Eternal Living – Reflections on Dallas Willard`s Teaching on Faith and Formation - Tapa dura

Dallas Willard spent his life making eternal living concrete for his friends. With his unexpected passing in 2013, the world lost a brilliant mind. The wide breadth of his impact inspired friends, family, colleagues, students and leaders of the church to gather their reflections on this celebrated yet humble theologian and philosopher. Richard Foster, a friend for over forty years, writes of Dallas: "He possessed in his person a spiritual formation into Christlikeness that was simply astonishing to all who were around him. Profound character formation had transpired in his body and mind and spirit until love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control were at the very center of the deep habit-structures of his life. He exhibited a substantively transformed life. Dallas was simply soaked in the presence of the living Christ." Curated by Gary Moon, director of the Dallas Willard Center, this medley of Dallas's wise teaching and lived model of Christlikeness--as well as snapshots and "Dallas-isms"--will move and motivate readers. Whether influenced by him as a family member, close friend, advisor, professor, philosopher, minister or reformer, contributors bring refreshing insight into not only his ideas and what shaped him, but also to his contagious theology of grace and joy. Contributors include:

• Richard J. Foster
• Jane Willard
• J. P. Moreland
• John Ortberg
• James Bryan Smith
• Alan Fadling
• Ruth Haley Barton
• and dozens more

Gary W. Moon (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is director of the Martin Family Institute and Dallas Willard Center for Spiritual Formation at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He served as distinguished professor of psychology and Christian spirituality at Richmont Graduate University. He has served as the editor in chief for the journalConversations and the director of the Renovare International Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. His books include Apprenticeship with Jesus and Falling for God

James Bryan Smith (MDiv, Yale University Divinity School, DMin, Fuller Seminary) is a theology professor at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, and a writer and speaker in the area of Christian spiritual formation. He also serves as the director of the Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation at Friends University. A founding member of Richard J. Foster's spiritual renewal ministry, Renovare, Smith is an ordained United Methodist Church minister and has served in various capacities in local churches. Smith is also the editor ofA Spiritual Formation Workbook, Devotional Classics (with Richard Foster), Embracing the Love of God, Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven and Room of Marvels

In his distinguished career, Moreland has co-planted three churches, spoken and debated on over 175 college campuses around the country, and served with Campus Crusade for Christ for ten years. The founder and director of Eidos Christian Center, he also previously served as a bioethicist for PersonaCare Nursing Homes, Inc. headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Moreland's ideas have been covered by both popular religious and non-religious outlets, including theNew Scientist, Christianity Today, PBS's "Closer to Truth," and WORLD magazine. In 2016 Moreland was selected by The Best Schools as one of the "50 most influential living philosophers."

Willard served on the boards of the C. S. Lewis Foundation and Biola University, and was a member of numerous evaluation committees for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. He received bachelor's degrees from both Tennessee Temple College and Baylor University and a graduate degree at Baylor University, as well as a PhD from the University of Wisconsin in Philosophy and the History of Science.