Dig in Deep

Frank Viola asked many of his readers to do a “blog circuit,” where either we would post a review of his latest book, or we could do our own Q and A with him. Since I already posted my review, here are the questions I asked him:

1) If Eternity is the first book of yours that someone has read, which of your other three books (Untold Story, Pagan Christianity, Reimagining Church) would you recommend they read second?

It all depends. If they were someone who was open to the idea that church as we know isn’t “it,” and they felt that there must be more, I would give them “Reimagining Church” probably. If they didn’t feel that way, I’d give them “The Untold Story of the New Testament Church.”

Untold Story is a book I’m in the middle of now – I’ll review it when I’m finished with it, but it is a retelling of the book of Acts, weaving in details from the other letters in the New Testament along with other historical information. It paints a very clear picture of the founding of the New Testament church, and particularly of Paul’s ministry.

2) How long have the central ideas expressed in Eternity been a clear focus for you? Was it revealed to you through a process of searching, or as a simple moment of discovery?

Both. There was an initial crisis in April of 1992. I had the “general outline” in my mind and heart, you might say. But since then, it’s been an ever-expanding revelation within me, and many details of that outline have been filled in. That still goes on today. The Eternal Purpose cannot be exhausted.

I’m also going to highly recommend listening to Viola’s talk at George Fox Seminary that he gave earlier this year. It’s also available as a podcast on iTunes. I can’t stress enough how much you should listen to this – if you’re not really a book reader, listen to this talk. It does a better job of explaining all of this than I can summarize here.

OTHER BLOGS PARTICIPATING IN THE “FROM ETERNITY TO HERE” BLOG CIRCUIT

Today (June 9th), the following blogs are discussing Frank Viola’s new bestselling book “From Eternity to Here” (David C. Cook, 2009). The book just hit the May CBA Bestseller List. Some are posting Q & A with Frank; others are posting full reviews of the book. To read more reviews and order a copy at a 33% discount, go to Amazon.com:

For more resources, such as downloadable audios, the free Discussion Guide, the Facebook Group page, etc. go to the official website: http://www.FromEternitytoHere.org/

Enjoy the reviews and the Q and A:
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Out of Ur – http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/05/viola.html
Shapevine – http://www.Shapevine.com/ (June newsletter)
Brian Eberly – http://www.brianeberly.com/
DashHouse.com – http://www.DashHouse.com/
Greg Boyd – http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/
Vision Advance – http://vision2advance.blogspot.com/
David Flowers – http://ddflowers.wordpress.com
Kingdom Grace – http://kingdomgrace.wordpress.com
Captain’s Blog – http://www.captainestes.blogspot.com/
Christine Sine – http://godspace.wordpress.com
Darin Hufford – The Free Believers Network – http://www.freebelievers.com/
Zoecarnate – http://zoecarnate.wordpress.com/
Church Planting Novice – http://www.churchplantingnovice.wordpress.com/
Staying Focused – http://kimmartinezstayingfocused.wordpress.com/
Take Your Vitamin Z – http://www.takeyourvitaminz.blogspot.com/
Jeff Goins – http://jeffgoins.myadventures.org/
Bunny Trails – http://bunny-trails.blogspot.com/
Matt Cleaver – http://mattcleaver.com/
Jason T. Berggren – http://blog.jasonberggren.com/
Simple Church – http://www.simplechurchjournal.com/
Emerging from Montana – http://wordofmouthministries.blogspot.com/
Parable Life – http://www.theparablelife.blogspot.com/
Oikos Australia – http://www.oikos.org.au/blog/
West Coast Witness – http://www.WestCoastWitness.com/
Keith Giles – http://www.Keith.Giles.com/
Consuming Worship – http://www.consumingworship.org/
Tasha Via – http://www.tashavia.blogspot.com/
Andrew Courtright – http://www.andrewcourtright.blogspot.com/
ShowMeTheMooneys! – http://www.showmethemooneys.com/
Leaving Salem, Blog of Ronnie McBrayer – http://leavingsalem.wordpress.com/
Jason Coker – http://pastoralia.missionaltribe.org/
From Knowledge to Wisdom – http://isthistheway.typepad.com/
Home Brewed Christianity – http://www.homebrewedchristianity.com/
Dispossessed – http://kblog.kevinjbowman.com/
Dandelion Seeds – http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Dandelionseeds
David Brodsky’s Blog- “Flip the tape Deck” – http://flipthetapedeck.blogspot.com/
Chaordic Journey – http://jeffrhodes.wordpress.com/
Renee Martin – http://www.reneemartinmusic.com/profiles/blog/list
Bob Kuhn – http://organicchurchnola.wordpress.com/
Living with Freaks: http://www.livingwithfreaks.com/
Real Worship – http://therealworshipleader.com/
Fervent Worship – http://ferventworship.blogspot.com/
Julie Ferwerda Blog – http://www.JulieFerwerda.com/ / http://www.OneMillionArrows.com/
What’s With Christina?! – http://w2christina.blogspot.com/
Irreligious Canuck – http://www.irreligiouscanuck.com/
This day on the journey – http://guychmieleski.blogspot.com/
Live and Move: Thoughts on Authentic Christianity – http://liveandmove.blogspot.com/
Spiritual Journey With God – http://www.elvineve.blogspot.com/
Dries Conje – http://www.echurch.co.za/ / http://www.thejesusfeed.com/ / http://www.bookdisciple.com/
Journey with Others – http://journeywithothers.blogspot.com/
On Now to the Third Level – http://www.080808onnowto.blogspot.com/
Christine Moers – http://www.welcometomybrain.net/
Breaking Point – http://marybethstockdale.wordpress.com/
Hand to the Plough – http://www.handtotheplough.com.au/
Jon Reid – http://jonreid.blogs.com/oneanother/welcome-pilgrim.html
Weblight – http://www.blog.worldwidewebservices.se/
D. L. Webster – http://gzmproductions.com/dlwebster
Searching for the Whole-Hearted Life – http://wholeheartedlife.blogspot.com/