With the release of Pagan Christianity? and Reimaging Church in the past two years, Frank Viola's message has brought about a great deal of commotion in Western Christianity. His straight-forward manner will confront fan and critic alike with the theme of his writing. His writing style is full of informing content without being overly intellectual. Viola manages to grab the attention of the reader and keeps it until the conclusion.

In his latest book, From Eternity to Here, Frank Viola expresses his passion for, what he calls, "God's eternal purpose." Stepping out of a self-focused view of Christianity, that views all events in relation to personal benefit, Viola paints a picture of the heart of Father before the Fall. What was on the heart of God before humanity fell? What remains God's primary purpose in the scope of eternity? These questions are addressed throughout the book in a biblically-sound, narrative manner.

This is an interview with George Barna and Frank Viola on their book, Pagan Christianity, and Other Issues Involving Missional Organic Church. Questions by Dries Cronje — December 2, 2008.

Question: Tell us a bit about yourselves... How did you end up where you are, serving God and bearing fruit for Him?

George: I began by managing political campaigns for people running for Congress and other elective offices. I enjoyed the speech writing and survey research most, so I returned to grad school to get more degrees in research, then began working for a large marketing research firm. One of our clients was a Christian media management company, which eventually hired me to run their research and marketing operations. After several years, my wife and I felt called to begin a company that provided strategic information for ministry leaders. Consequently, we returned to California to start The Barna Research Group in an effort to provide current, accurate and reliable information in bite-sized pieces, at affordable costs, to ministries so that they could make better strategic decisions. Along the way I’ve had the privilege of writing books that allow us to disseminate the information to a wider audience, along with all the articles and other free information we post on our website (barna.org). I’ve also been able to serve various roles in churches, from teaching pastor at a mega-church to founding elder in a church plant and, currently, as the leader and teacher in a house church.

Frank: After I retired from Major League pitching, I quickly became bored. So I started writing controversial Christian books :-). Just kidding. Ever since I’ve been a Christian, I've questioned the things we do and sought to evaluate them by the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. This has led me on an interesting journey, one that has landed me on a path that many have called "the deeper Christian life" which includes a fresh understanding and experience of the church.

As for serving God, I had many opportunities to publicly serve the Lord in my 20s, but I came to conclusion that I wasn't ready. I first needed to know Christ deeply, and I needed to understand His church experientially. Therefore, I spent my 20s learning those two things: Jesus Christ and the experience of the body of Christ.

Most of my peers were doing something different. They were taking leadership positions in parachurch organizations, some became pastors, some missionaries, etc. When we all hit the age of 30, something telling happened. Most of them burned out and a number of them aren't even following the Lord today. When I was 31 years old, the organic church of which I was a part laid hands on me and sent me out to begin the work of planting organic churches. And I've been engaged in it ever since.

The Book and its Topic

Oops… Here comes trouble! Pagan Christianity? by Frank Viola and George Barna is going to cause a stir. In fact, anyone frequenting the blogosphere will be well aware of the ripples it has caused already.

So, what's the big problem? Well... Frank and George are taking on the institutional church. Much like Martin Luther did. In England a good couple of centuries ago, these two would have been facing execution for their claims.

Like many Christians today, Frank and George are tired of going to church, and sitting passively in the pews, watching “a show”. They realize that disciples of Jesus are the Church, and they want to be the Church in the way they were meant to. They are not crazy rebels spreading rumors in order to do the Body of Jesus harm...

They are revolutionaries trying to change the future and trying to get Jesus’ idea of Church and our idea of Church on the same page.

Pagan Christianity? was first released by Frank Viola in 2003. This 2nd version is revised and updated, and this time the book sports the name of Christian research heavyweight George Barna. Barna is a respected and influential voice in church conversation, and author of Revolution to which this edition of Pagan Christianity is a sequel. All good news for Viola, and for the Church at large, since Barna’s name promises to get the truths communicated here spread faster and wider than before.

The Book and its Topic

When Good Men Are Tempted... What a helpful title for a book. Most of the Church somehow manages to stay quiet on the matter of sexual immorality. This causes many disciples to struggle in silence, and to remain enslaved to unholy behavior.

Having a problem with sexual purity is not an easy thing to admit... and as you grow as a Christian, and do more for the Lord, it just gets harder and harder to admit that you don’t have everything sorted out.

Luckily, Bill Perkins had the guts to talk about this problem—excuse me, to write a book about this problem.

What does this mean to you and me? Maybe, if we are willing to stop and allow God to heal us, we won’t have to face the humiliation and shame of our problem one day going public against our will. And our ministry going down the drain with it. Even more importantly, Jesus already did everything to enable us to be free now! And in Revelation he repeatedly admonishes us to live a victorious life.

Having a problem with sexual immorality is not hard or strange in such a sex obsessed world. But, it is still wrong. It is still a sin. And the consequences of sin, is (unfortunately) still death (see James 1:15).

That is why it is such a good idea to use When Good Men Are Tempted to come clean before God. Use this book, based on Bill’s experiences and escape, to allow God to remove this ugly, unwanted part of your life.

The Book and its Topic

Allen Carr was a genius. In The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, Allen tells the story of how he smoked almost 100 cigarettes per day, and tried every possible method to stop. He failed time and time again.

Eventually, he accepted his fate and knew he would shortly die prematurely due to his smoking.

Then a light went on for him. He started seeing smoking for what it really was – a drug addiction, and he started seeing the reason why people kept on smoking – brainwashing.

This excellent book helps smokers, while they continue to smoke, take a step back and look at their slavery through a clear, unpolluted lens. Allen helps these smokers remove the greatest forces keeping them in their slavery before they even attempt to quit.

Allen’s method to stop smoking has already cured millions of people. Before his death, he was widely recognized as the world’s leading expert on stopping smoking.

If you follow Allen’s method:

• You will not need willpower.
• You will not gain weight.
• You will not feel deprived.
• You will need no gimmicks, shocks, or substitutes.
• You will not suffer serious withdrawal pangs.

Exciting news... I'll shortly be launching a new online venture called The Jesus Feed. This blog will provide the platform of a new tribe of people serious about following Jesus. It will provide online resources to assist followers, as well as daily blog posts to re"frame" the identity, actions and words of Jesus for the new generation - the Google-world.

The launch date is 15 November 2008, and at that time a free crash course will be made available, called Following Jesus 101. Be sure to subscribe in your preferred format before then.

One of the things I am most excited about is the weekly challenges - every week, I'll post a challenge. Something taken from the life or words of Jesus, that is measurable, and doable, to anyone. This will help readers physically act upon their belief, and assist them in doing what Jesus demands from his followers. I will be doing the challenges myself, and will encourage visitors to comment to the challenge blog post when they are done, so that we can learn from each other, set an example to each other, and just let our light shine together.

Don't miss this... The world is a sad, broken and hurting place for most people. We need to go out and expose them to the love of Jesus. I sincerely believe, that if more people just does what Jesus recommends, the world will be closer to the paradise God originally intended for us. Please join me on this quest! Subscribe to the daily email content updates now at The Jesus Feed.

By the way... It's been a little quiet on the BookDisciple.com blog as of late. This is mainly due to the fact that I attended a wonderful gathering of church leaders and innovators in Berlin and Wittenberg, Germany. I am slowly finding my feet again, and you can expect a couple of interesting reviews before the end of the week!

The Book and its Topic

After reading Peppermint-filled Piñatas, I have a hint that deep down Eric Bryant is a story teller. That much seems obvious. Now... is there anything that we need more than stories?

Especially stories that inspire us so much that we have no choice but to act upon what we learn. That is what’s on offer here.

Boy, would Leonard Sweet be proud of me for remembering that much from his books!

Eric goes on to admit to a love for sharing stories in the acknowledgements – at the back of the book. Sneaky!

Peppermint-filled Piñatas is more than an interestingly named book, with a couple of entertaining stories. I can sense God wanting the world to read this book and embrace its message. It is about breaking through tolerance and embracing love. In short, it is about love...

Eric uses his keen sense of humor and his story-telling ability to get across this important message. We really need to hear it. All of us.

He starts by looking at people and why they matter most. Here he explores how we can make more friends, party more to expand our influence, and how we can use common causes to relate to others.

The Book and its Topic

Revolutionary Parenting. Not ordinary parenting...

Do you want to raise a spiritual champion? Honestly, what Jesus-following parent doesn’t? That is what Revolutionary Parenting is all about. Raising kids with a life-impacting faith. The groundbreaking research (that you have become so accustomed to) conducted by George Barna and the Barna Group shows you what really works.

So, what is a spiritual champion? The definition given in Revolutionary Parenting states that a spiritual champion is “An irrepressible follower of Jesus Christ who accepts the Bible as truth, lives by its principles, and seeks ways to impact the world and continually deepen his or her relationship with God.”

Wow! That must be the best summary of what I would like to see in my kids one day...

George Barna does not spare you the gory detail. He dives right in with some really unsettling facts about today’s 8 to 12 year olds. Hair-raising stuff. And if that’s what’s going on with them, I don’t want to know what the moral condition of today’s college students are...

The Book and its Topic

The Gospel According to Starbucks is a book about passion. If you frequent this website you would have noticed that I like passion and books about passion.

I believe we are to desire God, and that as John Piper says on the rear cover of Desiring God: “The pursuit of pleasure is not optional. It is essential.” What is more pleasurable than working on something you feel passionate about?

See, I reckon God gives us the desires of our heart (see Psalm 37:4), in a way, to guide us through our earthly life. If we delight ourselves in him, that is. It is very hard to go against what you want to do, what is enjoyable to you, those big passions, dreams and discomforts inside of you. God created you like that in order to reach His goals through you.

Leonard Sweet shows us that Starbucks is known throughout the world because people enjoy the experience. Starbucks and their baristas are passionate about coffee, and it shows. It rubs off on us.

Sweet explains that the Starbucks experience is an EPIC experience. It is Experiential, Participatory, Image-rich and Connective. These four elements of the Starbucks experience are the real reasons behind the Starbucks success story.

Far from giving Starbucks an appeal to authority, Len writes about the experience they offer "ad hominem". The book was not authorized by Starbucks.

The Book and its Topic

Brian McLaren’s little gem, More Ready Than You Realize, focuses on evangelism. There are few words less popular… Sadly, evangelism is the topic of endless debate and disagreement inside the church.

To those deciding not to believe in Jesus (who has the right to choose for themselves and the right to be respected as such) also dislike the word and the notion. The problem is that some Christians use their efforts to evangelize to move people God dearly loves and misses further away from God. The main reason for their failure is ignorance.

We all need to consider carefully what Brian shares here. It is important for the present day, postmodern church to get back to loving our neighbors. Back to forming authentic friendships and helping people move in the general direction of Jesus Christ.

Jesus used the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate to us that our neighbors are those outside our little huddles, including those outside the church. Our neighbors are those people that God dearly loves and with whom He wishes to be reconciled. And guess who his agents of reconciliation are…

You guessed it! You and me.

Brian starts, continues and finishes More Ready Than You Realize by continual references to an email conversation he had with someone searching for God, for over 2 years. April met Brain at a book signing where she was the source of some background music. Brian then helped her load her harp back in the car afterward, and what followed was a long and meaningful conversation on faith.