 140 Let No One Boast
Day 141 Let Those Who Boast Boast in This
Day 142 Boasting in Christ Jesus
Day 143 We Boast in Our Hope of Sharing the Glory of God
Day 144 God Notices Us
Day 145 A God Who Hides

20 Days of Practicing Secrecy in Your Walk With God

20 Days of Practicing Secrecy in Your Walk With God starts today on facebook.
This daily devotional study group can be found at The Passioante Particiapation in God Project http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302

Learn to Discipline Your Spiritual Life with this Discipline of Secrecy. Jesus taught us to do our good deeds and works in private and so that we would please God not people.
Learn more by revieving this daily devotional based out of 'A Year With God', by Richard Foster

This Study is divided up into these 10 day sections.
1. Keeping Our Works Private 10 days
2. Praying for Others' Success 10 days

The passioante Participation in God project is sponsored by Abba's Glory Int @www.abbasglory.com. We are a part of the CrossFire International Alliance.

The Gift of Psalms

The Psalms let you see and feel the deep and passionate relationship that we can have with God. The majesty of God and the weakness of man are there for all to see. Also you find the hope and joy that comes from allowing God to rule and to be an intimate part of your life. The Gift of Psalms pierces the veil of our day to day routine with the majesty and passion of the Psalms. The music and dramatic readings along with the devotional based on each Psalm will encourage, convict and build you up as a variety of individuals read the Psalms which are included.

The Word of Promise ‘The Gift Of Psalms’ Devotional Wisdom from fifty of the Best Loved Psalms. ‘The Gift of Psalms’ package also includes a book of fifty Psalms adapted from the New King James version of the Bible. It contains devotional passages written by Lori Jones for each psalm. In the storage area in the back of the book are three compact discs which have thirty of the psalms and the corresponding devotionals on them.

This is a wonderful gift idea and will bring hours of encouragement and joy as you read or listen to each psalm and the devotional that goes with it. Its layout and design are of good quality, and the hardback book has heavy weight quality pages. It is set up so that each two page spread has the Psalm on one side and the devotional and a prayer on the facing page.

The three compact discs contain thirty of the psalms and devotionals read by people such as: Jason Alexander, Harry Hamlin, Michael York, Gary Sinise, Malcolm McDowell, Richard Dreyfus and others. The different voices make listening experience more enjoyable, and the background music contributes to the quality of the experience.

In conclusion this is a well packaged and produced product. The excellent quality in both the book and the discs are well worth the money. I highly recommend 'The Gift of Psalms' for your personal enjoyment and encouragement. This also makes a memorable gift idea for a variety of occasions!

http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1418534374

A History of Christianity on DVD

A History of Christianity DVD #1
Q & A with Diarmaid MacCulloch,
Host of A History of Christianity
(Part 1 of 2)


Q: A History of Christianity corrects several misconceptions regarding Christianity’s past and traditions, beginning with the earliest days of the fledgling religion. How does the true history of Christianity’s origins differ from the version most of us know?
A: Today, Christianity is seen as a Western faith. Indeed, many in the Muslim world would see Western lifestyles as Christian lifestyles. But Christianity is not by origin a Western religion. Its beginnings are in the Middle East, where there still exist churches which have been Eastern since the earliest Christian era. For centuries, Christianity flourished in the East, and indeed, at one point, it was poised to triumph in Asia, maybe even in China. The headquarters of Christianity might well have been Baghdad rather than Rome, and if that had happened, Western Christianity would have been very different. The story of the first Christianity tells us the Christian faith is, in fact, hugely diverse with many identities. The history of Christianity has been the never-ending rebirth of a meeting with Jesus Christ, the resurrected son of God. For some, like the Oriental and Orthodox churches, the meeting has been through ritual and tradition, or the inner life of the mystic. For Western Catholics, through obedience to the Church. In Protestant churches, through the Bible. And it’s the variety that is so remarkable in Christianity’s journey. It’s reached into every continent and adapted to new cultures. That’s the hallmark of a world religion.


Q: Why does Christian history fascinate you?
A: When I was a small boy, my parents used to drive me around historic churches searching out whatever looked interesting, but soon, they realized they had created a monster. The history of the church became my life’s work. For me, no other subject can rival its scale and drama. For 2,000 years, Christianity has been one of the great players in world history, inspiring faith but also squalid politics. It is an epic story starring a cast of extraordinary people—from Jesus himself and the first apostles to empresses, kings, and popes, from reformers and champions of human conscience to crusaders and sadists. Religious belief can transform us for good or ill. It has brought human beings to acts of criminal folly as well as the highest achievements of goodness and creativity. I will tell the story of both extremes. Christianity has survived persecution, splits, wars of religion, mockery, hatred. Today there are two billion Christians, a third of humanity—Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, and many more. Deep down, the Christian faith boasts a shared core—but what is it? This is something I wanted to explore on a truly global scale.


Q: Your search for Christianity’s true history begins with a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Why does this location tell us about the Christianity’s global roots?
A: The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is said to have been built where Jesus was crucified and buried. At its heart is what’s believed to be his tomb. The church built around the tomb of Jesus is the starting point for a forgotten story, a story that may overturn your preconceptions about early Christianity. Pride of place in this building goes to two churches—the Greek Orthodox church and the Roman Catholic church. It’s true that Orthodoxy and Catholicism dominated Christianity in Europe, in the West, for its first 1,500 years. But as you walk around the edges of the church, you can’t fail to notice other curious little chapels. They’re not Western or European. They’re Middle Eastern and African, and they tell a very different story about the origins of Christianity. Around the back of Jesus’ tomb is Egypt’s Coptic church. There are plenty of other churches at this location, but you need to know where to look: the Syriac Orthodox church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, to name a few. Many versions of Christian history would make these churches unorthodox, yet they are far older than better known versions of Christianity like Protestantism. It’s easy for tourists to dismiss these ancient churches as quaint or even irrelevant. But that would be a big mistake.


Q: What are some general differences between the expansion of Western and Eastern Christianity?
A: In the West, Christianity became the religion of an entire empire. This meant the end of persecution. It brought power and wealth. It gave the Christian faith a chance at becoming a universal religion. In theory, it embraced Christians in the Eastern Empire as well as in the West.

But in the east, many Christians were unimpressed by the new alliance—even hostile. At stake were fundamental disagreements about the direction the faith should take. Jesus had told people to abandon wealth, not to ally with the rich and powerful. It was Eastern Christians in Syria who led the way, showing Western Christianity a pattern for spiritual life. We call this pattern monasticism, a way of life involving isolation from the world, austerity, and suffering. The expansion of Eastern Christianity has often taken place apart from any empire. It has often been a religion of dialogue, not conquest.
The DVD set will arrive in stores, including Sam’s Club, in time for the Easter Season. The series will also be available on Amazon.com.

A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years 6 DVD Set presented by Diarmaid MacCulloch
www.ambrosevideo.com This material is from the publisher.

Prophetic Untimeliness

From Time to Time I like to let you know about books that catch my interest but that I have not read. Prophetic Untimeliness: A Challenge to the Idol of Relevance is one such book. The material below is from the publisher and Amazon.com.

There is a desperate quest for the Good News (Gospel of Christ)in our soul and therefore in the gatherings we call church. I like Os Guinness's clear and non-sugar coated approach to things and I am looking forward to reading this book completely. I will let you know if I am as interested in what he says after I have finished reading it.

Product Description
The buzz among evangelicals today is about relevance and reinvention, about new ways of "doing church" through revising, innovating, borrowing, mixing, and experimenting. Yet, says Os Guinness, in our uncritical pursuit of relevance, Christians have actually become irrelevant. By our determined efforts to redefine ourselves in ways that are more in line with the modern world than are faithful to Christ, we have lost not only our identity but our authority and significance. Prophetic Untimeliness addresses this issue by giving practical, constructive solutions for living with integrity in the midst of modern pressures. Guinness explores what it means to be both faithful and relevant, and how to be truly relevant without being trivial or trendy. Readers will be challenged to develop "resistance thinking," an approach inspired by C. S. Lewis that balances the uncomfortable truths of the gospel with the pursuit of relevance. Only by being true to Christ and living with integrity and wisdom will we meet the needs of a world that is hungry for some really good news.

From the Back Cover
An immensely thoughtful and provocative book, challenging some trends in our Christian culture and inviting us to reconsider and rediscover. A powerful read. Alister McGrath
Prophetic Untimeliness brings a timely warning. The temptation to dress the faith in today’s fashion guarantees that it will look out-of-style tomorrow only the eternal can reach every time and culture.--Frederica Mathewes-Green
Never have Christians tried to be so relevant. But never have Christians ended up so irrelevant. How can this be? The problem, says Os Guinness, is that our views of relevance and our efforts to redefine ourselves are captive to the seductions and pressures of our modern clock culture. Ironically, we end up as neither relevant nor faithful. And in the process we are in danger of losing not only our identity but our authority, our significance, and even our very soul.
Prophetic Untimeliness is a hard-hitting critique written with deep love for the church. It offers constructive suggestions for living with integrity in the midst of modern pressures and explores how to be truly relevant without being trivial or trendy. Inspired by C. S. Lewis, Guinness outlines a creative approach-resistance thinking-through which the pursuit of relevance is balanced by the disturbing truths of the gospel. Only by such prophetic untimeliness can we be faithful to Christ and speak with integrity and wisdom in a world that is hungry for some truly good news.

Os Guinness is an internationally renowned speaker and author of numerous books, including Time for Truth, The Call, and Long Journey Home. An Englishman, he was born in China, graduated from the universities of London and Oxford, and currently lives in Washington, D.C., where he is Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum.

The Divine Conspiracy

The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God

A Powerful, Thought-Provoking Guide to Living the Life Jesus Intends for Us

The material below is from the authors web site http://www.dwillard.org/books/DivConsp.asp

"Is Jesus part of your daily life—here and now? Or, by failing to take him seriously, have you relegated him to the realm of the "hereafter"? In The Divine Conspiracy, biblical teaching, popular culture, science, scholarship, and spiritual practice are weaved together to capture the central insights of Christ's teachings in a fresh way and show the necessity of profound changes in how we view our lives and faith.
Christians for the most part consider the primary function of Christianity to be admittance to heaven. But a faith that guarantees a satisfactory afterlife, yet has absolutely no impact on life in the here and now, is nothing more than "consumer Christianity" and "bumper-sticker faith." In an era when so many consider Jesus a beloved but remote savior, readers of The Divine Conspiracy will explore a revolutionary way to experience God—by knowing Him as an essential part of the here and now, an integral part of every aspect of our existence.

The Divine Conspiracy calls us into a more authentic faith and offers a practical plan by which we can become Christ-like. It challenges us to step aside from the politics and pieties of contemporary Christian practice and inspires us to reject the all too common lukewarm faith of our times by embracing the true meaning of Christian discipleship.

"My hope is to gain a fresh hearing for Jesus, especially among those who believe they already understand him. Very few people today find Jesus interesting as a person or of vital relevance to the course of their actual lives. He is not generally regarded as a real life personality who deals with real-life issues, but is thought to be concerned with some feathery realm other than the one we must deal with, and must deal with now."

"[A]ctual discipleship or apprenticeship to Jesus is, in our day, no longer thought of as in any way essential to faith in him. It is regarded as a costly option, a spiritual luxury, or possibly even as an evasion. Why bother with discipleship, it is widely thought, or, for that matter, with a conversational relationship with God? Let us get on with what we have to do."

"This book, then, presents discipleship to Jesus as the very heart of the gospel. The eternal life that begins with confidence in Jesus is a life in His present kingdom, now on earth and available to all. So the message of and about him is specifically a gospel for our life now, not just for dying. It is about living now as his apprentice in kingdom living, not just as a consumer of his merits. Our future, however far we look, is a natural extension of the faith by which we live now and the life in which we now participate." -- from The Divine Conspiracy

What is "the divine conspiracy"? It is God's plan to intervene in human history... now.
384 pages, hardcover from Harper SanFrancisco.

Chapter Titles :

Chapter 1: Entering the Eternal Kind of Life Now

Chapter 2: Gospels of Sin Management

Chapter 3: What Jesus Knew: Our God-Bathed World

Chapter 4: Who is Really Well Off? — The Beatitudes

Chapter 5: The Rightness of the Kingdom Heart: Beyond the Goodness of Scribes and Pharisees

Chapter 6: Investing in the Heavens: Escaping the Deceptions of Reputation and Wealth Chapter 7: The Community of Prayerful Love

Chapter 8: On Being a Disciple, or Student, of Jesus

Chapter 9: A Curriculum for Christlikeness

Chapter 10: The Restoration of All Things"

________________________________________________

From Harper Collins the Publisher

Book Description
A renowned teacher and writer of the acclaimed The Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas Willard, one of today's most brilliant Christian thinkers now offers a timely and challenging call back to the true meaning of Christian discipleship. In The Divine Conspiracy, Willard gracefully weaves biblical teaching, popular culture, science, scholarship, and spiritual practice into a tour de force that shows the necessity of profound changes in how we view our lives and faith. In an era when many Christians consider Jesus a beloved but remote savior, Willard argues compellingly for the relevance of God to every aspect of our existence. Masterfully capturing the central insights of Christ's teachings in a fresh way for today's seekers, he helps us to explore a revolutionary way to experience God--by knowing Him as an essential part of the here and now, rather than only as a part of the hereafter.

"The most telling thing about the contemporary Christian," Willard writes, "is that he or she has no compelling sense that understanding of and conformity with the clear teachings of Christ is of any vital importance to [their] life, and certainly not that it is in any way essential . . . Such obedience is regarded as just out of the question or impossible." Christians, he says, for the most part consider the primary function of Christianity to be admittance to heaven. But, as Willard clearly shows, a faith that guarantees a satisfactory afterlife, yet has absolutely no impact on life in the here and now, is nothing more than "consumer Christianity" and "bumper-sticker faith."

Willard refutes this "fire escape" mentality by exploring the true nature of the teachings of Jesus, who intended that His followers become His disciples, and taught that we have access now to the life we are only too eager to relegate to the hereafter. The author calls us into a more authentic faith and offers a practical plan by which we can become Christ-like. He challenges us to step aside from the politics and pieties of contemporary Christian practice and inspires us to reject the all too common lukewarm faith of our times by embracing the true meaning of Christian discipleship.