One-on-One with Author Frank Viola
I really enjoy Frank Viola’s blog and his books on Christianity and the Church’s place in the world today. (Yes, this is Frank Viola the author, not the baseball player!) Recently, we were emailing back-and-forth and here are some of his answers to questions I thought might also bless my readers, too. Be sure to check out his book Pagan Christianity? and Reimagining Church.
After reading Pagan Christianity? and Reimagining Church, readers may find themselves processing words like “church” or “communion” different than the rest of our culture. What adjustments have you had to make to the way you communicate since most of us initially define the words you use through the filter of our pagan traditions?
Frank: I try to define them when talking to people in the IC and we’re conversing on the subject.
The books in your ReChurch Library fit together very nicely as a continuous narrative. Clearly, even when you wrote The Untold Story of the NT Church (the first book in the series), you had the final books (From Eternity to Here and Jesus Manifesto) in mind. The kicker is that these books were written over the span of a many years. How did you go about writing this series as a cohesive whole?
Frank: It was really the sovereign ordering of the Lord. When publishers were interested, they contacted me and were interested in certain books. so we put them out in the order in which the publishers were interested. The order, I think, works well. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church came first. Pagan Christianity? came second, then the other three with David Cook, who did them in the order I wanted.
Some of your titles have stirred up controversy, a risk I’m sure you had to weigh when writing them. Do you see yourself as a risk-taker and what advice would you give to writers of fiction or non-fiction material when it comes to risk-taking in their writing?
Frank: The only advice I have is to write what God has given you and be faithful to His calling. Don’t worry about the results.
Finally, because I have strong roots in children’s book writing, I’m always thinking about ministry to kids. What role does ministry to kids play in an organic church?
Frank: It varies from church to church. Since we have strong community life, the children are exposed to the Lord through the other members constantly. They look at the adult believers as their heroes and role models and spiritual aunts and uncles. It’s really neat to watch.
Be sure to check out Frank’s blog and his books today!
