New from IVP: Living in Christ’s Presence featuring Dallas Willard and John Ortberg
Had an opportunity today to review a powerful new resource from IVP and the Dallas Willard Center for Christian Spiritual Formation. Living in Christ’s Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God, a 7 session DVD filmed at a February, 2013 conference in Santa Barbara featuring Dallas Willard and John Ortberg, is a new must-have in my view. Willard, visibly wrestling with the cancer that would ultimately take his life three months later, is mentally sharp and delivers some of the most powerful insights I’ve ever heard.
Each session is over an hour in length and along with the talks include a conversation between Willard and Ortberg. The primary passion for the conference “was to provide an overview of Dallas’s writings and ministry–his most impassioned ideas. The conference was build around the theme “Knowing Christ Today” and as a way to present the golden thread that runs through all of his primary
Along with the release of the DVD, a companion hardback with the same title was “created from the transcript” of the conference and includes the conversations between Willard and Ortberg. During the third session I realized that I could follow along in the book making it much easier to note the sections that begged an underline or a note.
Living in Christ’s Presence is an amazing gift to the spiritual formation community. Regardless of the role you play, this is a resource you’re going to want to have. I know I’ll be watching the DVD multiple times, listening carefully for things I missed on the previous pass. I loved it and I’m sure you will too!