Divine Conspiracy Continued is a continuation of the divine conspiracy to implement kingdom principles in the professions and to influence the structure of our institutions for good and for God. In my search for evidence of kingdom practices in business, I have found them in the exemplary practices of many executives in the U.S. So I know this can be done just as Willard and Black describe. The question is, ‘how to proceed?’ I believe it must start in the church and much effort should be devoted to mentoring lay leaders in the kingdom principles as described in this book. I will return to its teachings again and again. May the kingdom come!”
—Joseph Maciariello, The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University
“The Divine Conspiracy is a Christian classic that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with Augustine’s Confessions and Brother Lawrence’s Practicing the Presence of God. For years, I have longed for a sequel. Unfortunately, Dallas—a genuine treasure to the body of Christ—passed away. However, unknown to me, Gary Black Jr., who did his doctoral dissertation on Willard’s thought and knows as much about Willard’s ideas as anyone living, and who spent considerable time with Dallas before his departure, gathered Dallas’s ideas, added his own, and has produced a truly coauthored book that satisfies the hunger of so many of us. The Divine Conspiracy Continued focuses on extending important ideas about the Kingdom of God into the areas of spiritual, moral, and cultural leadership, and into the spheres of education, economics, and politics. For those of us who desire to influence the culture in a distinctively Christian way, this is must-reading. I thank God for its release.”
—J. P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Biola University and author of The Kingdom Triangle
“The Divine Conspiracy shaped an entire generation. Now Willard and Black have turned their attention to leaders becoming Christlike disciples instead of institutionalized church members . . . reshaping our thinking at an even wider and deeper level.”
—Scot McKnight, professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary
“If I could have one spiritual guide alongside me in life’s deeper waters, it would be Dallas Willard. Dallas, and his protégé Gary Black Jr., have given us all a guide in The Divine Conspiracy Continued. Picking up where Dallas last left us in The Divine Conspiracy, this sequel lays out a sweeping vision of what we as leaders can and must do both within our fields of influence but also in our own hearts. This is the book for every follower of Christ who seeks to be a light in and through every vocational and professional arena of contemporary life. Willard and Black tell us all how we can live truly significant lives in God’s Kingdom—now. The Divine Conspiracy Continued is a must-read.”
—Bob Buford, cable-TV pioneer, philanthropist, founder of Leadership Network, and author of Halftime and Drucker & Me
“Willard and Black offer leaders a hopeful vision that steers the wobbly structures of this world onto the road of love, justice, and truth.”
—Richard Swenson, M.D., author of Margin
“You hold in your hand a deep and compelling continuation of The Divine Conspiracy. The outworking of an individual’s life in the kingdom of God is the effect of one’s calling for the greater good of the world and the glory of God. Willard and Black have given us a prophetic writing, so bold that if embraced and embodied might just produce a Christian community that actually is ‘salt and light’ to a world in desperate need of it! I recommend this book with great enthusiasm.”
—Keith J. Matthews, chair and professor of Spiritual Formation & Contemporary Culture, Graduate School of Theology, Azusa Pacific University
“It is not very often that I encounter a new idea, but The Divine Conspiracy Continued has good, new, surprising, and challenging ideas at every turn. Willard and Black help move serious Christians from ‘renovation of the heart’ to renovation of their professions to renovation of their cultures. If lawyers, doctors, teachers, and ministers take this book to heart it will go a long way toward making our world, in John Calvin’s lovely phrase, a ‘theater for the glory of God.’”
—Robert F. Cochran Jr., Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law and Director, Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics, Pepperdine University School of Law
“This is a fantastic book that provides a grand masterpiece for how we pursue and embrace personal transformation in order to be God’s transforming agents in the world. These pages are filled with the great themes that call us to pursue and embrace the with-God life that is life indeed.”
—Gayle Beebe, president, Westmont College
I read this book with a group of people from different vocations and professions. The conversations we had were absolutely riveting. The book created a space where we could wrestle with dangerous, paradigm-shifting questions. The process reminded me how the people in our churches long to know how to live out the reality of the kingdom of God and ‘be genuinely good’ in the complicated and conflictual situations of their vocational life. This book speaks marvelously to this longing. It is an invaluable resource that can help pastors enter more fully into their congregation’s world and discover together the wisdom of Jesus and the way to real life.”
—Mike Lueken, coauthor of Renovation of the Church
“The Divine Conspiracy Continued brilliantly combines the legacies of Dallas Willard the disciple-maker and Dr. Willard the scholar. He helped us grasp the nature of truth and justice, and illuminated the deeper causes of the transformations unfolding in both Western culture and in the human heart. In this book, Willard has joined forces with theologian Gary Black Jr. to help us know better how leaders can mobilize as disciples of Christ to renew truth and justice within the modern world. Don’t miss this book.”
—Greg Forster, program director, Kern Family Foundation, and author of Joy for the World
“Dallas once said ‘True social activists are those who live as apprentices of Jesus in their ordinary relationships.’ While many try to change society by laws, Willard and Black illustrate that changing society requires leaders, in every area of life, to live a Christlike life.”
—Ihab Beblawi, M.D.
DALLAS WILLARD SUCCUMBED to the effects of pancreatic cancer prior to the publication of this work. His death has proven to be one of the most significant losses I have experienced, a fact I accept with equal measures of foreboding and gratefulness. I was wholly unprepared for losing Dallas as a mentor, guide, and friend. I was also unaware of how his loss would cause me to discover how deeply our relationship and his teachings affected me.
Although Dallas was candid with me about his illness and I was aware of the difficult challenges of pancreatic cancer, we remained optimistic about his ability to finish this project until only shortly before his death. Therefore, from the beginning of our work together we were both under the impression, and there were reasonable signs of hope, that his condition would improve enough that he would be able to at least finish the manuscript together. Perhaps I didn’t allow myself to seriously consider the alternatives. Nevertheless, even up to the final few days of his life, we were progressing toward that goal. However, as events transpired, I found myself needing to do what I hoped would be not be necessary, which is to describe some of the overarching vision that motivated Dallas to create this work and how I came to be involved as a coauthor.
I will begin near the end. On May 5, 2013, I received a phone call from Jane Willard, Dallas’s wife, at about nine thirty in the morning. She told me how Dallas’s health was deteriorating and asked if I would be able to stay a few days to help him get around the house. He needed assistance moving from place to place safely. She and I had talked