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

All throughout the Gospel, Jesus Christ is shown to be “the friend (and defender) of sinners” who “ate and drank.” (See Luke 7:34). In this story, we find Him to be eating, drinking, and befriending a female sinner. Jesus welcomed the tax collectors, the thieves, the prostitutes, and the adulterers into His kingdom. For this reason, the Lord consistently violated social taboos to reach out to those who the culture marginalized (Luke 7:1–10), economically (Luke 7:11–17), religiously (Luke 7:24–34), and... Read more

Trials, adversity, pain, suffering, loss, persecution, attacks, and downright onslaught are part of the lives of all who put their hands to the plow and served the Lord. Both past and present. But there’s a great tragedy when a servant of the Lord waste’s their sufferings. There’s no artful way of saying it, but the trick is to learn how to be broken but not destroyed. If you’re looking for a footnote, read 2 Corinthians Chapter 4. That chapter is... Read more