“Christians have made the gospel about so many things… Things other than Christ.”  So opens the document, written by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, titled: A Jesus Manifesto.

I’ve long been a fan of Leonard Sweet, our theological differences aside. But Sweet’s love for Jesus, his love for God’s people, and his amazing story-telling ability make his books and articles a pleasure to read. Besides, I’ve not found our differences to come up that frequently in the things he writes. His focus is spirituality, not systematic theology.  At the very least Sweet always makes me think – and often makes me laugh.

I don’t know as much about Frank Viola. I’ve heard of him, but I don’t recall having ever read anything he has written – at least nothing before A Jesus Manifesto.

But as I read through this manifesto I found I appreciated the heart of both men. I also appreciate their effort to put into words something that needs to be said in this generation.  Paraphrasing the words of the old hymn, we need to “Turn our Eyes upon Jesus.”

To read the document click the link above.  On that blog you will also find links to download the document in .pdf, listen to the authors read their manifesto, and listen to Steve Brown interview the authors at Steve Brown, Etc.  Facebook users will also find a link to a group page discussing the manifesto.