• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical

Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical

Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.

  • Contact
  • Books
  • Samples
  • Podcasts
  • Articles
  • Courses
  • Speaking
  • YouTube
  • FAQ
  • About

Surround Yourself with People Like This

Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that has no tolerance for people who steal tortilla chips because they are nacho cheese.

If you missed last week’s article, see Industrial Church and Discipleship.

A few weeks ago I came across this quote:

“Surround yourself with people who fight for you in rooms you aren’t in.”

~ Unknown

If you’ve spent any significant time on planet Earth, backstabbing, betrayal, and backbiting are more common in your life than you’d like.

(Three cheers for alliteration.)

Tragically, these kinds of painful experiences will even come to you at the hands of people who profess to follow Christ.

So the above quote is excellent advice.

However, the trick is to discern which people will prove themselves to be true friends who have your back when you’re not around.

And therein lies the rub.

We can’t control what others do, but we can control ourselves.

Consequently, I exhort you to avoid being a two-faced friend.

Decide to be a person who will fight for your friends when they aren’t present.

Especially when someone is trashing them, judging their motives, falsely accusing them, etc.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

~ Matthew 7:12

I’ve addressed this topic (what makes a true friend) in the past in a number of articles.

If the subject interests you, you may find them valuable.

GO HERE TO READ ARTICLES ON FRIENDSHIP

Until Next Thursday.

Your friend,

Frankie V.

FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO PARTNER WITH THE MINISTRY

Frank doesn’t profit personally from his ministry. He generously sends out a fresh new article every Thursday (there are over 1,000 on the blog). Also, a new podcast episode drops every other Tuesday on his two podcasts (combined there are over 300 episodes). While all of these resources are without cost to you, they require time and money to produce. Therefore, if you would like to donate to help defray the costs and/or express appreciation, there are three ways to donate, all of them simple. Go to the Donations Page for information.

P.S. If someone wanted to change your life and zealously forced this blog post on you, you can appease them and subscribe here. It’s gratis and comes with a dozen Super Fire Hot Wings … the kind you can only eat after you sign a set of release forms. (No lemon suckers please. They won’t understand the humor.)

Category: Spirituality

About Frank Viola

Frank Viola is a best-selling author, blogger, speaker, and consultant to authors and writers. His mission is to help serious followers of Jesus know their Lord more deeply so they can experience real transformation and make a lasting impact. To learn more about Frank and his work, go to 20 Years of Projects. To invite Frank to speak at your event, go to his Speaking Page. Due to a new problem with persistent spam that we haven’t figured out how to control, comments are closed for the present time. To contact Frank, use the “Contact” page in the top menu.

Previous Post:Industrial Church and Discipleship
Next Post:What is Fruit-Bearing?

FRANK’S UNFILTERED THURSDAY ARTICLES CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

Just click the button and sign up. It’s free and you’ll receive two books and an audio seminar as a “thank you.” Welcome to the deeper journey!

Sign Me Up

Frank Viola

Frank is a bestselling author, speaker, podcaster, and blogger. He helps serious followers of Jesus know their Lord more deeply so they can experience real transformation and make a lasting impact. His blog – frankviola.org – is regularly ranked in the top 5 of all Christian blogs on the Web and his podcast – Christ is All – has ranked #1 in Canada and #2 in the USA on Apple Podcasts. He and his conversation partners also host The Insurgence Podcast. Frank’s books have sold over 600,000 copies and they’ve been translated into many languages.

Learn More About Frank
  • Books
  • Podcasts
  • Articles
  • Courses
  • Speaking
  • FAQ

Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

Copyright © 2025 · Frank Viola · Designed by Stormhill Media

Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions