“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”
~ Winston Churchill
I enjoy teaching others how to leverage their time and energy to be insanely productive. Especially when it comes to creating content that solves a problem.
I’ve dedicated my adult life to showing up, creating solutions to some of the problems we Christians face (largely from the lessons I’ve learned from my own struggles), and then sharing those solutions with the body of Christ.
It’s the way I serve God. It’s the way I serve you.
The main way we sabotage the call of God on our lives is to succumb to fear.
“What if I end up being wrong? What if people don’t like what I create? What if I get criticized? What if I attract trolls who won’t leave me alone? What if I fail?”
These are the questions that circulate in our heads, seeking to prevent us from creating and launching.
It’s much easier to hide than it is to create. But this is selfish. If God has given you something to help others, holding it back hurts those who need it.
Fear of failing and being criticized, then, equals selfishness.
What follows is a list of the main projects I’ve created over the last 15+ years – sorted by date.
I add some commentary on what I believe to be projects that were failures.
While some of them failed miserably, I’m still glad I put them into the world. There’s something satisfying about wrestling with fear and winning, even as you fail gloriously.
Thankfully (to the Lord and to you), most of the projects succeeded, despite the epic fails.
In 2020, the year I first created this post, it dawned on me that it was exactly 15 years ago when I began this kind of work – creating content to serve others.
(All my endeavors before then were preparation and experimentation.)
My hope in putting this list together is that you’d be inspired to pull the trigger on whatever God has put on your heart to create for the service of others.
And maybe it will embolden you to dance with fear and overcome it.
Thank you for allowing me to create these projects.
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2005 – My first book is published by a recognized Christian publisher. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church (Destiny Image) releases. The book rehearses the drama we find in our New Testaments, blending together the story found in Acts with that of the Epistles, in the context of the first-century history.
As I look back on this book now, two things strike me.
One: I wrote it in a rush, so it doesn’t measure up to my writing standards today. In fact, it’s full of flaws and the editors didn’t catch many typos and historical errors.
Two: It DESPERATELY needed to be completely rewritten, revised, and expanded. And I’ve done that.
The new revised and expanded edition is slated to release in 2025.
Do not buy the old edition! Wait until the new one drops.
Despite the flaws and poor writing, the book hit the Wall Street Journal Bestseller.
You can get updates on the new release here.
2006 – George Barna approaches me to discuss a joint project that would detail the story of where we got our modern church practices.
2007 – Barna and I spend the year writing what would become Pagan Christianity – a title that the publisher didn’t like at first. The book would be the first volume to document the story of where our Protestant church traditions came from. It would also be the first book that included a disclaimer from the publisher! Funny, but true.
2008 – Pagan Christianity (Tyndale) is published along with the constructive sequel Reimagining Church (published by David C. Cook), which debuts 8 months later. Both books have been described as “hard-hitting, take no prisoners writing.”
Contrary to common misrepresentations, they do NOT advocate “house church” or “simple church.” They advocate the organic expression of the church, which is significantly different.
I launch the blog you’re reading right now – frankviola.org.
2009 – My magnum opus, From Eternity to Here (David C. Cook), is published. The book sketches out God’s grand mission and Eternal Purpose from Genesis to Revelation.
Eight months later Finding Organic Church (David C. Cook) is published, which is the practical follow-up to my other books on radical church restoration.
That same year Leonard Sweet and I team up to write A Jesus Manifesto for the 21st Century – a blog post that goes viral.
I launch my first podcast, Christ is All, which to date has over 200 episodes and over 1.9 million downloads.
2010 – Sweet and I expand our digital manifesto into a full-length hardcover book. Jesus Manifesto (Thomas Nelson) is published.
The book is endorsed by the leading voices in the body of Christ from every quarter (theologically). Its object is to show that the Christian community by and large suffers from JDD – Jesus Deficit Disorder – putting all sorts of other things (religious/spiritual/biblical “things”) in the place of Christ. We also discuss a path toward recovery.
2011 – Revise Us Again (David C. Cook) is published. The book is a collection of unique essays on the subject of transformation, mainly focusing on areas that virtually no one talks about. While readers wrote glowing reviews, the book sold poorly. A failure by modern book-publishing standards.
Epic Jesus (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. This is the edited transcript of a landmark conference message by the same name.
2012 – Sweet and I publish our mammoth tome, Jesus: A Theography, which is the first book to blend together Christology with Jesus studies (i.e., theology with New Testament scholarship). It tells the story of Jesus from Genesis to the genuine leather.
My blog is renamed “Beyond Evangelical” and is given a face lift.
Beyond Evangelical (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. This book explains that there’s a third way among evangelical Christians beyond the Progressive Left and the Conservative Right.
When the Pages Are Blank (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. This book sketches out different ways to bring life to your Bible reading when it turns into white noise.
2013 – My favorite book in the catalog, God’s Favorite Place on Earth (David C. Cook), is published. Some have charitably called it a “solemn masterpiece.” Lazarus tells the story of Jesus’ many movements in His favorite place on earth – the little village of Bethany, a hidden obvious narrative in the Gospels.
The How to Live by the Indwelling Life of Christ online discipleship course is launched. Over 2,700 people have taken the course to date.
Rethinking the Will of God (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. This book removes the agony associated with finding God’s will, showing that it’s more like a parking lot than a train track.
2014 – Jesus Now (David C. Cook) is published. This volume explores the present-day ministry of Jesus Christ. What is He doing since His ascension and before His second coming? The book comes out of the gate strong, hitting the CBA Bestseller list. But after it flares, it fades. It’s my second book to sell poorly.
The Buzz Seminar Master Course launches. This premium Master Course begins as a live event. We record all the sessions and add contributions from some of the greatest bloggers, copyrighters, and publishers on the planet. The course shows people how to start a successful blog and how to get a book to hit a bestseller list.
Discipleship in Crisis (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. It offers solutions to 9 specific problems in Christian discipleship today.
Straight Talk to Pastors (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. This is the edited transcript of a high-voltage talk I delivered to a group of leaders in South America.
2015 – Mary DeMuth and I team up to produce The Day I Met Jesus (Baker), which is the sequel to God’s Favorite Place on Earth. Five women in the Gospels tell their first-hand stories of how they met Jesus of Nazareth and what ensued.
The book hits the top of the CBA bestseller list and has strong endorsements from some of the best Christian authors of our time.
I create a podcast episode called A Ministry Dream Team, which embodies a vision that burns in me. (In 2018, the episode was turned into a PDF document with more detail. Once the dream team becomes a reality, I will add an update here.)
My most important ministry contribution is launched. The Deeper Christian Life Network, offering my best work exclusive to the Network. The Network is designed to mentor and connect those who are on the deeper journey.
MinistryMind launches. This was my live mastermind gathering for men and women who preach and/or teach. We had nine of them from 2015 to 2020. In 2021, it was upgraded to The Insurgence Experience.
The Rethinking Series (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. Five books on rethinking the mission, rethinking the church, rethinking the Holy Spirit, rethinking spiritual growth, and rethinking conventional Christianity.
Pouring Holy Water on Strange Fire (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. This is a critique of the book Strange Fire.
Practical Help for Christian Communities (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. This book sketches out invaluable lessons I learned while living in Christian community.
2016 – Jesus Speaks (Thomas Nelson) is published. Len Sweet is my co-author again. This volume brings our Jesus Trilogy to its shattering finale. We discuss in detail how to recognize and respond to the Lord’s voice.
Magnificent Obsession (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. It contains transcripts of some of my conference messages on God’s Eternal Purpose.
Where is God? (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. 20 other authors contribute to this project. It answers the question, “Why does God often NOT answer our most desperate prayers?”
My PROLIFIC productivity, goal-setting, creativity course launches. The course contains my secret sauce of how I’ve gotten so many projects done in a short period of time.
2017 – There Must Be More (Present Testimony Ministry) is published. This is a limited-edition, mammoth 800-page hardcover monstrosity that contains all my unpublished writings from 2008 to 2016. It also includes all my previous eBooks. A little over 1,500 copies are printed and the book sells out. It will never be printed again.
The Deeper Journey podcast launches. Each episode is 3-minutes long. In every episode, I give a preview of my upcoming book Insurgence by sharing one aspect of the gospel of the kingdom in small doses.
The podcast is an epic failure. It never catches on.
Apparently, people don’t want short podcast episodes.
There were only 14 episodes.
But Jason Bourne enjoyed it. Each show ended with “Extreme Ways” by Moby.
SCRIBE launches. This is an in-person training for authors and writers. My guest and I give away our trade secrets to writing a successful book, publishing it, and getting people (beyond our mothers) to buy it. The event is a huge success and is now an online training.
2018 – My landmark book Insurgence (Baker) is published. When people ask me which book in my catalog they should read first, this is the one. It unveils the explosive gospel of the kingdom of God – the central message of Jesus and the apostles.
But be careful. All six parts of the book do something very different. So it’s important you keep reading until the end.
2019 – ReGrace (Baker) is published. The book shows how the shocking beliefs of the great Christians of the past teach us about ourselves and others. Even though it was promoted by the most famous Christian leader in the world today, sales have been slow and unimpressive. A failure so far, but you all can easily change that (smile).
The Insurgence podcast launches. I have a conversation partner for each episode, something I’ve desired for years. The show has over 100 episodes and more than 600,000 downloads at the time of this writing. We answer listener questions on the gospel of the kingdom.
Mental Reboot Mode (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. This is a 30-day program to reset your mind, will, emotions, body, and spirit.
2020 – A Survival Guide for the Current Virus Crisis (Present Testimony Ministry) releases. It covers how to survive and thrive spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically during a pandemic. It’s written from the perspective of an iconoclast and contains satire and humor. Lemon-sucking Christians should avoid it like a bad virus.
2021 – Hang On, Let Go (Tyndale) releases.
The Surviving Your Storm online training course also drops.
My training for authors – SCRIBE – which was a live event since 2017, is put entirely online. People can now take the entire training from the comfort of their own home.
2022 – 48 Laws of Spiritual Power (Tyndale) releases. The book hits #1 in Discipleship and #1 in Christian Leadership on Amazon.
The Insurgence Experience – my mentoring mastermind for those who preach and teach launches.
2023 – The Deeper Journey Podcast Cross-Promotional Group launches.
The Conference Messages page is created, featuring conference messages from the past and present (regularly updated).
The Songs for the Kingdom page is created, featuring many newly written and recorded songs (regularly updated).
UPCOMING
The complete revision and expansion of The Untold Story of the New Testament Church is slated to release in 2025. Join the email list below so you’re notified when the new edition releases. You will also receive a fresh article every Thursday.
Prolific indeed!