This blog post has been revised and turned into a chapter in The Rethinking Series.
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Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical
Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.
Reformation, Revolution, and Changing the Course of Church History
Love this very much Frank. I will continue to share the work that God has downloaded in you for his bride.
Dave O’Brien: I feel you on this. What I have been contemplating lately is first let the so called church culture be drained from me as I seek to meet under the headship of Christ with a body of believers that are committed to living by the indwelling life of Christ and not just a set of doctrines. Then trusting my children will see and learn that Christ is life and He is our life. Hopefully this will translate and make a huge change over time. It must first start with a few for it to make room for more. However, in God’s providence as He is drawing more and more out of religion into a true face to face relationship with Himself there may be some type of historical change through natural disaster, war or the like, that could speed up the return to community, etc… but even then without those that are standing for the Eternal Purpose of God and are committed to the headship of Christ many other human forms can develop. We must learn from those who have stood outside for the Lord’s sake that have gone before us and blaze new trails in the Lord so that those who come behind us will be able to go further in the Lord than us.
Thank you Frank!
Truly, the Gospel is about what we cannot see, not what we can. The “pop church” is obsessed with showing and proving itself to the world a “change” that results from faith, so that others have something they can see to put their faith in. What a mess.
Sadly, the vast majority of the “Christian” youth have never heard the Gospel. The Glory of God in the face of Jesus is hidden behind all those things the “church” has been erecting ad nauseum.
Can we truly recover from this cultural disaster?
Hi Frank I’m a 27 year old and love your blog, I will spread the word. Cheers!
For sure I hear what you’re saying, Frank, about an excerpt being misunderstood. I will stick with the full post link, and continue challenging folks to read them in full as well as follow up with open dialogue. I’m grateful how available you make yourself for questions. Many thanks!
Frank, I’m a-22 years old. I thank God for His work through you. For the past couple of months my heart has been burned by the books you recommended, your challenging posts, podcast (listened to almost all of them) and your writings of course (haven’t read all of them, but eventually will). I totally agree, not many young people have heard of the essential things you talked about. But they should! I pray that there will be young people who are called for the eternal purpose and people like you who are burdened for my generation. I would like to meet you someday 😉 To Christ be the glory alone
This is a very helpful post. Some of the links at the bottom were game changers for me. A couple that come to mind are “Rethinking the 5-fold ministry” that one was huge for me. Also, the two audios “The Eternal Purpose” and “Living by the Indwelling Life of Christ”. I hope many especially those in their 20’s take time to absorb these realities and learn it from those who have gone before them so they can align themselves with God’s Eternal Purpose and learn to live by an indwelling Lord.
awesome post! great list of resoures too!
I’m overwhelmed right now. I’m 28 and a friend of mine sent me this link. I’ve never read anything you’ve written but just heard about the Pagan Christian book. was warned about actually so I was surprised when I started reading your stuff. Francis Chan and Mark Driscoll are the folks I listen to the most. I’ve been reading your blog posts all morning and heard some audios. all I can say is amazing. this is taking things to a whole new level. I just subscribed to the podcast and blog and I’ll definitely be telling my friends about it. thanks
Thanks for the post. I will share this post with others in hopes that it bring them one step closer to understanding. I hope it helps to spark more conversation so that they will feel free to dialogue with you and others already experiencing Christ in an organic way.
Yes, the exchange must happen! I am amazed sometimes how opposition comes from the least likely corners. I quote and requote, pass on your blog posts, audios, etc. The reactions are varied, but the disputes are usually due to fear and a resistance to read the books for themselves. That can be frustrating. Some that are starting to get a handle on understanding what the “organic expression of the church” means, are often reluctant to share it with other Christians for fear of discouraging them in their faith.
Learning afresh that we all–not only newly saved people–can truly be filled with “joy unspeakable” is just bubbling out of me. Not only can we be, but we WOULD be if we were fully aware of His life within; allowing His fruit to grow out of us, His branches, which in turn are growing out of Him, the vine. So I can’t be quiet, but must find a place of balance, grace and tact from which to share, a place where Jesus is in the spotlight and glorified.
Thanks Esther. The trick is to challenge/encourage them to come on here to (1) read the posts in their entire context and (2) share their reactions so I am able to respond, answer questions, learn also, and others who are regulars here may respond and learn also. That is key.
If an excerpt is merely quoted as a sound-byte somewhere, it’s often misunderstood. So a link to a full post (such as this one) and an invitation to dialogue is much more effective. Things change in dialogue.