eBook Revise Us Again: Living from a Renewed Christian Script ePub

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I finished reading "Revise Us Again: Living From A Renewed Christian Script" by Frank Viola. What a great book! I highly recommend every Christian to read it! "Revises Us Again" is refreshing book that takes a thoughtful but candid look at and a fresh perspective of how brothers and sisters gather together, sharing life together. The problem is our "religious script" as Frank calls it. "As Christians, we can safely assume that some of the script we have been handed matches the heart and mind of our Master. But typically, much of it doesn't." So begins a very revealing look at how typically the body of Christ relates according to the each others "script" and how to view our life as one in Christ, and to be "revised and re-visioned to match His heart and mind."

As I read the book Frank comes across like a brother sitting in your house (over some coffee, :)) with a gathering of brothers and sisters and sharing his heart about living by Christ's life, reminiscent of the little book "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As stated in the back of the book "Frank Viola believes we need to revisit and revise what it means to live the Christian life." Dietrich Bonhoeffer finding himself amidst an institutional church that had become apostate determined to learn to live by Christ's life and to do so organically in community underground in Nazi Germany. Bonhoeffer's thoughts on the importance of living in community by the life of Christ, "our life together under the Word," is described in his excellent booklet "Life Together." I can sense Bonhoeffer sitting around with the brothers and sisters sharing many of these thoughts that were put together in his booklet so many years ago. I get the same feeling as I read Frank's book "Revise Us Again." Frank, himself a church planter, with an apostolic functioning, brings his hearts burden for the body of Christ, those things he has learned of Christ as he walks with brothers and sisters organically, to learn to live by the life of Christ, to live by the Spirit.

Below are some thoughts from each of the chapters from the book:

- Chapter 1 (God's Three-Fold Speaking) one word - wow! Frank keys in on recognizing the different ways God speaks through His people and the importance of seeking the mind of Christ together. Frank sees how God communicated with His people in three typical ways in the past to how He communicates with His people in the present. He describes them as "thinkers," "feelers," and "doers." "Three temperaments, three denominations, and three forms of God's speaking." The problem is we often view how God communicates through only one of His three ways.

- Chapter 2 (The Lord Told Me). Frank notes the disturbing consequences of using "God told me" in the "vocabulary of a number of Christian traditions" and gives warning to those who "choose to use...hyperspiritual language." "I've routinely watched God get credit for things that He never authored and blamed for things He never imagined." Frank points out to speak with your own words what you believe God has said without having to punctuate it with "The Lord told me."

- Chapter 3 (Let Me Pray About It). Frank gives some real to life examples of instances where some of God's people were asked for help but never followed through and Christ's life was not increased. "In short, 'Let me pray about it' is Christian code language for 'No.'" How important it is to walk in wisdom and do what God has empowered us to do to help and serve others in love in the everyday moments of life. I am reminded of Proverbs 3:27-28, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, 'God and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,' when you have it with you." (NASB). May we learn to walk in wisdom.

- Chapter 4 (Spiritual Conversational Styles). Frank describes what he calls "spiritual conversational styles" or SCSs. SGS is the religious script of how we generally communicate with each other either charismatic, quoter, or pragmatic. By the way I tend to be a "quoter" if you haven't realized that by now, :). He makes a point that if we know each others SGS then we can "make progress in how we hear and understand one another." It sounds similar to Gary Chapman's "Five Love Languages," which is also a great book by the way, lol. Frank notes that most of our differences in opinion "over spiritual matters" are really over "differences in communication style" and describes the importance of being "better listeners" towards one another in order to better "understand each other."

- Chapter 5 (What's Wrong With Our Gospel?). Frank gives five "vital elements of the gospel" that are "neglected" in "a large portion of the Christian world." They are from brief scriptural phrases: "Christ in you, the hope of glory...who is our life;" Christ who is "head over all things;" God's "eternal purpose...in Christ Jesus our Lord;" "our old self was crucified with Him;" as as Job spoke "naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return." If Christ is not "at its center (it) is doomed to fail."

- Chapter 6 (The Felt-Presence of God). What a wonderful chapter! Frank writes with sensitivity and a conscious goal to help brothers and sisters to realize that "God is always present in the life of a believer - whether one actively feels His presence or not" and "to be conscious of His presence is to be 'intentionally aware' that He is with you and in you." This made a big impact on me. After having read this chapter and going to work the next day I realized how often I was not "intentionally aware" that Christ was with me and in me. How important to learn to set our minds on Him. Perhaps the same can be said of when we gather together with brothers and sisters, do we intentionally set our minds on Him or some thing or some one?

- Chapter 7 (Captured By The Same Spirit You Oppose). This chapter was like wow, deja vu, how many times have I seen and done the same thing. How many heartaches we give one another, how many loss of relationships occur because of this mindset. As Frank says: "we are all susceptible to this spirit...Each of us needs a steady dose of God's infinite grace to avoid falling sway to it."

- Chapter 8 (The God of Unseen Endings). This was an incredibly written chapter that looks at the mystery of Christ. Frank describes parallels in the Old and New Testament scriptures to show that "God takes away to establish, and what He establishes is always better than what He takes away" and "God's beginnings are our nights." Christ not the God of our expectations.

- Chapter 9 (Stripping Down to Christ Alone). I so appreciate Frank's candidness in this chapter. He describes what he is against, leery of, skeptical, opposed to, and critical of regarding the fleshly abuses in church gatherings. But how he is so much for "the centrality, supremacy, sovereignty, and exaltation of the Lord Jesus. Period."

- Chapter 10 (Your Christ Is Too Small). Frank describes his personal journey into the community of brothers and sisters in Christ. "I live by the Lord who lives in me, and I live by the Lord who lives in my fellow brethren (in whom Christ also dwells)." The body of Christ is a shared life. We know Christ through His body. Frank also gives warning about not moving forward in Christ together, not receiving Christ when he comes to us unexpected and the importance of diversity in the body of Christ.

- Afterword (The Three Gospels). Frank has mentioned these before but think the are still so relevant to be brought up as reminders and that is the gospel of libertinism and the gospel of legalism which are in reality not gospels, or good news, at all, they only "tether you to the flesh." Only Paul's gospel that he preached, the same as that of Christ Jesus is real, "the gospel of the new creation." This is perhaps one section above all others a must read, as institutionalism, whether in a house or a 'church" building, no matter the form, corrupts Christ to either libertinism or legalism.

So Frank ends his little book. I feel like I have sat around some brothers and sisters, those whom I love, those whom I have offended, and realize how dead the flesh is and how alive Christ wants to be expressed in me, in us, and I cry "Christ you are our life, may we so live by your life, come quickly, may it be so." How we need to remember these words about the Christian life: "For Paul, the Christian life is becoming what you already are." "Revise us Again" helps us to learn to live life together.

Opilar

Why do I have to say "Post-Charismatic"? That is because I had been in Pentecostal and Charismatic circle for more than 25 years and has not seen much fruits out of that (now I am calling myself "Post-Pentecostal"). I was blind for that long, which accurately described one of Frank Viola's 13 narrow lens that virtually each Christian had regardless of whether he/she was under impression from Bible, the Lord or God's Speaking. Here is list in no particular order:

CHARISMATIC/ PENTECOSTAL- only will stop only if he feels led of Spirit and sign is Rhema, not Logos.
CALVINIST- believes God made pre-decisions for everyone: running stop sign = never chosen to be saved... stopping at stop sign = already chosen to be saved.
DENOMINATIONAL TRADITIONALIST- follows tradition, does not bother to read the stop sign
LIBERTINE- begins to sign "Hallelujah, I am free!" and runs the stop sign at full speed.
PROPHETIC PREACHER- end time theological that sees sign as S T O P then multiply by 40 then divide by 4 equals 666.
LEGALIST- keeps condemning eye out to see if others run the stop sign
NEW TESTAMENT SCHOLAR- notes there is no stop sign on Mark Street because there is one on Matthew or Luke streets.
PROSPERITY PREACHER- will stop at sign, make positive confession concluding God made him rich.
ARMINIAN- believes if he ran the stop sign, he will lose salvation and works hard to stop at every sign.
SOUTHERN BAPTIST- believes God wants him to stop at sign, still saved if don't stop.
FUNDAMENTALIST- taking the text very literally, stops at stop sign
LIBERATION THEOLOGIAN- believes stop signs belong only to those who are elitist, wealthy; otherwise the poor are free to run whenever they wish.
SEMINARY EDUCATED EVANGELIST- something that prevents motion, might look up stop sign

SILLY, YES... that is how we have NARROW-MINDED LENS we inherited from variety of denominations. That is why we have 30,000 Christian denominations today, check Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna. I suggest that book will explain everything about how we got into one or more of 13 narrow lens listed in the Revise Us Again.

"Many Christians fear diversity. We all love unity, but we tend to toward uniformity.n This tendency is most clearly seen in denominational-ism. Diversity, however, is part of the nature of the Body of Christ."

The book is great in helping us see how variety of different denominations were created and formed, especially Spiritual Conversational Styles. Frank Viola has divided old testament into three parts: First books of Old Testament is Priest which made of THINKERS; Major and Minor Prophets and Historical Books is Prophet which is made of FEELERS; and Wisdom Literature that includes Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Job and Song of Solomon is WISE MAN which is made of DOERS. That is why we have three temperaments, three denominations and three forms of God's speaking. Hence, we have Spiritual Conversation Styles, that does not mean one is right, other is wrong. That is why we must not forget to see how God communicates only one of three ways. NO. Everything is right, but need balance. That is why Frank Viola has successfully concluded with THREE GOSPELS:

LEGALIST, LIBERTINE and CHRIST. I was guilty of being legalist for more than 25 years and now I am guilty of being libertine for now. Thanks to Frank, the description of CHRIST GOSPEL is very similar to WHO AM I IN CHRIST by Neil Anderson. We will know Christ's identity in our Christian life and we will make right.

I want to close with life-impacting that finally helped me understand what Christian Life is all about after 25 years of legalistic Christian Life:

"Throughout my Christian life, I've met believers who had their own private walks with the Lord. They never knew Christian community, yet they had an extremely strong devotional life. Every person who fit that bill was lopsided in some arena of their lives. The reason? They didn't avail themselves of the balancing and tempering of the body. No Christian is wired to live an individualistic Christian life. Without Christian community, we cannot grow normally in Christ. We are designed to live with other believers and receive their spiritual portion."

Anarius

This book is a collection of mini-writings along the themes that Viola has learned over the course of his faith journey. Some of the chapters are extended musings on his blog articles (eg. Conversational styles among various Christian camps). His writing style is to the point and not too academic -- it is clear and easy to follow.

I appreciate him for calling us back to the center of the gospel, which is Jesus. He speaks much needed corrections to both libertines (too much freedom while neglecting the issues of holiness) and legalists (trying to obtain holiness by trying harder) in applying the gospel message, as well as to the charismatics who may place too much emphasis on the gifts of Holy Spirit raher than on glorifying Jesus Christ.

I give four stars rather than five to this book because I felt that some of his criticisms utilize more of a straw man argument rather than deep understanding of the positions that he criticizes (for example, it is possible to come to know Jesus deeper through exercising the spiritual gifts. They are not contradictory). But overall, his points are well appreciated and he speaks words that deserve serious considerations for the charismatic churches.

Windforge

This book helps the serious believer review his own foundation, question his own or inherited dogma, and helps him to attempt to take everything only in relation to scripture, and not in relation of anyone else. In other words to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Many believers behold God's glory in the face of their denomination of 'church' tradition. Frank does a good job here, so that every believer lives from renewed script in line with scripture.