In first-century Palestine, there were left-wing liberals and right-wing conservatives. And then there was Jesus of Nazareth. The progressive liberals were the Sadducees. They denied certain supernatural parts of the Bible because it didn’t fit their world view (sound familiar?). The Lord’s words to them were cutting: “You don’t know the Scriptures though you read them nor do you know God’s power.” (Matthew 22 summarized.) The Pharisees, on the other hand, were the hard-line conservatives. They were the self-anointed gatekeepers... Read more

The Explosive Gospel of God’s Kingdom – Frank Viola | Kingdom Revolution, Allegiance, & the Early Church Discover the revolutionary gospel that shaped the early church and challenged the world’s systems. In this message, Frank Viola explores what it means to embrace the explosive message of God’s Kingdom, break from the old order, and live with bold allegiance to Jesus as Lord. — If you appreciate the insights of A.W. Tozer, Francis Chan, Dallas Willard, N.T. Wright, Watchman Nee, T.... Read more

If you are alive, you’ve noticed. But perhaps this article will provide language for it. We live in a day where there is profound intolerance exercised in the name of tolerance. I call it “the new tolerance.” It goes something like this. “If you don’t agree with my beliefs and my value system, then you’re intolerant.” Which being interpreted means: “In the name of tolerance, I’m intolerant of everyone who doesn’t bow to my values and beliefs.” Or “I’m intolerant of everyone except those... Read more

Yesterday, Leonard Sweet kindly invited me to speak to his doctoral students about the New Testament story. It was a pleasurable time. More on that in the future. Speaking of which, last month, I made a statement in one of my talks. The statement was: “You can’t be transformed through Scripture if you don’t understand it.” A sister in Christ responded saying, “This explains why I could read the Bible through several times in the past and not come away... Read more

This is a limited-time offer. The new book uniquely unlocks the New Testament letters – all 21 of them. Here are endorsements by 20 esteemed scholars. Discount is good in the USA and some other countries. (Not sure which ones.) THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH: REVISED AND EXPANDED (2025 edition) “In The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded, Frank Viola brings context and background together, inviting us on a captivating journey through the... Read more

Yesterday my friends and I celebrated an extraordinary milestone – ten years of our spiritual community flourishing together. The Deeper Christian Life Network launched on September 2, 2015. Yesterday marked exactly 10 years. To those of you who are on the Network already. What began as a vision of a deeper connection with God and spiritual equipping has transformed into something far more profound: a living tapestry of souls supporting one another on the sacred journey of growth and awakening.... Read more

As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, the ekklesia flows out of the inward parts of God. It is a divine organism. It’s not a tradition or a custom. She (and the New Testament describers her as a “she”) is a civilization born out of the unction of the Holy Spirit. Certainly, her members are human and fallen, but she’s divine as well. This brings us to the subject of fruit. Primarily, “the fruit of the Spirit” as mentioned in Galatians 5.... Read more

The term “quiet time” was coined in the late nineteenth century from the Christian and Missionary Alliance movement. By the 1940s, it replaced the Anglican concept of “the morning watch.” The morning watch focused on prayer requests while the new “quiet time” focused on Bible study and meditation. InterVarsity’s 1945 booklet “Quiet Time” popularized the term among evangelical university students. The term went mainstream when Billy Graham started using it in the 1950s during his crusades.* There are three main... Read more

If you are a genuine follower of Jesus, you carry a message. (I’ve explored how to discover your unique message elsewhere.) But know this – your message will never be received by everyone. Some people will dismiss both your message and you. (Others will attack you, but that’s another subject.) Let me give you an inside look into one way this works. One Christian author recently asked, “I’ve been trying to build my email list for years, but I’m having trouble... Read more

In 2008, I demonstrated at length that Scripture refutes the idea that there is a hierarchy in the body of Christ. Yet hierarchy is still being read back into the New Testament church. That’s because we see hierarchy in every sphere of life — from corporations to public schools to the military, etc. It’s also because most Christians haven’t been exposed to anything that contradicts the idea. A hierarchy is a system of authority. It’s a pecking order or chain... Read more