REVISE US AGAIN: Living from a Renewed Christian Script
by Frank Viola (David C. Cook, 2011, 174 pages).
This is a singularly refreshing book. Frank tackles some very thorny issues – like how Christians use the phrase “God told me to . . .” – with remarkable candor and wisdom. In the process he corrects the traditional script we have inherited and opens the door for us to express the freedom we have in Christ in a much fuller way. In a vital sense this book is about fleshing out our unity in Christ. How do we deal with doctrinal differences? How can we communicate better with one another? How can we discern what is central and peripheral in our relationships with one another? Most of all, this book throbs with Christ at the center of everything – especially in our life with other Christians.
It would appear that the Body of Christ could use a big dose of maturity in light of what goes on in what calls itself “church,” and in view of what transpires in the e-world of communication. If the contents of Revise Us Again were taken to heart and practiced, the maturity level of believers would rise immensely.
While all the chapters are uplifting and challenging, I found “Captured by the Same Spirit You Oppose” to be the one most needful for my own heart. The first several years of my life in Christ were spent in a movement that prided itself in having the truth and standing for the truth. Sadly, they were often captured by the very spirit they allegedly opposed. They judged people’s motives and invented hoops others had to jump through, or be disfellowshipped. I believe that by God’s grace in Christ I have moved far away from this snare, but Frank’s words were an important reminder of how we can stray from loving others fervently.
I hope you will read this book and find nuggets to foster your own growth in Jesus! — Jon Zens
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Click here to read excerpts and watch the video trailer.
Author, speaker, editor of Searching Together, itinerant encourager of relational communities.
Hi Jon,
I have been cruising through your writings. I am curious about one of your statements above. Since the old stuff from my former trappings still surface, I was wondering if you still have to deal with those old “wires” from that former movement you were in. That sounds so familiar to me. I have found that the wiring which was fed into me, much like feeding wiring into a wall during construction of the electrical outlets in a house. Those wires are generally permanent, like teeth roots, and must be literally extracted…or cut. I am still struggling after a revelation of my hard heart and dullness of hearing. I am now learning to just soak in the Father’s love with no performance. I see new blades of growth emerging from the new soil of my heart. I have been learning about hope and what God’s purpose is for the imagination, where dreams and visions are planted. Worldwide taught only the down side of the human heart: Jeremiah 17:9. Very damaging for me.