Introduction

Figure 1. The four components of change

This book is the culmination of twenty-five years of learning from two great men, Richard Foster and Dallas Willard. Richard has been my mentor since I was his student in college. And I met Dallas and eventually served as a teaching assistant for a little over ten years. The idea for this book took shape soon after I began working with Dallas. He kept talking about the need to create “a curriculum for Christlikeness” for individuals and churches. His blueprint for such a curriculum can be found in the ninth chapter of his The Divine Conspiracy. Even as he was developing that chapter, I queried, “Can this really be done, Dallas?” He said, “Yes, of course.” Then I asked, “Why don’t you do it?” and he responded, “Because I think you should do it, Jim.” No pressure.

In 1998 I began working with his simple blueprint for a course in learning to live as Jesus taught, and slowly created a curriculum. In 2003 I asked the church leadership board of Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in Wichita if I could invite some church members to go through this curriculum with me. They agreed, and I led twenty-five people through the thirty-week course. Midway through that year I began to suspect that Dallas was right. Genuine transformation into the character of Christ is possible.

Since that time I have led another seventy-five people through the curriculum, and the results have been the same: significant life change. One woman’s response is typical: “What are you doing to my husband? He is a different person! He is more patient and more attentive to our whole family than ever before. I don’t know what is going on, but you can be sure I am taking the course next year.” This series also has been used in youth groups and on the college campus. Who is the target audience for this material? Anyone who longs for change—young or old, new Christian or mature Christian, male or female, it doesn’t matter.

This book is aimed at your heart. Your heart is the center of your life and is revealed in your actions and solidified in your character. Spiritual formation is ultimately character formation. This book begins by looking at human life in general and asks, Who is living a good life? Chapters two and three explore the essential message of Jesus and who he is addressing. Both chapters introduce the available and unshakable kingdom of God and explain its importance in our lives.

The remainder of this book is an exposition of the Sermon on the Mount and follows Jesus’ outline for how to develop a genuinely good life. Chapter four deals with anger, followed by chapters on lust, lying, blessing those who curse us, vanity, avarice, worry and judging others. Chapter twelve provides direction and encouragement for how to live in the kingdom of God day by day, with a specific focus on how to live one day closely with God.

I encourage you to proceed with hope and certainty that you are engaged in something that can make a positive difference in your life. I am confident that God, who has begun a good work in you, will bring it to completion. So move forward with the assurance that you can and will be changed, and as you change, those around you will see it and be inspired. May God change your mind, heart and life, and use you to change the world.