A Review of Frank Viola's Organic Church Writing

Though I have been writing about and experimenting in organic church, of a sort, for years, it's only recently that I've started paying attention to Frank Viola and his ministry.  Oh, I heard his name and saw people carrying his books around at the Christian university where I teach, but it never really caught my attention.  From the titles of his books, I assumed we were somewhat on the same page, and I was glad for the company.

However, since I will be attending one of his conferences in July (why?  long story), I thought I would pick up one or more of his books and check it out.  The first one I read was Finding Organic Church, and I was a bit non-plussed.  I found that Viola's idea of organic church is opposed to the missiological church planting that I've been influenced by (see my recommends), it might have a problematic view of authority, and it's a lot more sociologically driven/humanistic than I'm comfortable with.  Then I read Reimagining Church and was confused, pleased, and a bit disturbed.  It's a much better book overall, but it pushes a vision which is divisive, it tries to build on an either/or fallacy about church blueprints, and it mischaracterizes the Trinity in order to mischaracterize authority in the church.  Other than that, it's great.

Now, let me qualify my statements above and this project as a whole.  I could be misinterpreting Viola's words, and he could have missed his communicative intent in his writing.  We could be coming at the same problems in different vocabularies.  Or, we could have real differences, but we're both growing into the truth as God leads. Therefore, as with all Christian brothers and sisters, I want to be careful not to "speak evil" of Viola, while still bringing up valid and, perhaps, serious critiques of his work.  

Why critique his work at all?  Partly to help myself think through it, but also because I care about the success and purity of the reformation of the church.  Viola has a high enough profile, now, that he is exerting a significant influence on a generation of seeking young Christians who grew up in the traditional church.  Is his influence a good one?  Is he leading them in right attitudes towards the institutional church?  Is he leading them by right example in how he handles the scripture?  Is he leading them in right principles in how the truth of God interacts with behavioral psychology?  

Whether he realizes it or not, Viola is laying down a "blueprint" and a "liturgy" (terms he dislikes) for a new kind of church meeting. His ideas can be edifying, but they can benefit from some sharpening and judging (in the sense of prophets judging one another; I Cor. 14:29).  So, here is my humble (I hope) take on his books and ideas.  May God grant us to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  

Here are my initial thoughts on Finding Organic Church, specifically on some of the good things I took out of the book.  But the first installment of my more negative thoughts is titled Organic Church Community Without God? I agree that Viola makes some good points about apostles, but I also have some questions and cautions about his pronouncements. See the links above for more installments, and read my chapters to see how I approach these church issues.