Renovated: God, Dallas Willard, and the Church That Transforms

by E. James Wilder

They don’t find themselves overwhelmed by their desires; they do what is good.

By being spiritually mature—by taking assurance from God that what is good will be provided to them not only now but forever.

Just when wounded and immature people needed their will, it was not there. A strong will gave evidence of maturity, but willpower failed repeatedly as a method to produce maturity.

Everything from teamwork to intimacy depends on mutual mind between humans.

Mature character can regulate these energy states and do what is good instead of whatever we desire.

mind? For God’s will to be done on earth in “real time,” human brains would need some sort of mutual-mind state with God. A mutual-mind state with God would be possible only if God is with us and limited divine thoughts to a form we could understand.

Goodness is not found in the preparations but in the encounter they help facilitate.

Christian mindfulness is relational and is based on attachment to God and others.

Talking with God grows from loving attachment with God in which each party genuinely cares about the other’s point of view.

When our Christianity is only in our conscious mind, our attention shifts from one virtue or sin to another but forgets to monitor the rest of our character.

providing moral thoughts and values; remembering important lessons from our past; finding and remembering our role models; maintaining joyful relationships; preserving our shalom/peace; taking action when peace is missing; regulating emotions, feelings, and desires; and more.

The slow track used words to convey many good ideas; people’s character and maturity was displayed in the fast-track communication.

Since identity (including character and maturity) runs in a brain system that is faster than conscious thought, the fast track produces a reaction to our circumstances before we have a chance to consider how we would rather react. What happens before we have a chance to think about it is the source of what we call character. Our reactions will reveal our character.

Does following scriptural practices train the fast track of the brain?

Yet every item above requires that our salvation forms a new, hesed love attachment—through Jesus—with a God who is present and interacts with us.

Access to establish or change identity is limited to those who are attached with us.

Developing character requires attachments with someone who stays mindful even during suffering.

that we stay attached even when others begin to act and feel like our enemies.

This began a tug-of-war between minds. Would Jesus become as alarmed as the disciples, or would they become calm like Jesus? Which was the greater mind?

Jesus was present and mindfully aware of the storm and His disciples. Jesus’ mind was peaceful. Whether the disciples could stay in a mutual mind with Jesus depended on the strength of their attachment love to Jesus.

Without attachment from the disciples, Jesus had better results quieting the storm than quieting the disciples.

Mutual mind with Jesus (an individual with a greater mind) offered the disciples a new fast-track identity.

This new identity (the character of Christ) would become only as strong as their love attachment to Jesus.

he can walk on the waves when he has his eyes on Jesus. (Direct, eye-to-eye contact provides the best...

The fast-track system that produces mutual mind is severely disrupted by trauma, poorly developed by relational neglect, and easily interrupted when two people lack a significant attachment.

When the fast track is running well, identity is coherent and we experience shalom. Coherent identity, not the will, is in control of feelings, emotions, and desires.

The well-trained brain has learned how to stay relational under pressure.

Mature adults are more stable relationally.

This will be a slow search. A slow but focused system is needed.

The immaturity of children is usually mindful, joyful, and peaceful. Children with loving attachments are open to developing identity.

Restoring a secure, loving attachment where there are traumatic memories not only resolves the trauma but resynchronizes the fast track.

work the way a brain is designed, Christianity would require extensive practices that promote a loving attachment with Jesus and develop loving attachments with the rest of His family.

Once people became aware that Jesus was present with them in their painful event, they were no longer alone.

Salvation that produces a new attachment love between us and God makes a mutual-mind state with God possible.

A fast-track malfunction, along with a poorly trained fast-track identity, cause a failure to regulate emotions, feelings, and desires—not to mention our reactions.

God’s Spirit and people add to normal maturity, we call spiritual maturity.

Loving relationships grow from joyful and thankful interactions. When we grow beyond loving only those who bring us joy, we begin to act Christlike. To love our enemies, we surely need a mutual mind with God.

through mutual-mind practice with “my people” who have the loving-attachment “rights” to tell me who I really am. Jesus and Jesus’ family need to be attached to me as “my people” by deep attachment love to shape the character of Christ in our identities.

What is the basis for maturity and Christlikeness? Is it the will, or is it attachment love?

Dallas could and did demonstrate that a mature will can overcome desires.

Do this exercise during sunset. This exercise has three parts, each three minutes. Begin by asking God to lead you.

Think of gifts from God that you appreciate. Notice how your body reacts as you focus on your appreciation and gratitude. Remember times when God seemed particularly close to you. Notice the effects of God’s presence on you. Share your face with God, so that your face shows God’s expression and your eyes reflect God’s response to you, the sunset, and any people around you. Speaking is not necessary.

Recall our essential idea: You don’t become spiritually or emotionally mature by willpower.

You have to learn how to use your will, but your will has very little power. You maximize the effect of your will by using it to direct yourself into experiences that will change your mind, and your body, and your social relations, and your soul.

And indeed, a major part of our process of growth is our relationship to other people.

will—and yet, willpower is not the key to spiritual maturity. If we make it the key, we will wind up in hopelessly bound legalism.

Notice the difference between what Peter understood about himself when he said to Jesus, “I will not deny you,” and Jesus said, “Yes, you will. Yes, you will. Yes, you will.”[1] Peter was thinking about his will, his intentions. But there was much more to Peter than he himself realized, and Jesus knew

Peter’s body was loaded with readiness to act in certain ways—ways that would trap him. That’s the story of Romans 7 also. Paul here talks about “the things I would, I don’t do” and “the things I would not, I wind up doing.”

Righteousness and maturity have to take control of us, and that involves a lot of things, one of which is having enough space to recognize what is happening as you live.

So we want to use our will to train our body in ways that will ready it to respond properly when that moment comes.