Beyond Evangelical | The Blog of Frank Viola

Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.

There Really is More to the Christian Faith

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“Launch out into the deep …” Luke 5:4

“Deep calls unto deep ….” Psalm 42:7

Are you tired of the shallowness and superficiality that marks present-day Christianity?

Do you feel deep within your heart that there has to be more to the Christian faith?

Are you weary of both the evangelical right and the progressive left?

Do you desire to take your relationship with the Lord to the next level?

 

Join over 2 million readers and get plugged into The Deeper Journey.

Once you subscribe, you’ll get my weekly UNFILTERED articles which are emailed every Thursday.

You’ll also receive these two books as gifts as well as my Next Reformation audio seminar.

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https://frankviola.org/2018/10/15/join/

Don’t Believe Everything You Read or Hear

Several years ago, Michael Hyatt (former CEO of Thomas Nelson) responded to a rumor on his blog. In the post, Michael wrote,

“According to the most recent rumor—which I’ve now heard twice—we [Thomas Nelson] are planning a layoff for June 19th … There is absolutely no truth to it … If you hear this rumor, I would be grateful if you would help me short-circuit it. You can tell ’em it’s not true, and you heard it directly from me.”

I recall when this rumor was circulating and was saddened (and surprised) at how many Christians believed it without going straight to Michael to see if it was true or false. Here’s another example that’s much more national.[Continue Reading…]

Those Cussing Christians

One of the best indicators of where a person hails from is how they talk.

I’m not only referring to their accent, but to the way they pronounce certain words. And even certain phrases they use.

In the same way, the way a person speaks reveals which kingdom he or she belongs to. Either the kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness (the world system).

This insight leads into the thorny matter of using profanity, vulgarity, cussing, swearing, and cursing.

Having been a follower of Jesus for decades, I’ve observed three different attitudes on the subject among Christians. They are:[Continue Reading…]

The Swearing Christian

Certain words are offensive in the hearing of much of our culture. Before someone pipes in and says, “but swear words aren’t offensive to the culture,” think again.

I was a high school teacher for many years and there were words that were “offensive” and couldn’t be used by the students nor the teachers without rebuke. That hasn’t changed in most public school systems today.

Further, many parents don’t wish their children to use certain words (you know what those words are). If such words aren’t offensive to a sizable portion of the culture, then why tell children and students not to say them?

So the fact that certain words are offensive to the culture – in general – is without dispute.

The question that is in dispute is: is it acceptable for Christian to use such words?

We are living in a time where there is less of a consensus among Christians than ever. For instance, I’ve seen arguments condemning and approving the following behaviors by Christian people:[Continue Reading…]

The Book Rick Warren Asked Me to Write is Here

I’m writing this email on a Tuesday, two days earlier than usual, because my newest book — ReGrace: What the Shocking Beliefs of the Great Christians Can Teach Us Today – just released.

Let me say a few words about the book before I tell you how to download the first 5 chapters and get the book on discount.

  1. It’s the funniest book I’ve ever written. The entire volume is peppered with humor.
  2. It’s short. Less than 200 pages if you don’t count the endnotes.
  3. If you like church history, you’ll find it fascinating (I expect, anyway).

A Quick Word About Rick Warren

Like all Christian leaders who are making an impact, Rick Warren has been unjustly attacked and lied about for years.[Continue Reading…]

Rethinking Old Testament Violence & Racism

Thanks to so many of you, the new INSURGENCE podcast surpassed 16,000 downloads already.

Episode 7 is published and among other questions, my conversation partner and I discuss how to make sense of God’s commands to Israel to kill the Canaanites.

In Episode 6, we take on racism from a different perspective.

You’ll want to check these out along with the previous episodes, as they all build on each other.

Go to the new INSURGENCE podcast to listen to all episodes.

P.S. Beyond these articles which are sent to you every Thursday gratis, here are 10 ways I’m helping others on the deeper journey:[Continue Reading…]

Guess Who Wrote This Unusual Letter

“Our son had done well. He went to good schools and graduated with accolades. He also served in the military for a time. He had a very promising career ahead of him.

Unfortunately, he has joined an eastern religious sect. The members of this sect call upon him continuously. They have given him a new set of strange friends, a strange new vocabulary, and, well, he’s just different.

He spends most of his time with the people in this sect, and he regards them to be his new family. He is closer to them than he is with his own flesh and blood.

They are constantly sharing their bizarre beliefs with anyone who will listen. He spends his time with the worst kind of people: criminals, addicts, and the homeless.[Continue Reading…]

6 Affirmations I Read Every Morning

Just a reminder that each episode of the new INSURGENCE podcast builds on the previous episodes, so you’ll want to listen to all the episodes and subscribe so you don’t miss a beat.

Every episode is a response to your questions about the gospel of the kingdom. We cover it all, folks. And there are over 25 more episodes waiting in the queue right now.

The 5th episode published on Tuesday with new ones coming every Tuesday. Go here to listen and subscribe. I love both my partners, and I hope you do also.

As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, kingdom citizens don’t think, react, or live like the world. However, it’s essential that we are continually reminded about who we are and the kingdom to which we belong.

This year, I created 6 spiritual affirmations that I read every morning.

These affirmations ground and center me as a kingdom citizen at the start of each day. I even printed out several copies to place in different parts of my home, just to “refresh” my mind in the afternoons and evenings.

They are:[Continue Reading…]

The King’s Domain

I hope you’re enjoying the new Insurgence podcast. We publish a new episode every Tuesday.

We appreciate all of you who are sharing the podcast with your family and friends.

There are over 500,000 podcasts listed in iTunes alone. So only podcasts that get shared a lot with others are found. The rest are buried under the noise.

Today, I want to introduce you to yet another metaphor for the kingdom of God. That metaphor is the King’s domain.

In our day, we have something called domain names. A person purchases a domain name for the purposes of hosting a website or blog.

For instance, my team and I purchased GospeloftheKingdom.com.

So all the content on that website is under our domain. We have full control over it.[Continue Reading…]