The Imprint of God

A love letter to my brother, Frank Viola, and a testimony to the magnificence of Christ

Reading cover to cover on a single flight, I finished the last page absolutely stunned, determined I had to speak with its author. There was no going back. The year was 2011, the book was Finding Organic Church, and its author was, as you already well know, you, Frank Viola.

I found you online and quickly searched for a way to contact you. It was not difficult, as what I discovered about you very quickly was your determination to remain accessible to everyone. I had so many questions for you. Very quickly, I received an email response directly from you, inviting my wife and me to a conference in Orlando with other brothers and sisters on a journey into the deeper Christian life.

Wow! Who is this guy, Frank? Could he really be who he says he is?

Turns out, you were. You are.

I could go on and on about what I have learned of — and from — you since that first book of your many books that I have read. But rather than use superlatives alone, I seek only to express my personal gratitude in the form of an open letter. In doing so, I hope people will realize that this is not a testimony of you alone, but of the Christ in you whom we both radically love and follow. This is an exaltation of the Life that has expressed Himself in your life.

You speak what you have seen.

You write and communicate unlike those in the majority today. Rather than expound upon what I have experienced through your ministry in my own words, I will lean upon the explanation of someone who has greatly impacted both our lives. In A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God, he writes:

Such worship as Faber knew (and he is but one of a great company which no man can number) can never come from a mere doctrinal knowledge of God. Hearts that are “fit to break” with love for the Godhead are those who have been in the Presence and have looked with opened eye upon the majesty of Deity. Men of the breaking hearts had a quality about them not known to or understood by common men. They habitually spoke with spiritual authority. They had been in the Presence of God and they reported what they saw there. They were prophets, not scribes, for the scribe tells us what he has read, and the prophet tells what he has seen.

The distinction is not an imaginary one. Between the scribe who has read and the prophet who has seen there is a difference as wide as the sea. We are today overrun with orthodox scribes, but the prophets, where are they? The hard voice of the scribe sounds over evangelicalism, but the Church waits for the tender voice of the saint who has penetrated the veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the Wonder that is God. And yet, thus to penetrate, to push in sensitive living experience into the holy Presence, is a privilege open to every child of God.”

You, Frank, are one of those tender voices. You have gazed with inward eye upon the Wonder that is God. And beautifully, triumphantly, you have told us — told me — what you have seen.

You never fail to build others up.

Rather than seek to build up your own self, ministry, or brand of Christianity, you live out the habitual and continual practice of edifying the church. You fight the good fight to build up others in Christ, whatever their backgrounds or experiences or doctrines, so that all the saints might better apprehend the fullness of Jesus together, achieving greater maturity as His body. Your work is a living epistle of encouragement and exhortation to anyone listening.

You’re in this for the right reasons.

During my first personal correspondence with you, you not only invited me to one of your conferences, you invited my wife and I to a conference that was absolutely free to attend. You were not trying to make money off of it. There was no offering plate that was passed around during the weekend. You sought only to bring people together who were on a similar journey. You have continued a similar effort now with the Deeper Christian Life conference, bringing together those who believe in their innermost being that “There must be more.” While this sounded too good to be true, at first, it was both good and true.

You do not only talk the Talk, you walk the Walk.

While the language you employ as you both write and speak about Christ beautifully and profoundly proclaims the excellencies of Him who has called us into His marvelous light, I believe it is your life — or rather, His Life — that shines most brightly. True, I have only met you in person one time (something I very well intend to remedy), but even in response to those who speak against you demonstrates a radiant example of your surrender to the Lord in all ways. You are a true slave of Christ.

Moreover, like any faithful servant, you affirm and acknowledge the work of many other faithful brothers and sisters who have come before you and work alongside you. You esteem them. I am richer not only due to your own personal work, but due to the illumination you have shed upon others’ prior and present ministries, as well.

There are few greater investments any can make.

In terms of investment, people are often looking for an ROI. It is my personal belief that they can make no greater investment than in the many books, the network, and the events that you have created for the church at large. I have been so built up by your work both written and oral, often moved to tears, that I have even revisited your work regularly. While I expect that it is only a remnant who has the ears to truly hear what you have to say, for those on the deeper journey, I would encourage they begin that journey alongside you. For you have not sought to head that journey for them. You seek only to point all saints to the Head as their fellow brother.

You did not ask me to write this. Nor did you expect me to write this. But I felt compelled to write it because of the Christ in you that lives and breathes also within me. I have only met you once in person, even though there have been other opportunities. Circumstances have kept that from happening to-date, but I plan to change that.

For those on the outside reading this, perhaps you sound like a saint. And indeed, you are! Just as you would tell them that they too are a “holy one” in Christ. To all those reading, even those who are skeptical, I exhort them simply: Witness Frank for yourself. He has allowed his life to become a spectacle to all those willing to witness it.

In conclusion, I wish for you to know how greatly I see the imprint of Christ upon your life. Because of your faithfulness unto Him as a result of His grace, His imprint in you has left His mark also in me. To Him be the glory, forever and ever — as I know only you would have it!