Beyond Evangelical

The rhetoric and name calling is getting ridiculous.

Actually, it’s been ridiculous for quite some time.

And I am tired of being told by those on the left that I cannot hang out with the conservatives because they want tax-cuts for the rich and fewer bargaining rights for unions, and I am tried of being told by those on the right that I cannot hang out with the liberals because they are in favor of homosexual marriage and amnesty for immigrants.

We are a divided country, and if our divisions were not bad enough, we are allowing these political differences to bring division to the church as well.

These things should not be.

So I was thrilled to recently read an ebook by Frank Viola called Beyond Evangelical. The book was based off some blog posts he wrote back in May 2011, and the bloggish origins of the book are evident throughout the book. It contains numerous hyperlinks to other internet resources, and even has an emoticon here and there. 🙂

But this is not a negative thing. I believe that as ebook evolve, we will see them become more and more like blog posts. The ebook will become the marriage between a book and a blog.

Regardless, the content of this book is fantastic. Frank Viola shows how evangelical Christianity has allowed itself to fracture along political lines, and how this division can heal.

And heal it must.

He is convinced, as am I, that seismic shifts in Christianity are coming in the very near future, and are already underway (p. 58). To come through these changes as healthy and vibrant as possible, we must be united.

But what is it that can unite us?

The one thing that has always united us: Jesus Christ.

It is easy to call for unity, of course.

It is much less easy to actually be unified.

Yet Frank Viola offers many practical and helpful suggestions for how follower of Jesus from all sides of the political and theological spectrum can come together with a common purpose and a common goal.

He suggests how to move beyond legalism and libertinism (chapter 10), how to move beyond sectarianism (chapter 13), and even (this truly would be a miracle!) how to move beyond Calvinism and Arminianism (chapter 14).

This is a great book by Frank Viola, and I hope that it helps all of us move beyond the titles and labels we give ourselves (or paste upon others), and take the next step in following Jesus into the world with love and unity. If you want to get a copy of this book for yourself, here is the link: Beyond Evangelical.