The companion to "Pagan Christianity" is out. Another Great read from Frank Viola.
http://www.ptmin.org/Below quoted from the web page in the link above:
"Book Description
Each year, one million Christians leave the traditional church. Why? Join Frank in this constructive follow-up to "Pagan Christianity" as he shares God's original intent for the church, where the body of Christ is an organic, living, breathing organism. A church that is free of convention, formed by spiritual intimacy, and unbound by four walls.
"In Reimagining Church, Frank Viola is at the top of his game, showing a serene, soaring mastery of the theology of church as organism rather than organization."
Leonard Sweet, author of Soul Tsunami, Soul Salsa, and 11
"Dissent is a gift to the Church. It is the imagination of the prophets that continually call us back to our identity as the peculiar people of God. May Viola's words challenge us to become the change that we want to see in the Church ... and not to settle for anything less than God's dream for Her."
Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and recovering sinner (thesimpleway.org)
"True to form, this book contains a thoroughly consistent critique of prevailing forms of church. However, in Reimagining Church, Frank Viola also presents a positive vision of what the church can become if we truly reembraced more organic, and less institutional, forms of church. This is a no holds barred prophetic vision for the church in the twenty-first Century."
Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways and The Shaping of Things To Come
To read more endorsements, a sample chapter, and ordering information, click here.
Pagan Christianity
Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna (Tyndale, 2008).
From Newsletter:"Surprising News on Reimagining Church and Open Blog Comments
Frank's new book, Reimagining Church, officially released August 1st. Four days later, the first printing of 10,000 ran out. The book is now on its 2nd printing and the demand is overwhelming. Many are buying the book by the case to hand out to their friends.
If you read Pagan Christianity, then you will never have the full argument until you read Reimagining Church. Pagan Christianity isn't complete without it. Pagan only discusses the negative-deconstructive side of the argument; Reimagining develops the positive-constructive side, which is the most important part.
Frank has given this illustration.
"Let's say that I just purchased a plot of land and I wish to build a brand new house upon it. The new house is my goal. Before I can build my new house, I must first tear down the old dilapidated, unsafe house that's sitting on my plot of land. Once I tear down the house that presently exists, then I can begin building my new home. Reading "Pagan Christianity" without the sequel is like taking down the unsafe dilapidated house and being content with that. The problem is, the plot of land is still vacant and there's still no house to live in. "Reimagining Church" is like the building of the new house -- which is the goal of the entire process. To put it another way, reading "Pagan Christianity" is like hearing the first half of an important conversation. Reading "Reimagining Church" gives you the other half -- the most important part."
Although Reimagining Church is the constructive sequel to Pagan Christianity, it's written as a stand-alone book as well. So you can hand it to people who have never read Pagan Christianity.
If you haven't gotten your copy yet, the book is now on-sale at Amazon.com. (Amazon was out of stock for three weeks; but it's back in stock. Books ship immediately. Considering buying one for a friend too.)
If you are allergic to ordering online, the book is also being sold at Family Christian Stores, Barnes & Nobles, and Borders.
Group discounts can be ordered at
www.ReimaginingChurch.orgThe book is very easy-to-read, but it also contains enough depth that scholars will appreciate it also.
For example: Leonard Sweet, Professor at Drew Theological School and George Fox Seminary, is making Reimagining Church required reading for his seminary students. (Sweet was voted one of the top 50 most influential Christian leaders last year at #8.) Sweet says,
"It's one of the best things out there about organic church. Frank really understands organic. I love this book. I'm requiring it of my doctoral students, everybody I see. I'm kind of an evangelist now for Reimagining Church."
House churches, organic churches, and intentional communities are ordering the book by the case for their groups. Here's what some of them are saying about it:
"Our house church has ordered a case. We think it's the perfect book to give any house church a solid foundation in the scriptures and in Christ. All the common objections and questions that people ask about church are answered in this book in a compelling way. The discussion questions after each chapter are great for encouraging discussion too. Our house church will be going through each chapter a week. This will really help bring all of us on the same page and give us solid grasp of what we're doing and why. We also have many copies to hand to visitors when they ask us "Why do you meet this way?" I recommend this book to all house churches and simple churches both new and old" - DR
This book is a tremendous benefit to anyone meeting outside institutional Christianity as well as those who are interested in an alternative form of church. From my experience, the common ground that often holds Christians together who meet outside the traditional church is the understanding of what church IS NOT. I thought "Pagan Christianity" was a great book in explaining what church IS NOT. However, the sequel, "Reimagining Church," lays out the biblical and spiritual principles that show us what church IS. It shows the wonderful reality of the ekklesia of God, the reason for the church, and how it is central to God's eternal purpose. My hope is that every Christian who meets outside the traditional church structure would read this book, and every Christian who is interested in an alternative way of doing church would read it as well. - GW
"Over the past 12 years, we have had many visitors to our organic church gatherings. We often ask our visitors if they have questions or comments, but have found that most people don't even know where or how to begin with their questions. With "Reimagining Church," many of the "big" questions are asked and answered in a clear way that points to God's eternal purpose. I believe that being able to put this book in both brothers and sisters hands will help open up understanding and conversation, thus, pointing us into the fellowship of Christ." - CP
The Ooze just did a great review on the book also.
Endorsements by Leonard Sweet, Alan Hirsch, Shane Claiborne, Jon Zens, Tony and Felicity Dale, and others can be read at
www.ReimaginingChurch.org - a sample chapter is also available.
Frank continues to answer questions at
www.ptmin.org/answers.htm There are also some new updates as well.
If you have a website or blog, please write a review for the book.
***Open Comments on Frank's Blog***
Frank's new blog has become quite popular suddenly. The traffic to the blog has tripled over the last three weeks. Frank is doing some very creative things with it also, and he's allowing comments on certain days. The blog features brand new articles, reflections on life, jokes, etc. YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS THIS FRIDAY'S BLOG. WARNING: Be sure to put your sense of humor on. Join in the fun and participate in the conversations. Visit the blog at
http://frankviola.wordpress.com/ If you have a blog yourself, please put a link to it on your blogroll.
Two final things.
One, you will definitely want to hear Frank's message from the recent conference in Dallas, TX. You can download it freely below. Keep some tissue near you though. It's very moving.
Second, we have some new banners for "Reimagining Church" that you can place on your blog or website. They appear on the Reimagining Church web page, at the very bottom and on the side menu."
