About the Books

Advised Sequence for Reading Books

People often ask, “Is there an order to Dallas’s Christian books? A logical progression?”

The answer is, “Yes, for the first five.” There is a definitive order to his first five Christian books; Hearing God, The Spirit of the Disciplines, The Divine Conspiracy, Renovation of the Heart, and Knowing Christ Today. After these books were completed Dallas continued to write on a multitude of subjects concerning discipleship and knowing God and his kingdom. And we shouldn’t forget his philosophical writings, which focused on the nature of knowledge and informed his Christian writings.

The order of Dallas’s first five books follows the order of his Four Big Questions:

1. What is real?
   • God and His kingdom
2. Who is truly well off?
   • Anyone who is alive in the kingdom of God
3. Who is a good person?
   • Anyone who is pervaded by Agape love
4. How do you become a good person?
   • By placing your confidence in Jesus Christ and becoming his student or apprentice in kingdom living

Hearing God comes first because God and his kingdom are the deepest and most present reality there is, and God is a personal and very present being who loves you. Hearing God deals with topics like God’s existence and His personal nature, along with describing the various ways that God has chosen to speak to people. Dallas believes a conversational relationship is key to our Christian walk.

The Spirit of the Disciplines addresses our desire to deepen our relationship with God and live in His kingdom. To be alive in the kingdom requires training and grace as we increasingly put off the old man and put on the new. The disciplines serve as a means of grace to help accomplish the goal of living the abundant life Christ came to make available to us.

The Divine Conspiracy focuses on Jesus Christ as the model of a good person who lived a good life that was pervaded by Agape love. In it we rediscover Jesus as teacher as we read about him in new, refreshing and challenging ways. By looking deeply into the Sermon on the Mount, The Divine Conspiracy shepherds us into what it means to follow Jesus and to live a life increasingly pervaded by his Agape love.

Renovation of the Heart addresses the fourth Big Question. It shows us how to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength and have confidence in Jesus Christ. The path to renewing the heart includes the other parts of every human being: mind, soul and body. Renovation of the Heart is the definitive discipleship manual; a guide to understanding what it means to be a disciple of the living, loving and very present Jesus Christ and how to become more and more like him.

Knowing Christ Today addresses the influence of today’s culture on a believer’s ideas about knowledge and if God and His kingdom can be trusted and verified. This book helps disciples with the renewing of their mind. It helps disciples enter even more deeply into a mature relationship with God by addressing deep questions about faith, belief, truth, reality, and knowledge.

Ready to learn more? See Klaus Issler’s “An Orientation to Four Pervading Themes of the Christian Life from Dallas Willard.”