Revise Us Again – Living from a Renewed Christian Script

I have never read a Frank Viola book before this one. I was quite excited to be able to review this book in particular because of the topic of uniting the body of Christ.

From the beginning Viola wastes little time in exposing the supposed barriers of why the church is so fragmented when we look at all the different expressions of Christianity. I was impressed as I really sensed that Viola has friends or has been a part of many different groups of people who all worship Jesus as God. In each vantage point of Christianity, Viola points out the strengths and weaknesses of each. In short, we all have something to offer each other, no matter our expression.

Later in the book, he discusses the confusing power of words when it comes to Christian speak. Christian people have picked up some bad habits over the years saying things such as, “God told me to…” and “I am praying for you (yet quickly forgetting it).” We oftentimes confuse our will for God’s. We make our God very small.

He later goes onto to talk the conversational styles that we all have. He notices three different types that ail our faith. Each person has a contrasting viewpoint, but when you blend all three, it is possible to see a beautiful example of how incredible the body of Christ really is.

I also enjoyed his thoughts on revising the Holy Spirit’s ministry. Having been in a pentecostal and charismatic tradition a few years, I have definitely seen the excesses and fall out of being too Holy Spirit centered. Viola delicately mentions ways in which we can begin to balance out these areas.

I especially liked his section on being a post-charismatic. He makes a bulleted list on why he considers himself such a person. It is a manifesto of sorts, which I agreed with most of them. In the end he talks about three varied types of gospels and the people who believe them.

This would be a tough topic for most people to handle, but somehow Viola never seemed to offend anyone, he just gave the facts as he saw them. I respect that he did not bash any particular denomination, but found fault and good in each of them.

Congratulations to Frank on an incredible work that I hope people from all styles of Christianity will explore them self. It encouraged my heart and reminded me that we are all part of this faith, we each play a role.

I received this book by being part of the SpeakEasy blogger network led by Mike Morrel.