Reimagining Church Quotes

“In fact, I’ve met countless believers who have said, “The church is an organism, not an organization.” Yet as they formed those very words, they continued to be devout members of churches that were organized along the lines of General Motors and Microsoft.”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“Organic church life, however, is a wedding of glory and gore.”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“Within the triune God we discover mutual love, mutual fellowship, mutual dependence, mutual honor, mutual submission, mutual dwelling, and authentic community. In the Godhead there exists an eternal, complementary, and reciprocal interchange of divine life, divine love, and divine fellowship.”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“Unfortunately, the metaphor that dominates most of American Christianity doesn’t help us much; we usually envision the church as a corporation. The pastor is the CEO, there are committees and boards. Evangelism is the manufacturing process by which we make our product, and sales can be charted, compared, and forecast. Of course, this manufacturing process goes on in a growth economy so that any corporation-church whose annual sales figures aren’t up from last year’s is in trouble. Americans are quite single-minded in their captivity to the corporation metaphor. And it isn’t even biblical. —Hal Miller”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“Rodney Stark confirms the point, saying, For far too long, historians have accepted the claim that the conversion of the Emperor Constantine (ca. 285–337) caused the triumph of Christianity. To the contrary, he destroyed its most attractive and dynamic aspects, turning a high-intensity, grassroots movement into an arrogant institution controlled by an elite who often managed to be both brutal and lax.… Constantine’s “favor” was his decision to divert to the Christians the massive state funding on which the pagan temples had always depended. Overnight, Christianity became “the most-favoured recipient of the near limitless resources of imperial favors.” A faith that had been meeting in humble structures was suddenly housed in magnificent public buildings—the new church of Saint Peter in Rome was modeled on the basilican form used for imperial throne halls.”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“The first-century churches were locatable, identifiable, visitable communities that met regularly in a particular locale.”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“The triune God stands at the beginning and at the end of the Christian pilgrimage and, therefore, at the center of Christian faith.”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“Winston Churchill wisely said, “First we shape our buildings. Thereafter, they shape us.” Exegete the architecture of a typical church building and you’ll quickly discover that it effectively teaches the church to be passive.”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“From the human perspective, the purpose of the church meeting is mutual edification. But from God’s perspective, the purpose of the gathering is to express His glorious Son and make Him visible. (The church is the body, and Christ is the Head. The purpose of one’s body is to express the life that’s within it.)”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“Organic churches, like those in the New Testament, are different. They are not trains, but groups of people out for a walk. These groups move much more slowly than trains—only several miles per hour at the fastest. But they can turn at a moment’s notice. More importantly, they can be genuinely attentive to their world, to their Lord, and to each other.”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“The church, therefore, should not be confused with an organization, a denomination, a movement, or a leadership structure. The church is the people of God, the very bride of Jesus Christ.”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity

“Eugene Peterson has said, “Trinity is the most comprehensive and integrative framework that we have for understanding and participating in the Christian life.” 4”
― Frank Viola, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity