As most of you know, Leonard Sweet and I teamed up to launch four cornerstone resources for the body of Christ. They are:
A Jesus Manifesto for the 21st Century (online document)
Jesus Manifesto (book by Thomas Nelson)
Jesus: A Theography (book by Thomas Nelson)
Jesus Speaks (book by Thomas Nelson)
In all of these works, Sweet and I take what I have coined as a “Christopheric” approach by exalting Jesus beyond the stratosphere and addressing a glaring problem that has plagued the body of Christ for centuries.
The “Christopheric” view goes beyond Christocentricity. For sure, Christ is central. But He’s also in the circumference. And on the edges and margins.
He fills the entire picture. Not just in the Bible, but in the cosmos.
The “Christopheric” perspective is prominent in Pauline theology, where Christ is described as the one “in whom all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17) and who is “all in all” (Colossians 3:11).
The language of “Christ as everything” suggests that all of creation is oriented toward, sustained by, and ultimately fulfilled in Christ. In spiritual terms, Christ can be seen as the blueprint and unifying center for the universe, with God’s purpose culminating in and through the incarnation and ongoing presence of Christ in all things.
In light of that staggering view of Christ, Jesus has been relegated to a footnote or a mascot in much of Christianity today. His greatness has been diminished and dismissed and His all-inclusiveness ignored.
The above works by Sweet and me, and a large number of resources related to them can be found on the Jesus Trilogy website at frankviola.org/jesustrilogy
Jesus Christ is the center of the universe, the origin and destiny of all creation, and the meaning of all Scripture (not just the Gospels).
Since Len and I released these four resources together, we have continued to exalt and unveil Christ through our work independently.
For instance, my entire book catalog pulls out some of the threads in our “Jesus Trilogy” and expands them into full-orbed, stand-alone treatments. (Examples: Jesus Now, God’s Favorite Place on Earth, The Day I Met Jesus, etc.)
Len has done the same in his works, something I applaud.
For us, Jesus isn’t just a fad that we’ve moved on from to other things. There’s NOTHING outside of Christ in the Christian faith or the biblical lexicon.
On this score, Sweet has recently released two books on Jesus. One is called Jesus Human. The other Jesus Design.
I caught up with Len recently to discuss these two companion volumes.
Enjoy!
Every book has a big idea. What is the big idea behind Jesus Human?
The big idea is this: we are in an anthropological emergency. The world no longer knows what it means to be human. The ultimate pandemic is not COVID but dehumanization. Jesus Human argues that Jesus—the “Human One”—is the consummate human being, the prototype Adam of a new humanity. He shows us how to be fully alive, fully human, and fully God-reflecting.
David Livingstone Smith (in Less Than Human) shows how dehumanization fuels atrocities. Do you agree with his take that elites spread these ideologies intentionally?
Smith’s brilliance is in showing that dehumanization is less cloak-and-dagger conspiracy and more systemic contagion. Those in power deploy propaganda, rhetoric, and cultural scripts that strip people of dignity so they can be exploited or eliminated. But underneath psychology and politics lies the deeper root: sin. The twentieth century alone birthed a “new species of sub-humanity”—over 108 million killed in its wars. Dehumanization is humanity’s oldest heresy and deadliest addiction.
You’ve reframed the word “humanist,” often seen as anti-Christian. Explain.
The incarnation is the most “humanist” act in history. God honored humanity by becoming human, by choosing the title “The Human One.” Christianity at its core is not anti-humanist but radically pro-human. Jesus is God’s vote of confidence in human life. To follow him is to recover—not abandon—our humanity.
You ask, “What if Jesus is the new Adam, the image-bearer of a new humanity?” Why does this matter?
Because if Jesus is the archetype of true humanity, then our identity crisis ends in him. Pilate got it right when he said, “Behold, the Human.” Jesus is not just our way to God; he is God’s way to show us ourselves. In him we learn not just who God is, but who we are meant to be.
In your chapter Becoming a Jesus Human, you say Jesus is the flowering of God’s dream for humanity—the dream of Jubilee. What does that mean?
Jubilee is God’s rhythm of restoration: debts canceled, slaves freed, land returned, lives reset. Jesus embodies Jubilee. He is our release, our reset, our restoration. In him God’s dream of humanity—whole, reconciled, liberated—takes root and blossoms. Jesus is not just our Sabbath; he is our Jubilee.
The carol asks the shepherds, “Why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong?” The answer is found not only in the manger but in the mission. When Jesus later preached his first sermon in Nazareth, he unfurled a five-point manifesto that climaxed with Jubilee: “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The “gladsome tidings” sung over Bethlehem’s fields were not just angelic harmonies; they were prophetic announcements. The angels sang Jubilee into the world, and Jesus lived Jubilee into existence.
Christmas carols ask the question. Jesus gives the answer. The shepherds heard it in song; we see it in his life: debts forgiven, captives freed, creation restored. The Gloria of heaven becomes the Jubilee of earth. Christmas sang Jubilee, the Cross sealed Jubilee, Pentecost spread Jubilee, and the Table lets us taste Jubilee.
Part Two is entitled You Need the Divine to Be Human. What do you mean?
It takes God to make us human. Humanity is not self-generated; it’s a gift of relationship. God breathed life into dust, and only that breath makes us human. To be human is to participate in the triune life of God. So the call is not to transcend our humanity but to receive it back from Jesus, renewed and rehumanized.
In your We Dream section, you argue that the kingdom of God is not politics, which is “downstream of culture.” Expand this.
Politics rearranges the furniture; the kingdom renovates the house. Culture is the riverbed; politics is the water that runs through it. Jesus goes deeper than ballots and borders—he addresses the imaginations, the loves, the dreams that drive culture. Until those are transformed, politics will always be downstream, never upstream.
You list 11 rules of “adiaphoric human engagement.” First, what does adiaphora mean, and how does it apply to the internet age?
Adiaphora means “things indifferent”—matters not essential to salvation but vital to civility. My 11 rules are practices for how to disagree without dehumanizing. In today’s toxic online world, especially among Christians, we need them more than ever: resist demonizing, listen before labeling, refuse click-bait cruelty. The internet doesn’t need more warriors; it needs more Jesus humans.
What is the big idea behind Designer Jesus?
The big idea is this: Jesus is not only Savior; he is the designer of our humanity. He is the model of authentic discipleship and the blueprint for a flourishing life. The title is a double entendre—our culture wants a “designer Jesus” tailored to our tastes, but in reality Jesus is the true designer, shaping us into a beautiful, bespoke humanity. In sum, discipleship formation is really nothing more nor less than Christ formation or human formation. In the 21st century, the ultimate apologetics is aesthetics.
You contrast human “blueprints” for renewal with “God’s fingerprints” and “the tracks of the Spirit.” How so?
Our blueprints are rigid—cookie-cutter strategies, one-size-fits-all programs. God’s fingerprints are unique, intimate, always personal. The Spirit leaves tracks, not templates. Renewal isn’t manufactured; it’s Spirit-streamed. Discipleship formation is not us fitting into a program but Christ being formed in us.
You write, “For Christians to be anti-aesthetic is to be anti-human.” What do you mean?
Beauty is not decoration; it’s vocation. We were created in the image of a Creator. To dull our aesthetic senses is to dull our moral senses. To numb beauty is to numb conscience. To be human is to be art in God’s gallery. Heaven is the ultimate art gallery.
What’s your take on the Shroud of Turin?
I’ve gone hot and cold on it. Part of me doesn’t want it to be authentic—because faith doesn’t need proof. Yet the older I get, the more I see that every attempt to debunk it leaves the Shroud more resilient. I now lean toward believing it may be authentic. But whether or not it is “real,” it certainly is true.
You end each chapter with “Studio Life.” Why?
Because discipleship is artistry. “Studio Life” is where I invite readers to take the material off the page and into the studio of their lives. The questions are prompts, not prescriptions—designed to help readers sketch their own canvas of Christ-formation.
If someone reads the book cover to cover, what do you hope will change in them?
That they’ll move beyond status-quo Christianity into Jesus-streamed living. That they’ll stop trying to fit Jesus into their life and start letting Jesus design their life. I want them to close the book saying: “I want to live a designer life, not a default life. I want a life that does more than look like Jesus. I want Jesus to live in and through me and share his resurrection life with me.”
What were some “aha” moments for you while researching?
One big “aha” was rediscovering that Jesus is not anti-world but pro-life—life in all its color, texture, and creativity. Another was realizing that discipleship is less about information and more about imagination. Following Jesus is not primarily a classroom but a studio, where life is designed, shaped, and beautified by the hands of the Master Artist. One more “aha?” That heaven is an art gallery.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In