Gordon Cosby. Brennan Manning. Dallas Willard.
These three have passed on–“fallen asleep,” as Jesus might say–in the last couple months, and I am forever grateful for the paths they carved, the tracks they left for me to follow.
Dallas Willard passed away this morning at 77 years old. I don’t feel particularly adequate to articulate all the thoughts and feelings that are going on as I reflect on his life and passing. (John Ortberg wrote a great piece in memoriam here.) But overwhelming gratitude is definitely one of them.
With books like The Spirit of the Disciplines–on which I’ll be basing a discipleship class that I’m leading this month–Dallas not only changed the way I looked at life and my walk with Jesus, he helped to change the way I did life and my walk with Jesus.
I never got to meet him personally but I look forward to, one day.
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Photo: Dieter Zander