Dear Friends,
I want to thank you for all your prayers for me and my family during this difficult time. My cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer and there have been some other heavy things weighing on us. So it’s been a difficult holiday, but the Lord has been faithful. And He has been very near.
Your support, love, and encouragement has meant so much to me. I appreciate it more than you know.
The spiritual journey includes many different seasons, rhythms, and transitions.
In my book, Finding Organic Church, I dedicate an entire chapter on spiritual seasons. Today, I want to add to that chapter by talking about transitions for the individual believer.
Transitioning from one season to another can be scary and exciting at the same time.
Here are a few quick thoughts on entering into transitions: Continue Reading…
1. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8).
2. He guides us into all truth (John 16:13).
3. He regenerates us (John 3:5-8; Titus 3:5).
4. He glorifies and testifies of Christ (John 15:26; 16:14).
5. He reveals Christ to us and in us (John 16:14-15).
6. He leads us (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18; Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1).
7. He sanctifies us (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 5:16).
8. He empowers us (Luke 4:14; 24:49; Rom. 15:19; Acts 1:8).
9. He fills us (Eph. 5:18; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17).
10. He teaches us to pray (Rom. 8:26-27; Jude 1:20). Continue Reading…
A friend who read JESUS MANIFESTO sent me this quote. It reminded him of one of the main points we make throughout the book:
The first thing to remember is that we must never separate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The Christians who are most focused on their own spirituality may give the impression of being the most spiritual . . . but from the New Testament’s point of view, those who have almost forgotten about their own spirituality because their focus is so exclusively on their union with Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished are those who are growing and exhibiting fruitfulness. Historically speaking, whenever the piety of a particular group is focused on our spirituality that piety will eventually exhaust itself on its own resources. Only where our piety forgets about us and focuses on Jesus Christ will our piety nourished by the ongoing resources the Spirit brings to us from the source of all true piety, our Lord Jesus Christ.
~ Sinclair Ferguson
The church of Jesus Christ, as she is envisioned in the New Testament, always takes care of her own.
On the day of Pentecost, a surge of new converts decided to leave their homes, jobs, and relocate to the city of Jerusalem. The reason is because the church in Jerusalem was the first and only Christ-following community on the planet at the time.
And the twelve apostles, who had lived with and were trained by Jesus, happened to live there.
To deal with the enormity of the situation . . . a massive influx of new converts without jobs or houses . . . the new church instinctively began to pool its individual resources together so everyone’s needs were met.*
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Acts 2:44-45
Some have taken this one incidence as a standard for all other churches. They argue that because the church in Jerusalem “lived in common,” as it were, all other churches should go and do likewise. But there’s no evidence to suggest that any of the other churches did this in the first century. Continue Reading…
The following interview was conducted by Ed Stetzer. Ed is very well-known in the evangelical Christian world today. He’s graciously endorsed two of my books, and I have a lot of respect for him.
Hope you enjoy it.
Introduction by Ed Stetzer 
Today I’m sharing an interview with Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola about their recently published book, Jesus Manifesto. I think the response to the book has been fascinating to watch. For example, you don’t often see a book endorsed by Ed Young, Matt Chandler, Jack Hayford, and Steve Brown. And, since Len and Frank are willing to dialogue today, I wanted to bring it to you attention. (By the way, Frank has been here at the blog before.)
Len serves as a professor and vice president at Drew University, has written numerous articles and books, and he is a primary contributor to the web-based preaching resource, sermons.com.
Ed Stetzer: What motivated the both of you to write Jesus Manifesto? Continue Reading…
New Testament scholar Ben Witherington interviewed me on my book, Jesus Manifesto (written with Leonard Sweet). Ben’s questions were different from other interviews I’ve done on the book. Consequently, there’s information here about the book and its content that doesn’t appear anywhere else. Therefore, I’m republishing it on this blog. Hope you enjoy it.
Ben: Why did you and Leonard write the book? Give us the storyline behind it.
Frank: For years, Len and I have both shared a burden and concern that Jesus has been getting short-changed. Right or wrong, we have felt that He has all-too often been eclipsed by other “hot” topics and subjects. Continue Reading…
Recently, I had two important discussions on the meaning of the phrase “It’s All About Jesus.” In my opinion, they are the best exchanges I’ve had all year on the topic.
The most recent is a discussion I had with NorthWestern Media. You can listen to it here or download it on iTunes.
The other is a discussion I had with Christian Books (CBD). Click here to listen to it or download it on iTunes.
If you haven’t yet heard the two songs inspired by Jesus Manifesto, you owe it to yourself to give them a listen.
Just click here to listen to both songs.
“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
This quote sums up the aim of the book that Leonard Sweet and I recently wrote, Jesus Manifesto.
Our book is not designed to give recipes or a blueprint to “do” something or to “work.” Instead, it’s designed to give God’s people a sighting of their incredible Lord that will leave them awash in His vast glory, instilling in them (by the Holy Spirit) a hunger, a thirst, and a “longing for the endless immensity” of Jesus.
Or to put it in Paul’s words, a longing to explore “the unfathomable riches of Christ.”
