Review of From Eternity to Here by Frank Viola

Mike Leake

Author: Frank Violaviola

Pages: 320 pages

Publisher: David C. Cook

Price: 10.19

Genre: Christian Living/Theology

Quick Summary:

I first heard of Frank Viola in 1987 when he was pitching the Twins to the World Series. I was excited to review his book about Jesus. Then I discovered that this isn’t the same guy that pitched for the Twins. Of course I am joking. I had heard of Frank Viola a couple of years ago with his controversial book Pagan Christianity. I never read it. Now I want to.

From Eternity to Here is Viola’s attempt to chart the three overarching divine themes revealed in Scripture. Viola believes that the metanarrative of holy writ is this: “The Father obtains a bride for His Son by the Spirit. He then builds a house in which He, the Son, and the bride dwell together in the Spirit. The Father, the Son, and the bride live in that house as an extended household and they have offspring by the Spirit. The offspring constitutes a family, a new humanity called the ‘body of Christ’.” (19)

The book is divided into three parts. In part one Viola is unveiling the bride, in part two the house of God is explained, and part three is given to the presenting the body and the family. Viola explains it this way, “The first is the story of a God who is an ageless romantic, driven by one consuming pursuit. The second is about a God who has sought since eternity to have a resting place, a habitation, a home. And the third reveals a God from another realm who visits planet earth to establish a heavenly colony that will give Him visible expression.” (17) Every bit of this book is given to telling those three stories (that’s really one big story).

What I Liked:

Viola is a very good writer. He is engaging and though provoking. The chapters are not laborious. This is actually a very fun read. More than all of that, however, I love the fact that Viola is Christ-centered. His “afterthought” gives me chills in its Christ-centered nature. Everything revolves around Christ. If this is the only message of this book and the central theme that it is proclaiming then count me as a fan. But is that really all there is to it…

What I Disliked:

Viola uses phrases and introduces themes that are huge to swallow. This book is subtitled “rediscovering the ageless purpose of God”. If that is the case then I would expect a little more teaching and attempts to prove his point. I am not sure that I disagree with Viola but I am at the same time not certain that I agree. He does not labor to prove his point but merely states it as so. At times I think he is given to far too much “sanctified imagination” and interprets the Bible more like Origen would. Is that wrong? I am not certain. There are times when I would put a question mark over whole sections or write out to the side “sounds more like Gnosticism”. It seems like he has a “spiritual” understanding of things; almost like trying to talk to a “spiritual” person from the Word of Faith movement.

But then again there are entire sections of this book that I underlined and absolutely loved. So, I dislike the fact that I cannot decide whether this book is a 1 or a 5.

Should You Buy This Book?

I have no idea. Perhaps the best advice would be to buy it and use a ton of discernment. But that would go for any book I suggest. Part of me wants to say do not buy the book but rather by Christopher Wright’s book The Mission of God. But then another part of me says buy this book AND by Wright’s book. How about this? You buy it and then explain it to me. Is it weird and borderline Gnosticism or is it biblical and Christ-centered?

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. (Just because I’m not sure if it should be a 1 or a 5)

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I have reviewed this book as part of the From Eternity to Here blog tour:

The following bloggers are posting a review or Q & A with Frank Viola on his bestselling book FROM ETERNITY TO HERE today, Tuesday, July 21st. You may order the book at a discount at http://www.frometernitytohere.org/ – it’s also on audio book. Free discussion guide, sample chapters, interviews, and a free audio of the first chapter are available on that site also. Here are the bloggers who are participating:

Jay Becker – http://www.jaybecker.org/

Mark D – http://deadmanstravelog.blogspot.com/

Igniting Hearts – Kimber Britner – http://www.ignitinghearts.blogspot.com/

Karyn – http://tiger-kar.blogspot.com/

Barefoot Preacher – http://thebarefootpreacher.blogspot.com/

Every Day Angels – http://www.weareeverydayangels.com/

FaithEngineer – http://www.faithengineer.com

Kristen Schiffman – http://dancinginthemargins.typepad.com/

CrossPointe: The Church at Bevo – http://churchatbevo.blogspot.com/

Crazy Love for God – crazyloveforgod.blogspot.com

Amazima Ministries – oatsvallteam.blogspot.com

Down to Write Honest – http://downwritehonest.com/

A Beautiful Mess – http://blnorth1105.blogspot.com/

The Blakes on a Mission – http://www.theblakesthailand.blogspot.com/

Words by Jud Kossum – http://judkossum.blogspot.com/

Eric Jaffe – http://www.ericjaffe.org/

Reconnect with God – http://www.reconnectwithgod.org/

2nd Cup of Coffee – http://www.2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com/

Nolan Bobbitt Website – http://www.nolanbobbitt.com/

Klappyanne – www.xanga.com/klappyanne

Daveingland – http://www.daveingland.com/

Randi Jo Rooks – http://seedsinmyheart.blogspot.com/

Ephesians Five – http://ephesiansonefive.blogspot.com/

Michael Bayne – http://www.michaelbayne.net/

Encounter Church Helena Blog – encounterhelena.org

Thoughts B4 Conviction N2 Action – tsharrison.blogspot.com

Edevotion – http://www.e-devotion.blogspot.com/

Seeking After – http://seekingafter.blogspot.com/

Eric Powell – http://www.encounterhelena.org/

Borrowed Light – http://fbcnewlondon.blogspot.com/

Monday’s Ministry Musing: Hired Shepherds v. Jesus-type Shepherds

Mike Leake 1 Comment

I have a young pastor friend that I am extremely proud of. (Not that I’m not proud of my other pastor friends, but this guy takes the cake right now). This is his first pastorate and it has not been a grand experience as of yet. The details do not matter. What pertains to this post is his attitude. The only thing that you need to know is that he is having to endure a dangerous disposition from an influential man in the church. Shepherd_in_Israel From what it sounds like this is the type of guy that could split the church.

My young pastor friend has decided that rather than leave town he is going to take the bullets for the sheep God has entrusted to him. Rather than being a hireling he is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. This guy is modeling the heart of Jesus: “12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:12-15)

I’ve known, and heard stories of, my fair share of pastors that leave when things get tough within ministry. “These people are not ready to follow my leadership”, I have heard. “I no longer am able to serve with joy”, some have said. “There is no future here”, has been offered. “I do not want to stir up anymore strife, for the sake of the church I will leave”, an admirable sounding excuse. I am sure you have heard some of these as well (or maybe even offered them). They all sound pretty good and may even be legit. Problem is they sound more like the hired hand than the Jesus-type shepherd.

If you are in the ministry for any reason other than seeing the glory of God displayed through the spread of the gospel to the nations then you will flee when the wolf comes. The hired hand looks for comfort. You can’t comfortably kill a wolf, you might even die from it. Jesus did but he took the wolf down with him. He destroyed the wolf through his death not through his comfort.

Whether it is money, ease, fame, pleasure, respect, power, notoriety, selfish ambition, pride, a jewel in heaven, a street of gold, or a really cool Pope hat, if this is your reason for being a shepherd you will run as soon as you see a wolf. Worse yet, you might befriend the wolf. Maybe you’ll cut a deal with the wolf. That way you can keep your title, most of your comfort, and only have to deal with a few sheep getting devoured. But that’s the hired hand. The Jesus-type shepherd isn’t satisfied with only 99. He goes after the lost sheep. He doesn’t sit by and let any of his sheep get devoured even if it means losing money, fame, pleasure, comfort, or the really cool Pope hat.

Pastor, you may have seasons where the wolf isn’t bothering with your sheep. You will have days when you can joyously tend to your sheep. And sometimes you might be called to a different sheep pen. But if you leave your sheep because things get tough then you aren’t a Jesus-type shepherd. One example then I’ll stop meddling.

Take the “I’m leaving because I do not want to stir up more strife, for the sake of the church I will leave”. If you are the one causing the strife then you aren’t being a shepherd anyway. That’d be like a shepherd having mutton for lunch and wearing wool underpants. So, yeah, maybe you should leave. But if there is deep conflict and it is because ungodly people are treating you in an ungodly fashion, or even if there are wolves in your midst…you DON’T leave the sheep at this time. This is when they need the shepherd the most. Take the bullet or rather the wolf bites, that’s your job. That’s why I am proud of my young pastor friend.

The hired hand leaves. The Jesus-type shepherd lays down his life. Which are you?

Also, I know this is not as black and white as I’ve presented it. Feel free to disagree and bring out the other side to this. This is called a “musing” for a reason…

This Week in Blogworld 7/17

Mike Leake

This will be two weeks worth of stuff…I never got around to posting last week with church camp and everything else going on. 

I’ve never heard of Francis Grimke but apparently Thabiti Anywabile has.  These two things to guard against when taking a stand is worth checking out. 

Morris Chapman has offered a clarification on his words at the SBC Annual Meeting.  Timmy Brister responds…with more to come later.  Timmy also discusses a little about the Clark Logan resignation here.

If I read the post correctly, Rod Dreher asks, “How do we raise kids in a pornified culture”.  Zach Nielsen gives his answer. 

What a great quote here by Spurgeon about the Bridge of Grace.

Boundless has put together a couple of posts talking about Joshua Harris’ I Kissed Dating Goodbye.  Check out Post #1 and Post #2.  Also check out Josh’s response. 

Nathan Finn has begun what looks like an interesting series: 15 Factors that have changed the SBC since 1979…that’s part one. 

Tony Reinke’s suggestions on indexing books is very helpful.  If only I had the discipline to listen.

The iMonk assess the Blogosphere’s Spirituality.  Helpful insights here.

Chuck Lawless has written an open letter to Older Southern Baptists.  I didn’t read it because I don’t qualify…that’d be like reading someone else’s mail right?

I’m a huge fan of Christopher Wright.  Recently he wrote for Koinonia a couple pieces on a false dichotomies in mission.  Check out part 1 and part 2.

Denny Burk provides a good commentary on Derek Webb’s new song/album. 

Good question and sound advice.  When do you begin the structural change toward elders?  Thabiti provides his answer and Michael McKinley offers his answer.

Carl Trueman talks about hurt mail as the new hate mail.

This question makes me laugh but it’s actually quite serious: How do I get black people to come to my church?

Here are three videos for your viewing pleasure.  I have yet to watch them all but they looked good…my internet connection is being weird and I would have to spend about 3 hours to view these 3 short videos.  If something is “off” or needs to be taken down please let me know.

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  (HT: Garrett)

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  (HT: Z)

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  (HT: iMonk)

Thinking Through the Deliberate Church Chapter 5

Mike Leake

As always, if you are just joining the discussion then please check out the foreword, intro, and chapter one. You can catch up pretty easily. If you have yet to buy the book I would suggest buying it for a paltry 9 bucks, here.deliberatechurch

Quick Summary:

Chapter 5 covers the issue of church discipline.  Few things are more neglected, abused, and misunderstood as the issue of church discipline.  This chapter (along with a few books) needs to be circulated throughout all churches.  I had read this chapter previously but after reading it again I was blown away by something I had missed the first time: building a foundation. 

Dever begins this chapter by showing the difference between formative and corrective discipline.  Formative discipline is like exercise; it is what you do to keep healthy.  Such things as Bible study, prayer, small groups, worship, are in place to help followers of Jesus to grow.  Corrective discipline is like surgery; it is what you do to regain health.  This can be as “simple” as a loving rebuke or admonishment or as trying as public church discipline.  Both forms of discipline are necessary for a healthy church.

“…before discipline can be productive, there must be a context of both meaningful spiritual relationships and structurally sound leadership.”  This is the part that I missed reading this chapter the first time.  I think my view of discipline was so transformed that I desired us to return to a biblical view of church discipline.  But as Dever says, “loving engagement in each other’s spiritual lives must be normalized in a positive and formative way before corrective discipline can be sustained.”  Furthermore, there should be a solid structure of leadership in place; otherwise it looks like only the pastor is pushing for discipline.  Such a thing prevents an “us v. him” mentality.

We are also given a couple tips to assist us in the process of corrective church discipline.  Dever suggests forming a “care list”.  He suggests presenting such a list verbally at a congregational meeting.  The “care list” does not necessarily mean that you are involved in sin, it only means you need prayer.  Making a person’s name available to the congregation helps in the process.  In such instances we ought to make it open for members to “privately air questions”. 

Another helpful thing is to teach beforehand what excommunication means.  Remind the congregation what it means to remove someone from the membership rolls.  What does it mean to treat someone like an unbeliever?  It does not mean that they are not allowed to come to church.  It just means that we cannot have biblical fellowship with them.  And certainly we would not allow known unbelievers to serve in church positions. 

Dever then closes up not only this chapter but the entire section by again reminding us to patiently teach and preach the Word of God.  Be patient!  And trust in the fact that Jesus is building His church.

Quotables:

“Neglecting corrective discipline can be deadly for a church.  No one likes the prospects of going under the knife.  But sometimes it is the knife that saves your life.”  (68)

“Sin needs darkness to grow—it needs isolation disguised as ‘privacy,’ and prideful self-sufficiency disguised as ‘strength.’  Once these conditions prevail, sin is watered with the acid of shame, which then makes darkness appear more attractive to the sinner than light.  But when we walk in the light by confessing our sins, we realize that we are not alone in our struggles, and we open ourselves to the protective rebukes and loving corrections that function as pesticides to curb the destructive and enslaving potential of habitual sin.”  (68-69)

“Healthy member relationships must be recovered before corrective discipline can be carried out realistically.”  (69)

“Without [a] context of deeply interpenetrating spiritual relationships, corrective discipline will be like walking up to a child whom you see only once a month and spanking him in the street.”  (69)

Questions:

  • What does your church do to create an atmosphere of discipline?  What types of things do you do for formative discipline?  What does your church do for corrective discipline?
  • Dever suggests reading Matthew 18:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; and Titus 3:9-11, then answering this question: How should we treat disciplined members?
  • What do you think of Dever’s suggestion of a “care list”?
  • Do you have any appropriate stories that you would like to share about church discipline? 
  • What are your thoughts on this chapter?
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