I have been reading and re-reading Dallas Willard's Book The Divine Conspiracy. It is truly a masterpiece of spiritual formation and growth. Well, actually a masterpiece about life since he, more than any other Christian writer I have encountered, describes what holistic life in Christ is all about. Sometime I'll write more about my experience with the book.

He quotes an author, Clyde Reid, whom I hadn't heard of. He was the Secretary of Evangelism for the Board of Homeland Ministries of the United Church of Christ (we love the titles in our tribe) when he wrote the book The God Evaders in 1966. So here is Dallas Willard, a Southern Baptist and philosophy professor at The University of Southern California, quoting a UCC denominational minister. This has got to be good stuff.

Willard quotes Reid's "Law of Religious Evasion," which states that, "as a kind of principle or law of human nature: We structure our churches and maintain them so as to shield us from God and protect us from genuine religious experience." [Willard, 201 quoting Reid, 41]. Willard goes on to share this from Reid's "telling observations of church life:

The adult members of churches today rarely raise serious religious questions for fear of revealing their doubts or being thought of as strange. There is an implicit conspiracy of silence on religious matters in the churches. This conspiracy covers up the fact that the churches do not change lives or influence conduct to any appreciable degree [Willard, 202, quoting Reid, 19].

I have a copy of God Evaders on the way to me. And I am wondering why no one was listening to Reid--especially folks from his/our own denomination--when he wrote this back in 1966. It's good stuff, and it gives me hope. We can turn this thing around!

I'd love to hear responses to these ideas. Do you agree? Disagree? Do Reid's words describe your experience? How can we change it?

Post here, email me, or discuss in the forum (if it's your first visit, you'll need to register). For a lengthy, insightful discussion of the book, head to this blog.

Looking forward to hearing from you!