The following wasn’t written by Frank Viola but by Stephen Patel. Over the recent years there has been a rise in the use of CBD oil for several health benefits. Various states have given the green light to its distribution and sale as well. More and more people are gradually opening up to the benefits of CBD oil which are sold in licensed shops like NuLeaf Naturals. However, there is still a vehement opposition from a section of the society,… Read more

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Today, I want to bless my Patheos readers with some controversial digital essays I’ve written over the years. They are: Reimagining a Woman’s Role in the Church: An Open Letter Read This Before You Drop the H-Bomb (Heresy) – written with Greg Boyd The Race Card of the Early Christians – written with Derwin Gray Reframing Discipleship Losing Track of Jesus The Alpha & Omega – written with Leonard Sweet A Jesus Manifesto for the 21st Century A Vanishing God Organizational… Read more

Alan Olsan has written a new interesting book for those who are intrigued by history. It’s called Caspar Schwenckfeld: Between Tyranny and Anarchy. Imagine a time of religious, spiritual, and social upheaval. People are leaving their traditional churches, finding new ways to evangelize, and choosing less formal ways of doing church, from meeting together in their homes to pooling their resources and living in common under one roof. People with no formal seminary or other religious training are selling everything… Read more

You can listen to the entire message here. Read more

As long as I’ve been a Christian, I’ve noted two spiritual pillars that are incredibly difficult to keep in mind. They are all-too easy to forget. One is to rejoice in our suffering. The other is to put ourselves in the shoes of another person whenever we’re dealing on the level of human relationships. I will confess that I’ve had a hard time remembering these two things. And I’m in need of constant reminding of them. And so is every… Read more

You’ll never cure lukewarmness by guilting people into being hot. You must give them a stunning revelation of Christ. Read more

It was February 1964. Cassius Clay (who would later change his name to Muhammad Ali) was relatively unknown. The Beatles were just becoming known in the United States. Both were about to make history and be called “the greatest.” But that would come later. The Beatles were relaxing in Florida and asked to meet the heavyweight champion of the world, Sonny Liston. Liston had no interest so he declined, calling the four musicians “sissies” and “bums.” The Beatles were then taken to… Read more

The story of Jesus and the “sinful woman” (as Luke describers her in Luke 7) teaches us five big lessons about self-righteousness: 1. You will never know if self-righteousness lurks in your heart until you see someone you regard as “sinful” audaciously loving Jesus. How you react to that situation will uncover what’s deep within your heart. 2. Self-righteousness will disqualify you from the kingdom of God. Serving God, as Simon performed his entire life, doesn’t score brownie points with… Read more