To My Readers (From the Heart)

Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED substack article, the only substack newsletter that thinks if the feeding of the five thousand had occurred after Acts chapter 11, it could have been done with bacon.

Next week, I plan to tackle a controversial issue, so you don’t want to miss it. That is, if you enjoy controversy (like, who doesn’t?).

I’m also working on an unusual article entitled “It Was for the Angels” which you don’t want to miss either.

But today is different and out of the norm.

FIRST: If you’ve not been reading these Thursday articles, here are the last eighteen I’ve sent you – all on serious topics.

Our God Wants a Home - July 3, 2025

The Excuse Hall of Fame - June 26, 2025

The Year of Jubilee: Hope for Modern Burnouts - June 19, 2025

Evidences of a Broken Vessel - June 12, 2025

Why People Believe What They Want (Even When False) - June 5, 2025

Fasting and Answered Prayer - May 29, 2025

Three Resources and 10 Years Past - May 22, 2025

Staying in Your Lane - May 15, 2025

Answering an Important Question - May 8, 2025

But Wait—There’s Something You Should Know - May 5, 2025

The Disengaged, Predisposed, Engaged, and Enrolled - May 1, 2025

Two Shocking Things That Stir Up Sin in Our Lives - April 24, 2025

Educated Atheist Turns Kingdom-Lover - April 17, 2025

Isolation’s Unspoken Path to Addiction - April 10, 2025

Manson’s Grip vs. The Master’s Call - April 3, 2025

Discipline, Consistency, and Impact: Part 4 - March 27, 2025

Morning Whispers: Tuning into God’s Voice at Dawn - March 20, 2025

BURN THAT CANDLE: Unlocking the New Testament Story – March 13, 2025

If you are new to the UNFILTERED articles or missed any of them, you can find them all on my website (below) in the “Articles” section.

SECOND: If you have a sense of humor, you’ll want to check out all the spoof episodes on the Christ is All podcast.

We’ve recently put them all on this one page on the website for easy consumption.

THIRD: Every Thursday, I write about whatever's weighing on my heart that week, and it's always different.

But sometimes—maybe once in a blue moon—I'll write something like this piece you're reading right now. And let me be crystal clear: this isn't some sneaky sales pitch disguised as content.

This is me being brutally candid with you about something that matters.

And here's the thing that might surprise you: I don't make a personal dime from book sales. Zero. Nada.

I write books for one reason only—to impact people's lives in the best possible way and shake up the body of Christ. That's it.

That said, my latest book, The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded (the one with the white cover and those colorful brushstrokes), hit shelves on March 4, 2025.

People are throwing around words like "masterpiece" and calling it "the culmination" of everything I've ever written.

The other day, I got a private email from someone who's probably the most recognizable Christian leader on the planet.

He wrote,

“Amazing! I’ve been reading through your new book and it’s amazing. It may be the book of the decade!”

His comment was nice, and I genuinely appreciate it. But here's the uncomfortable truth: unless he tells his millions of followers about it, his private praise won’t move the needle at all.

And my book—with its message that actually matters—needs to reach people. (It's definitely not becoming the "book of the decade" with an email sitting in a private inbox.)

Most of you reading this Thursday piece already have a copy. Thank you. Seriously.

What keeps me going is knowing it's actually changing people's lives. As Paul put it, "the labor wasn't in vain." And trust me, this was labor—three years of my life, practically every single day.

The thing is, I didn't write this book to collect compliments from industry insiders. I wrote it because people need a book that unlocks the New Testament letters in a powerful, accurate, fresh and engaging way.

I’ve made the case in numerous interviews (on the Christ is All podcast) that the vast majority of pastors, leaders, Bible teachers, and Christians don’t really understand the New Testament due to a number of factors (I’ve unpacked those factors in those interviews).

And that’s why I carved out three years of my life to write the book (and my research goes back to 1998).

But impact requires reach, and reach requires people recommending it to their friends and family.

One person wrote me recently saying,

“I decided to read it together with my wife. We love every bit of it so far. I feel like I'm walking and talking with our brothers and sisters and breathing in the same air of the early New Testament church. Very inspiring. It’s been life changing for me personally.”

Another mailed me a hand-written card saying,

“The book is phenomenal. The way you weave all the historical, cultural, and spiritual details together into one narrative injects life into once abstract characters and places. I now have a clearer understanding of what Paul’s letters are about than I had before. Your approach is far better and more engaging to my mind than the Bible commentaries.”

You might've heard in one of my interviews that Aaron Judge's mom is reading the book before Aaron gets to it. (Yeah, it's made its way into professional sports. Tim Tebow also has a copy.)

These kinds of comments feel good, especially after pouring so much into this thing.

But here's the harsh reality: unless these people actually tell their audiences about it, the book will get buried under the avalanche of 50,000 other books that are published every month.

For this reason, most authors dump serious cash into promotion and ads. Me? I've spent exactly zero dollars on marketing.

But what really threw me was hearing some of my subscribers say: "I already have the old version. I like it, so I don't need the new one."

That's like saying, "I have your crappy high school essay that's full of mistakes and content errors. Why would I want the professionally published, peer-reviewed dissertation you wrote 20 years later with input from actual experts?"

The comparison is dead-on because that old (ugly) orange edition from two decades ago is seriously flawed. Outdated. And not a single scholar reviewed it before it was published.

Here's what happened: I rushed the original version, had zero historical advisors, and most of the research I used for the new edition didn't even exist back then.

This new edition? It's essentially a completely different book. I didn't just revise it—I gutted it and rebuilt it from scratch.

The only reason I kept the same title is because I reference it in many of my other books.

Now, I wish the old edition had never seen the light of day. But hey, we can’t turn back time (right, Cher?).

This review by Christian Book Reviews sumps up the new book nicely:

“A remarkable achievement. Viola’s literary masterpiece is breathtaking in its analysis of the first-century church. Gripping story-telling, captivating narrative, and profoundly insightful are apt descriptions for this amazing book. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded (2025) is accurate, engaging, and entertaining. The book will be used by Christians for generations to unlock the New Testament. Written with striking detail and intellectual vibrancy, this powerful volume puts you inside the story as it brilliantly weaves the narrative in Acts with the epistles against the backdrop of first-century history. The immense sourcing will please academics and the readable narrative will thrill non-specialists. Raising the Viola catalog to new heights, this is an admirably accessible work backed by fine scholarship. The book empowers readers to gain a deeper understanding of the New Testament and effectively apply its teachings in contemporary life. This is the New Testament guide of all New Testament guides—a magnificent work.” – Christian Book Reviews

Bottom line: if you still have that old flawed orange edition sitting around, do yourself (and me) a favor and throw it in the trash.

Don't even donate it. I wouldn't inflict that thing on unsuspecting readers. I disown it completely—just like I disown every immature paper I wrote in high school.

I hope what I wrote here convinces you to pick up a copy of the new book (if you haven’t already).

And if it's actually doing something for you—changing how you think, messing with your assumptions, opening up the New Testament letters in a big way, whatever—I genuinely want to hear from you (if you haven’t already written me about how the book is impacting you).

Don't keep that stuff to yourself. And better, tell your good friends and family.

You can get the new edition on discount here. Refresh the page and scroll below the endorsements.

I also think you’ll be blessed by the “Recent Interviews” near the bottom of the page. More interviews will drop in the Fall.

Controversial article coming next Thursday.

Stay tuned!

Your brother,

fv