2nd July — LOL — Just realised that this post has the wrong title and my mentions about the book in the first couple of paragraphs were wrong. I had “from Here to Eternity” and the book is actually “From Eternity to Here”. Can’t believe I did that and I can’t believe no-one picked up on that! Will leave the title the same for all the links that are to this article.
I am taking part in the “From Eternity to Here” blog circuit for today. For those of you who don’t know of Frank Viola, author and his latest book, “From Eternity to Here”, scroll down for a link to some info about the book.
As part of the blog circuit, in lieu of reading the book (can’t afford to buy it) I have asked Frank a couple of questions that he has kindly answered. Thanks Frank!
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Frank. To start with, within the context of deconstruction found in Pagan Christianity and Reconstruction in Reimagining — how does From Eternity to Here fit into the trilogy?
Great question. “From Eternity” presents the big, sweeping epic of God’s eternal campaign for a Bride, a House, a Body, and a Family. It’s an unveiling of His eternal purpose and grand mission. It’s the 50,000 foot view, if you please. The macro perspective. “Pagan” and “Reimagining” give us the “down in the weeds” view of church practice … the micro perspective.
In regards to simple church or organic church, why do you feel the need to have From Eternity to Here as part of the dialogue? Isn’t the dialogue noisy already with a myriad of books?
I wrote “From Eternity” precisely because the dialogue is so noisy and cluttered, lacking the stunning clarity that only Divine vision can give. So much of the discussion is about church forms, church structures, the way we “do” church, discipleship, and mission. But God is interested in one thing beyond all else. He has an eternal purpose that provoked Him to create. And He’s never let go of it. Yet, in my observation, the eternal purpose is the missing ingredient in the whole discussion. Once we see the eternal purpose and are captured by it, it changes everything. Then discipleship, mission, and church practice all fall into place … a different place, mind you. They adjust themselves to God’s ultimate intention. So the eternal purpose of God brings clarity of vision and purpose to the whole conversation. It also does this for every individual Christian, because it goes so far beyond these other issues. It touches the very life of every believer and brings us to the heart of the Christian life as God would have it to be.
What do you think the impact of Eternity to Here will be on the US and world church landscape?
I don’t know. It recently hit the CBA Bestseller List last month, which is an extremely encouraging sign. I do believe that if every Christian would read it, it would help change the course of church history. I say that soberly. It’s not because I wrote the book; it’s because of the message that it contains. A message we find in Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles. That message has been largely lost because of the theological “noise” that surrounds us. We hear bits and fragments of the purpose of God, but they are all disconnected and detached and made ends in themselves. The message of the “eternal purpose” (as Paul called it) is the governing vision of the Bible and the highest declaration of God in Christ that a person can know.
OTHER BLOGS PARTICIPATING IN THE “FROM ETERNITY TO HERE” BLOG CIRCUIT
Today (June 9th), the following blogs are discussing Frank Viola’s new bestselling book “From Eternity to Here” (David C. Cook, 2009). The book just hit the May CBA Bestseller List. Some are posting Q & A with Frank; others are posting full reviews of the book. To read more reviews and order a copy at a 33% discount, go to Amazon.com
For more resources, such as downloadable audios, the free Discussion Guide, the Facebook Group page, etc. go to the official website: http://www.FromEternitytoHere.org
Enjoy the reviews and the Q and A (Don’t forget the time difference — I may be one of the first to post this on the 9th — when it is still the 8th in USA!):
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Out of Ur — http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/05/viola.html
Shapevine – www.Shapevine.com (June newsletter)
Brian Eberly — http://www.brianeberly.com
DashHouse.com — http://www.DashHouse.com/
Greg Boyd — http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/
Vision Advance — http://vision2advance.blogspot.com/
David Flowers — http://ddflowers.wordpress.com
Kingdom Grace — http://kingdomgrace.wordpress.com
Captain’s Blog — http://www.captainestes.blogspot.com/
Christine Sine — http://godspace.wordpress.com
Darin Hufford — The Free Believers Network — www.freebelievers.com
Zoecarnate — http://zoecarnate.wordpress.com
Church Planting Novice — www.churchplantingnovice.wordpress.com
Staying Focused — http://kimmartinezstayingfocused.wordpress.com/
Take Your Vitamin Z — www.takeyourvitaminz.blogspot.com
Jeff Goins — http://jeffgoins.myadventures.org
Bunny Trails — http://bunny-trails.blogspot.com
Matt Cleaver — http://mattcleaver.com
Jason T. Berggren — http://blog.jasonberggren.com/
Simple Church — http://www.simplechurchjournal.com/
Emerging from Montana — http://wordofmouthministries.blogspot.com/
Parable Life — http://www.theparablelife.blogspot.com
Oikos Australia — http://www.oikos.org.au/blog/
West Coast Witness — www.WestCoastWitness.com
Keith Giles — http://www.Keith.Giles.com
Consuming Worship — http://www.consumingworship.org
Tasha Via — www.tashavia.blogspot.com
Andrew Courtright — www.andrewcourtright.blogspot.com
ShowMeTheMooneys! – http://www.showmethemooneys.com/
Leaving Salem — http://leavingsalem.wordpress.com/
Jason Coker — pastoralia.missionaltribe.org
From Knowledge to Wisdom — http://isthistheway.typepad.com/
Home Brewed Christianity — http://www.homebrewedchristianity.com
Dispossessed — http://kblog.kevinjbowman.com
Dandelion Seeds — http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Dandelionseeds
David Brodsky’s Blog– “Flip the tape Deck” — http://flipthetapedeck.blogspot.com/
Chaordic Journey — http://jeffrhodes.wordpress.com
Renee Martin — http://www.reneemartinmusic.com/profiles/blog/list
Bob Kuhn — http://organicchurchnola.wordpress.com/
Living with Freaks: www.livingwithfreaks.com
Real Worship — http://therealworshipleader.com
Fervent Worship — http://ferventworship.blogspot.com
Julie Ferwerda Blog — www.JulieFerwerda.com / www.OneMillionArrows.com
What’s With Christina?! — http://w2christina.blogspot.com
Irreligious Canuck — http://www.irreligiouscanuck.com
This day on the journey — http://guychmieleski.blogspot.com
Live and Move: Thoughts on Authentic Christianity — http://liveandmove.blogspot.com/
Spiritual Journey With God — http://www.elvineve.blogspot.com/
Dries Conje — http://www.echurch.co.za / http://www.thejesusfeed.com / http://www.bookdisciple.com
Journey with Others — http://journeywithothers.blogspot.com
On Now to the Third Level — www.080808onnowto.blogspot.com
Christine Moers — www.welcometomybrain.net
Breaking Point — http://marybethstockdale.wordpress.com
Jon Reid — http://jonreid.blogs.com/oneanother/welcome-pilgrim.html
Weblight — www.blog.worldwidewebservices.se/
D. L. Webster — http://gzmproductions.com/dlwebster
Searching for the Whole-Hearted Life — wholeheartedlife.blogspot.com
