Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that isn’t claiming to be Keyser Söze. It’s just that no one has ever seen this blog and Keyser Söze in the same room together.
First things first. My upcoming book The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded is undergoing the final proofread. The book is slated to release March 2025, and I will have a special bonus for those who get it during release week. Stay tuned for that.
Also (as promised), I’ll be releasing excerpts from some chapters in the coming days.
This project has been over two decades in the making, with the last three years of my life devoted to intensive daily research and revision. I’m deeply thankful for the prayer support I’ve received from so many of you. Without it, I don’t think I could have completed the book. When you see the final product, you’ll understand what I mean.
Now for today’s article.
Here in the USA, land of the free and home of the perpetually ticked off, it’s election season again, which means it’s time for everyone to lose their minds and forget how to behave like decent humans.
Let’s face it: My country is not the United States anymore. We’re the Divided States of America, where everyone’s too busy screaming at each other to realize they’re (very often) acting like spoiled toddlers.
This division is tearing apart families, friendships, and even churches.
Yeah, you heard that last one right. The folks who are supposed to be all about love and forgiveness are busy mimicking the worst behaviors of the culture they claim to reject.
Not too long ago, I wrote a book called ReGrace: What the Shocking Beliefs of the Great Christians Can Teach Us Today to address this nonsense. It’s about how even the greatest Christians in history had some pretty wild beliefs, viewpoints that you and I would disagree with. Strongly.
Yet God used them. Greatly.
But hey, most Christians haven’t read it yet. They’re too busy arguing on Facebook about whether Jesus would vote red or blue and having meltdowns on X as to which candidate is the Antichrist.
Here’s a shocking revelation: Jesus didn’t and still doesn’t fit into our neat little political camps. He’s not a card-carrying member of any party. The Lord managed to tick off both the ancient conservatives (Pharisees) and the ancient liberals (Sadducees). Constantly.
He was an equal opportunity offender.
Read the Sermon on the Mount, and you’ll see some hardcore conservative values.
But then watch how He treats the societal outcasts — the adulterers, the “loose” women, the permanently disgraced, the failures – and suddenly He looks like a bleeding-heart liberal.
The truth is, Jesus transcends our petty categories. And if you’re really following Him, you do also.
Every election season is a test. It reveals whether we’re more committed to a political party or the kingdom of God. It shows whether we’ve bought into nationalism or globalism, both of which are just different flavors of the same worldly power structures.
Those who’ve truly joined the Insurgence – this radical way of living that Jesus introduced – are part of a whole different civilization. And we’re inviting everyone, including those who claim to “believe in Jesus” but have gotten sidetracked, to give their full allegiance to Christ and His upside-down kingdom.
One sure sign that you’re really following Jesus is that you draw the same kinds of people He drew while He was on earth and you anger the same kinds of people He angered.
In July’s article – “A Call to Move Forward” – I put it this way.
“Much of the LEFT wants government to do the work of the kingdom, and they don’t want the King. Much of the RIGHT wants the King, but reduces the kingdom to the afterlife. The first-century Christians wanted the King and His kingdom, which is an alternative civilization in the midst of fallen society and corrupt governments. The kingdom is the SUBLIME within the MALIGN, and it cannot be separated from the King Himself.”
The choice is yours.
You can keep playing the game, picking sides, and shouting into the void.
Or you can opt out and choose to be part of something bigger, more enduring, and infinitely more profound than the latest political squabble.
The invitation is open. The world is waiting.
What will you do?
Important Postscripts – Two of Them:
P.S. #1: If you’re new to these Thursday articles, or you’ve been on the list for a long time yet you’ve not yet done a “deep dive” into the content and you have questions about any of the above (which I expect you would), listen to these episodes on THE INSURGENCE PODCAST.
Each one expands the points made above and answers common questions on the subject. (If you’ve already heard them all, don’t forget the drip-drip effect.)
#8: Greg Boyd Mixes It Up with Frank on the Kingdom
#12: The Political System and the Kingdom
#16: Justice, Black Lives Matter, and the Kingdom
#23: A Clash Between Kingdoms
#24: Social Justice Warriors and Satan’s Role in Government
#53: Transcending the Political Blood Bath
#72: The Insurgence, Politics, and Church
#73: The Kingdom vs. Nationalism and Globalism
#74: Paul’s Gospel of the Kingdom
#75: You Cannot Serve Two Masters
#78: Idolizing the Political System (Without Realizing It)
Reminder that every episode of the podcast is also on our Deeper Journey YouTube channel.
Just type in AuthorFrankViola.org into your browser and it will redirect you there.
P.S. #2: We have some spots available for the 2025 Insurgence Experience (IXP) Mastermind. If you preach and/or teach regularly, you may want to join us. Just go here and apply. You will receive an email with all the details. Be sure to check all your folders.
Until next Thursday,
fv
Praying the Prayers of the New Testament
This was eye-opening. I listened to all the episodes you listed and it gave me a paradigm shift. I was taught the same tired stuff that most evangelical have been taught about politics and nationalism. The episodes were great and gave me a brand new view. I bet most who read this post won’t bother to listen and to learn.
Your book “Insurgence” helped me a lot. We aren’t called to “build” the kingdom. Only God does that. We advance it, but not by using the political system. Voting has its place but it’s never to bring in the kingdom because the political system is part of the system of the world. This was a break through perspective.