Preparing for Heaven: What Dallas Willard Taught Me About Living, Dying, and Eternal Life

by Gary Black Jr., Jim Denison (Narrator)

Theologian Gary Black Jr., Dallas Willard’s friend and apprentice, integrates the revered teacher’s final conversations about death and the afterlife with his profound teachings on spiritual life, offering a unique and astonishing look at heaven and what it holds for us.

In the year before his death, Dallas Willard shared moving and insightful conversations about the afterlife with Gary Black Jr, informal dialogues steeped in theology yet grounded in the here and now. Dallas believed that our mortal lives are preparation for what comes next. He maintained that death is not the end of one life and the beginning of another, but rather a transition during which we continue the spiritual work begun in this incarnation.

In his acclaimed books, Dallas explored the Christian life in the earthly kingdom. Yet one topic remained untouched: his vision of heaven. For the first time, Preparing for Heaven illuminates Dallas’s most intimately held views, including the few mystical occurrences he experienced while dying. Informative and moving, Dallas’s final insights challenge us to reconsider our beliefs—that perhaps the line separating the afterlife from this life is not as absolute as we think, and that there is work we must do both now and after our own deaths. And that perhaps our faith is more vibrant—and eternal—than we dare to imagine.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Christianity

11 pages, Audiobook

First published August 25, 2015

About the author

Gary Black, Jr. (MDiv, PhD, University of Exeter) is Chair of the Advanced Studies Department, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, and Assistant Professor of Theology at Azusa Pacific University.

Reviews

[Jahnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book written with gratitude and love for a mentor and friend, and in praise for the God they both worship and adore. A guide for pursuing a radiant life and a radiant death. This bears hope and wisdom I pray to carry from here to eternity. For a summary of the main points of this book, I recommend listening to this talk from the author: https://youtu.be/pf07eGKyQyE

[Derek Winterburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is misrepresented when it is suggested that the main content is 'inspiring dialogues' from the last chapter of Willard's life. We hear repeatedly about the long conversation Black had with Willard in his last days, and even how he was the only one with him when he died. But very few of these conversations are reproduced in any way. Instead we are treated to some autobiography, some hagiography and some treacly theological exposition.

There are three clear teachings that Black draws out from Dallas. Firstly that there will continue to be growth and development in some ways in the next life, but without sin (i.e. we might be morally perfected, we are not fully ourselves), secondly that there is hell since we all are eternal unceasing beings and thirdly judgement is consequential on the decision we make in life and that God will give us as much heaven as we can cope with.

I would recommend the Willard / Ortberg collaboration 'Living in Christ's Presence' as a more accessible treatment of Willard's teaching at the end of his life.

[Laura S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book has a challenging message. Once again, (as seems my style), this may be less of a review and more of a mental processing of the information I retained and the questions, concerns, and hopes it stirs up in me. I am only beginning to scratch the surface of what may end up being a larger study into God’s plan and purpose for our lives and what we commonly think of as the afterlife (eschatology). Reading this book opens my eyes to realizing that seeking this out is not something to do out of mere curiosity, but because this has real consequences for our lives today as well as for eternity.

Prior to reading this book, I participated in some discussions that caused me to question my long held beliefs about what it means to “go to heaven / hell”. For years I’ve avoided thinking about it too much because, frankly, the idea of sitting on a heavenly cloud and playing a harp or singing hymns in an endless loop has seemed completely foreign and (honestly) anticlimactic to me. I have also experienced real terror of hell brought about by teachings by well-meaning but misguided church influences in my early life. In the end, I’ve just let my worry of it go and have been trusting that God knows best and will take care of it all.

And God does take care of it all, but I’ve been thinking that we miss a lot, and some of us may miss the point completely if we don’t think critically regarding our eschatological beliefs and how this applies to our lives right now. Here are some questions to get us started:

What do you think will happen when our physical bodies expire?
Do you believe in heaven and/or hell?
If so, what do you think it will be like?
What relevance does this (if any) have in your current life?
Where do your beliefs come from?
Do you know where the beliefs you have originated from in a historical sense?
If you cite scripture to support your claims, do you know the context and nuances brought about by differences in time, language, and culture?

Now, a caveat: by asking those last two questions I am in no way making a claim that you must have a college/seminary degree or an advanced knowledge of Ancient Near Eastern culture to be a Christian. Absolutely not! That would be a ridiculous and false teaching, indeed! What I would say is that if what I am beginning to understand is true, then this is a topic that needs to be studied by teachers, leaders, and inspired lay-parishioners at our local levels who have an interest and skill set to think about such information. There may be need to correct commonly held misconceptions about heaven/hell and potentially to see if these incorrect beliefs affect our faith, the direction of our focus, and the spiritual maturing we need in order to be prepared for the weighty glory of heaven.

And now a few more questions to lead us into a deeper understanding of why I believe this is such an important topic.

Do you want to go to heaven?
Why?
What makes you sure that you would want to be there?
What qualifies you to go to heaven?
What was/were the/some of the reason(s) Jesus came to the earth as a human, was crucified, and resurrected?

And now, turning up the heat with these:

What is your view of God (do you believe he is always merciful and loving that his judgements are always just)?

What if God denying someone entrance into heaven is an act of MERCY, not punishment, because he knows that for some, heaven would end up being more like hell?

What?! Is this a strange, new, and false teaching? That’s for you to discern…but do take the time to find out. Be a Berean (Acts 17:10-11). Just because a teaching is new to you and you haven’t explored it yet, doesn’t mean it’s wrong and understanding it correctly may cause puzzle pieces in your faith that before have not seemed to fit to suddenly fall into place! Check out that magic. Totally cool.

And now, I leave you with my opinion of the style of Gary Black’s writing. At first, it did not jive with me and I had a hard time getting into it. He loved his mentor, Dallas Willard mightily and he sometimes goes on affection-filled side stories that took me off track of the main thesis. As I got further in and the wisdom took shape, however, I was moved.

I have said before that I would have absolutely loved to be a student at DW’s feet. Some of the anecdotes I have read of him from people whose lives he impacted have really impressed me. He was not that way by accident or chance though. His life and character were refined intentionally through the practice of humility, self-denial, and gratitude. This man who many were quick to flatter as being a spiritual giant, a gleaming intellectual, and the most humble of men continued to wrestle against his nature and trust God with the destruction of his ego up until his final days. His strengths were in his many weaknesses because he entrusted himself to God. In doing so, he became a blessing to many and continues to inspire me.

[Ronald Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible Book - Incredible Man

This is the culmination of a great life and a good death. Gary has moved me with his incredible story of a godly and brilliant man who changed so many lives, mine included. I never met Dallas, but through all the wonderful works he had published with many brilliant friends and students, the moving story and teaching of Gary Black Jr. in Preparing for Heaven, as well as Gary W. Moon's Becoming Dallas Willard, I have become a 74 year old student of the late Dallas Willard and want only to live a "With God" life for the rest of my life in the present Eternity. I look forward to much more from Gary Black Jr.. I have just begun reading "The Divine Conspiracy (continued) which I expect to be another 5 star review. I also need to credit Jan Johnson and the ever brilliant Richard Foster for their work with Mr Willard. So many people over this past year who knew and loved Dallas. But let me just say Preparing for Heaven was a well written and in depth look at a man who put an exclamation point on our generation and my life. Thank you so much for a moving tribute to a great man. Ron Brown

[Jonathan Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book
The book was recommended by the head of my kids school as his favorite book of the last year
The book goes over some of the last life of Christian professor Dallas Willard from one of his long term mentees
I love to hear stories of people’s lives and this book started off like that, but it eventually grew into mainly a theology book: I would say 80% theology, 20% stories
I’m also not too hip on Dallas Willard: if I knew more about him and his life then I’m sure this book would have hit harder
Overall, decent book and a good book on heavenly concepts from a theology perspective


Additional notes
-use term near life experience rather than near death experience
-conflict breeds intimacy if both are searching for the truth
-tailoring church small groups to have aspects similar to AA meetings with confessions could be a good addition

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).

The great news is that I can listen to a book a day at work. The bad news is that I can’t keep up with decent reviews. So I’m going to give up for now and just rate them. I hope to come back to some of the most significant things I listen to and read them and then post a review.

Again lots of good insights here but I'll have to read the book to include any of them here.

[William Drehmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important stuff on how to both live and die well from a Christian perspective. It was taken from his years of discussing what is important in life and meeting death with his mentor Dallas Willard. Had some examples of his own and a few others life experiences , but not compelling enough to keep me from nodding off. I wish he would have had more bullet points and shorter chapters so everything didn’t run together in my mind. I just felt it was a kind of a slog to get through it. I really wanted to like it more than I did.

[Anneka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for peace and guidance after my dad died, and I was recommended this book with the caveat that it might not be exactly what I’m looking for or that peaceful given my dad’s semi-unknown relationship with Jesus.

However, I found it encouraging and very much helped me not to focus on the things I can’t change but to focus on letting God guide me and my understanding where He desires.

I would listen to it again or even read a visual copy.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth the read!

This book touched me deeply. I met Dallas many years ago during a Renovaré conference at my church. I can still see his gentle and humble expressions as we talked with him. What a gift to be able to share Gary’s experience with Dallas and his profound insights during his transition to glory.

[Dawn Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A paradigm shifter for sure.

My only criticism is that the author seemed to have his friend on a podium which was distracting. Some admiration for the author's beloved friend and mentor would have been appropriate, but it seemed to be poured on so thick, which became a distraction to me as the book moved along.

But the philosophical/theological content makes it well worth the read.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gift of a book.

This book is a gift in that it gives us an intimate glimpse into the life and death of Dallas Willard and, more importantly, a clear look at the critical value of spiritual formation in our lives for now and for eternity.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

That gives us a glimpse of the joyous life that is to come if we trust and walk with Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It shows that we can experience that joy even in this life in the midst of our suffering.

[Taylor Barkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on an essential topic: how do we prepare for the afterlife? Like another review said, there’s not as much Willard dialogue as it purports. Still very helpful on a topic barely addressed in our culture and many churches.

[alton gurney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

I liked the book,It was slow at times , took the long way around to get to the point but eventually got there. I hope I die with dignity as he did.

[DANNY OCONNELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very worth the time.

Excellent read, this is the third time I have read it, and it is always a very good reminder of the importance of preparing our souls for eternity with God.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gary Black's writing is solid and Dallas Willard's is always inspiring.

[Daniel Nelms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating premise of Willard's Kingdom theology as it applies to our longing for heaven, and also a story of Willard last days from one of his closest friends. It's a must read.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I enjoy everything Dallas Willard and this was no exception. I continue to look forward to heaven and also preparing for a good life and a good death.

[Clara Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The theme of this book can best be described in this quotation, "...our overarching priority must be to become the kinds of people who dream dreams worthy of our lives, people who know that what we seek is both food and best." He sees this life as preparing us for the next life to live in Heaven. "Blessings and goodness are not earned, but must be sought." … death is a foreign invader into the eternal designs and character of God." "...we enter eternity as the people we have become, We take our 'selves' with us--our memories, our character, our personhoods, our spirits, our souls. Our entire, holistic being carry into eternity,"

[Antonio LaMarca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book for living now

This book may seem like it is for people who are nearing death or dealing with the death of a loved one. Instead, it looks at what a “radiant life” looks like and how a “radiant death” can be a part of that life. What we do today echoes in eternity. I was encouraged to examine the way that I live my life an interact with others through reading this book, and was challenged in how I worship. I think every reader will take away something different from reading it, and that different something is well worth the time it takes to read.

[Scott Fillmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Radiant Life and Death

This was a great look at the end of Dallas' life and what we can learn from such a life so well lived. A hard topic but well written and thought through. I would have loved for the author to have gone a little deeper but such writing would have been speculative.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A student of Dallas Willard's weaves stories of his own time spent with Willard leading up to his death and the teachings that he learned from Willard about life and the afterlife and what it means to live a radiant life and die a radiant death. Thought-provoking, moving, insightful, and beautiful.

[Dave Harbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful insight into Dallas Willard's end (or beginning) of his life. The book raises the question: Are you ready for heaven? and offers reasons for taking steps in to prepare for eternity through how we live.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good--not exactly what I thought it would be; but worth reading.

[Meshach Kanyion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and thought provoking

This book should have been the Divine Conspiracy Continued. It seemed to elaborate a bit more on the topics offered there. Well done.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eternal Joy

An impressive and inspiring book. I have been challenged to look deeply at those parts of my life that still are earth-bound and disconnected from the Kingdom of God.

[mpkale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dallas Willard

The author seemed to discuss more of his own ideas than those of Dallas Willard. I don't have any desire to read any more of his books.

[Douglas Elkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of a men's group. I found value in reading and discussing. It was helpful to have read Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard a few years prior. Book got better as it went along .

[Brian Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found myself frequently stopping to wipe away tears and ponder the books insights in the reality of eternal life...a life that begins now. Gary Black has given us the gift of listening in on his conversations with Dallas Willard and the lessons he learned along the way about how we can begin living in the reality of the kingdom of God now, before we die, and how our current day to day living shapes our eternity.