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Present Testimony Ministry Newsletter Journeying in the Revolution July 2008 Update from Frank - A Remarkable Six Months I've not stopped being amazed at what the Lord is doing in 2008. And the year is only half way finished. Here are a few unprecedented events that come to mind. (1) God has given me the privilege of collaborating on a book with George Barna (Pagan Christianity), and He's allowed it to be published by a major Christian publisher (Tyndale House). What's unique about this is that no Christian publisher would have touched Pagan Christianity a few years ago. Times have dramatically changed. Add to that (to our surprise), the book has become a bestseller. In addition, the reaction has been extremely encouraging. Since it's official release in January, I've received over 10,000 emails from people all over the world. With the exception of a few emails (some of it "hate mail" :-), the overwhelming majority of the responses to the book has been very positive. We are thankful and awed. (2) N.T. Wright has written a classic that I believe has the potential of changing the course of church history. Like no other book ever written (in my opinion), it is the clearest statement on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its practical implications on the mission of the church. It's called Surprised by Hope. I had the privilege of spending hours with Wright last year where we both spoke at an Emerging Church conference (along with Brennan Manning, another giant in the faith). There are few men who I respect more in the Lord than Tom Wright. He's one of the foremost figures that God is using in this hour. (3) I'm pleased to announce the release of my new book, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity. So much of my heart is tied up in this volume. As the constructive sequel to Pagan Christianity, Reimagining Church seeks to paint a picture of what church can and (in my judgment) should be. The book roots the spiritual principles of church life in the New Testament and in the nature of God Himself. It also contains stories and practical examples. In Jeremiah 1:10, we read: "I have this day set thee . . . to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." Pagan Christianity was never meant to be a book that stands alone. Rather, it is the first part of a fuller argument. To borrow language from Jeremiah, it's the part that seeks to "root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down." Reimagining Church is the second part of the argument, and it begins the process of "building and planting." Sixteen years ago (1992), Christian Smith wrote an outstanding book entitled Going to the Root. For me, this was THE book to hand to people who wanted to understand a new paradigm for church. Sadly, this book is no longer in print. I may be stretching it here, but I'm hoping that Reimagining Church will replace the role of Going to the Root. You see, since Smith's book went out of print, there's been somewhat of a vacuum. There's been a great need for a single volume to cover the waterfront of what organic church life looks like and how it's rooted solidly in the New Testament and in God Himself. While there have been many fine books written on the church over the years, to my knowledge, there really hasn't been one that covers the whole gamut and answers common objections. This was my goal in writing Reimagining. I very well may have failed to pull it off, but I gave it my best shot. Reimagining Church will not be in bookstores (including Amazon.com) until August. But you can order copies right now from www.ReimaginingChurch.org from any country. Books ship immediately. There's also a sample chapter available as well. (Please be sure to read the ordering directions at the bottom of the page. You will receive an email receipt if you ordered correctly.)
***What's Coming*** (4) This August, I will have the great privilege of speaking with Paul Young ("The Shack"), Wolfgang Simpson, Tony and Felicity Dale, John White and others at the 2008 National House Church Conference in Dallas, TX. I hope that you will make plans to attend as I love meeting those on our mailing list. The dates are August 29 to 31. You can register here or by going to www.house2house.com. (5) My friends, Jon Zens and Milt Rodriguez, are also coming out with new books this Summer. I read the manuscripts for both last month and really enjoyed them. I also had the privilege of writing the forewords for both (something I rarely do). It's my belief that these books will contribute positively to the present Revolution. Both books will be featured on www.HouseChurchResource.org when they are released. So keep an eye out. (6) Many of you have asked where you can find others who are interested in meeting as an organic church in your city. I would strongly encourage you to go to http://www.housechurchresource.org/findorganicchurch.html and fill out the form. You will be notified when an organic church is planted in your area, if one doesn't already exist. (7) Finally, some have asked me for my opinion on the recent events in Lakeland, Florida under Todd Bentley. My answer to the question can be found in a message I delivered earlier this year on the difference between the visitations of God vs. the dwelling of God. You can download the message for free at http://ptmin.org/messages.htm. It's Message #1. Yours in His bonds, Frank Frank is Blogging Many of our readers have asked Frank to start a blog. If that's you, your wish has come true. Here is the address for Frank's blog: http://frankviola.wordpress.com/ Please add a link to it on your blogroll (if you have a blog) and/or your web site. This would be appreciated. New Interviews and Messages on MP3 * New Print Interview with George Barna and Frank Viola. * Audio Interview with George and Frank. * Go to www.ptmin.org/messages.htm to freely download some recent conference messages. Are You Between 21 and 35 Years Old? Back in September of 2007, we asked all of our readers who are between 21 and 35 to email us with some basic information. Since that time, our mailing list has almost doubled. So if you are in that age range, and haven't already responded, please take the time to do the following: Write an email to me (Jeanette) at PTMIN@aol.com and include the following information. Your first and last name: Your age: Your sex: Your city and state: (if you live outside the USA, please state the country). If you meet in a house church, please share a little bit about it: We will be sending out a special mail-out to this age group in the future. Again, if you've already done this last year, don't do it again. But if you haven't, we'd love to hear from you! Connect with Frank on MySpace and Facebook MySpace - www.myspace.com/frankaviola FaceBook - http://www.facebook.com/people/Frank_Viola/630284992 Spoof Video and Other Updates * If you've not yet seen the Pagan Christianity spoof video, take a look. If you like it, pass it on to your friends. * Bible scholar and church historian Jon Zens has written some great articles on the Christian life and the church. He addresses important subjects that few writers address. Go to http://searchingtogether.org/articles.htm to read the articles. * If you've read Pagan Christianity (the new edition), please tell us what you thought about it. We've established an email address just for this purpose. Please write your thoughts about the book to ReviewingPC@aol.com We would love to hear what impacted you the most. When you write, please tell us what country/state you are from. * Free eBook in four languages: Bethany: The Lord's Desire for His Church. English Version:
www.ptmin.org/bethany.pdf
Regards,
Jeanette ANYWAY People are
unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. If you are
successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies. The good you do today
will be forgotten tomorrow. Honesty and frankness
will make you vulnerable. What you spend years
building may be destroyed overnight. People need help but
will attack you if you help them. In the final
analysis, it is between you and God. ~ Kent Keith, made famous by Mother Teresa* * Kent Keith originated this poem in 1968, and Mother Teresa placed it on her children's home in Calcutta in a slightly different version. As a result, many have attributed it to Mother Teresa. If You Ordered a Book, But Haven't Received It Just a note that if you complete an order for our materials, you will always receive an EMAIL RECEIPT. If you don't receive an email receipt, it means you didn't complete your order and you will have to re-order. Please read the ordering instructions at the bottom of www.paganchristianity.org or www.reimaginingchurch.org carefully. To unsubscribe, send an email to ptmnewsletter@hotmail.com and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
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