Take on the character of Christ through the
transformation of your spirit.
We aren't born again to stay the way we are. But how many times have we looked around us in
dismay at the lack of spiritual maturity in fellow believers? It is evident in the rising rate of
divorces among Christian couples, we find it in the high percentages of Christians, even pastors,
who regularly view pornography, and we face it each time a well-known leader in the Christian
community is found in sexual sin or handling finances dishonestly. Perhaps you have struggled
with your own character issues for years, even decades, to little avail.
There is good news. You can experience significant growth in your Christan walk, shed sinful
habits, and increasingly take on the character of Christ. In Renovation of the Heart, best-selling
author Dallas Willard calls it "the transformation of the spirit"--a divine process that "brings every
element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God or the kingdom
of God." In the transformation of our spirits, we become apprentices of Jesus Christ.
Willard suggests that many Christians today are crying out,"Lord, I want to be a Christian in my
heart." If that is your heart's cry, this book is the tool to take you to the next level in your quest
for true, inward Christlikeness.
CONTENTS
Prelude
1. Introducing Spiritual Formation
2. The Heart in the System of Human Life
3. Radical Evil in the Ruined Soul
4. Radical Goodness Restored to the Soul
5. Spiritual Change: The Reliable Pattern
Interlude
6. Transforming the Mind, part 1
7. Transforming the Mind, part 2
8. Transforming the Will (Heart or Spirit) and Character
9. Transforming the Body
10.Transforming Our Social Dimension
11.Transforming the Soul
12.The Children of Light and the Light of the World
13.Spiritual Formation in the Local Congregation
Postlude
Notes
About the Author
Once again Willard has taken the reader to new spiritual heights. Naturally, only a small vein of the goldmine of insights found in this book has been properly mined. Yet even with only a limited understanding of Willard's text, this book has revealed the biblical precepts and ideals of spiritual formation in a new light. There is not doubt that this book, if it receives the proper exposure within the Christian community, will serve as a valuable tool for a multitude of other Christians in their own spiritual journeys! - Lawrence Davies
Dr. Willard is very thorough in his writing which makes for some strenuous reading, but remains very rewarding throughout. Dallas really drives the point home that "apprentice" is a superior term to "disciple" as far as our relationship to Christ should be. You realize that "putting on the character of Christ" is a cooperative process between you and God in that he supplies the grace enacted through our obedience. It's imperative for the church to resist the distractions that impede her spiritual transformation and pursue apprenticeship to Jesus instead of the traditional discipleship "programs", or worse yet, none at all. The Divine Conspiracy and this book would be great places to start in the education. -B.Wren
This is the best effort at understanding how we can think and talk about the process of transformation that I have ever read. It is not a light read, but a study book to work through as you put into practice some of the ideas on being still and getting fixed. I am a better disciple than I was, and a better spiritual counselor than I was. - D.Brunk
