Greetings! If you are on this page, it means you requested an interview with Frank Viola on his new book The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded (2025).
On the day this book released, the print edition hit the top 300 on Amazon out of all of their 33+ million titles, then it went out of stock which killed momentum. But the book is back in stock again.
The Kindle edition reached #79 in September 2025 out of all 33+ million books on Amazon.
The book has been endorsed by 20 high-voltage scholars (they all appear at the bottom of this page).
REQUIREMENTS
1) If your podcast uses video, Frank doesn’t appear on camera. He instead uses a still image when he speaks (see image below). This has never been an issue with any podcast host. Most people who consume video podcasts today do so passively (meaning, they listen instead of watch).
2) If the episode is uploaded to YouTube, we require that comments be turned off.
3) The team may replay parts of the podcast, perhaps most of it, on Frank’s “Christ is All” podcast.
4) You must use the image below for the interview and for any press related to it.
If you agree to these four simple requirements, let us know in your email response by writing, “I agree to all 4 requirements.”
What follows are:
* Official authorized image to use.
* Sample questions for the interview.
* Endorsements by 20 top-shelf scholars. (You are welcome to read any of them on your show during the Introduction.)
OFFICIAL AUTHORIZED IMAGE TO USE
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
The following list of questions you may use for the interview in addition to any you come up with.
• Introduce yourself to my audience: You’ve written many books since 2008. Tell us about your most important ones.
• Tell us about your two ongoing podcasts.
• Your new book is called The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded. Give us a quick elevator pitch on what the book is about.
• Why is learning the historical context critical for understanding the New Testament writings?
• Give us some “aha” moments that you had while researching for the book.
• How does understanding “The Story” of the New Testament church help us to understand the epistles? That is, the letters of Paul, Peter, John, James, etc.
• How did you manage to write the book so it’s easy to read, yet at the same time, it’s a work that is beneficial for scholars?
• There are some chronological Bibles on the market? How is your book different from these Bibles?
• You say that your book is an contribution to New Testament 3.0. Can you explain what New Testament 3.0 is? And what is New Testament 1.0 and 2.0?
• You offer a live seminar that goes along with the book for churches, Bible schools, seminaries, and conferences. Tell us about that.
• Tell us about the Master Classes that serve as a supplement to the book.
• Tell us how my listeners can sample your book and also the best way to order it.
• This is my last question and it’s a personal one. What are some of your hobbies at the present time?
• Tell us about the new visual podcast that supplements the book.
• What feedback from readers has surprised or encouraged you the most?
ENDORSEMENTS TO USE IN YOUR INTRODUCTION (IF YOU DESIRE)
“In The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, Frank Viola brings context and background together, inviting us on a captivating journey through the birth and growth of the first-century church. With a reputation for captivating prose and heartfelt storytelling, Viola brings his unique perspective to reconstruct the events from Matthew to Revelation.” (From the Foreword.)
—Craig S. Keener, F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary
“This unique volume is full of documentation as well, showing the care that went into it. For pastors and all others interested in the unfolding of the New Testament, this book is a treasure to mine.”
—Darrell Bock, Executive Director for Cultural Engagement Hendricks Center Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies
“With great erudition, Frank Viola has provided readers with a wonderful resource. It would be an understatement to say the breadth of research involved in this project is ‘impressive.’ Highly recommended.”
—Michael Licona, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament Studies, Houston Christian University
“Frank Viola performs an invaluable service for Christians today by centering this book on the story of the early church, what he calls “the community of the King.” The result is a highly readable (and well-researched) story of the New Testament church, a genuinely accessible biography of the church, that congregations and classrooms will find indispensable.”
—Joel B. Green, Senior Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Fuller Theological Seminary
“In this fascinating volume Frank Viola seeks to write a narrative history of the early church by examining the New Testament documents within their respective historical and chronological contexts. His conclusions are plausible and consistently interesting and insightful. This is an excellent resource for those seeking to understand authentic Christianity by listening to its earliest voices.”
—Mark L. Strauss, Ph.D., University Professor of New Testament, Bethel Seminary
“In one volume Frank Viola has recast the entire New Testament as a single readable narrative, but as supported by scholarly notation of the highest order. This single book is for the general reader, the pastor, and the academic. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church is an amazing accomplishment. I know of no book like it. Highly recommended.”
—Paul Barnett, Ph.D., New Testament Scholar and Lecturer Emeritus, Moore College, Sydney; teaching fellow at Regent College, Vancouver
“This is an enormously helpful survey of the history of the roughly thirty years from the ministry of Jesus to the end of the apostolic period, replete with comments on the significance of historical events for the faith of Jesus followers and with comments on secondary literature.”
—Eckhard Schnabel, Mary F. Rockefeller Emeritus Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
“In The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, bestselling author Frank Viola offers a lengthy innovative reconstruction correlating the chronological sequence in the narrative of Acts with the apostolic journeys and letters of Paul and the other apostles. A treasure trove of detail for Christian pastors and leaders of Bible study, with magisterial references to books and articles by Christian New Testament scholars.”
—Richard Horsley, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston
“Viola weaves the evidence of the New Testament into a single unfolding and compelling story. Yet he does so not with unbridled imagination, but with a profound reliance on the best scholarship available. The end result is an accurate, engaging and compelling account of this movement that has had a monumental impact on history and continues to do so today.”
—Clinton E. Arnold, Research Professor of New Testament, Talbot School of Theology (Biola)
“I know no other book like this. Written for everyday readers, it is accessible, engaging, and compelling—and yet it is meticulously researched with depth and breadth of learning, in conversation with leading scholars in the field. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand how the whole New Testament fits together—as history, theology, and mission.”
—Constantine R. Campbell, Professor and Research Director, Sydney College of Divinity
“Viola has produced a truly remarkable book—a reconstruction of the gospel story of the New Testament church that skillfully and helpfully presents the events recorded in Matthew through Revelation in a chronological rather than canonical order.”
—Jeffrey A. D. Weima, Professor of New Testament Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan
“Frank Viola has bravely and diligently undertaken the task of collecting the many bits and pieces of this story that can be known from the letters alongside Acts and of presenting one plausible vision of how all these pieces can be synthesized into a coherent, unfolding story.”
—David A. deSilva, Trustees’ Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek, Ashland Theological Seminary
“A masterpiece! The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded is stunning in its sweep – compelling and readable. It’s an enthralling journey into the New Testament story – a work full of depth and insight.”
—Jon Zens, D.Min., theologian, author, editor of Searching Together
“Frank Viola uses the evidence from your Bible to tell the story of Jesus and the New Testament church as a single drama from beginning to end. Using the biblical accounts, he weaves a careful, readable chronology that (as the title asserts) has never been done before!”
—Reta Halteman Finger, professor emerita of New Testament at Eastern Mennonite University
“Often, we take the letters of Paul in isolation from the letters of John or the Acts of the Apostles or the book of Revelation. Instead, Viola knits these together into a satisfying account of what happened in the first century of the Jesus movement. This is no solo project; he analyzes loads of data with the help of top scholars from around the world to guide him, and us. What emerges is an engaging, intricately told, plausible account of the origins of our Christian faith that sheds fresh light on all the New Testament letters. The story continues . . .”
—David B. Capes, Ph.D., New Testament Scholar and Director of Academic Programming, The Lanier Theological Library and Learning Center, Houston
“Frank Viola’s The Untold Story of the New Testament Church offers a compelling narrative of the entire New Testament and early Christianity from the Gospels to Revelation. It’s truly a monumental accomplishment that connects history and Scripture with attention to detail as a cohesive whole.”
—Alan Bandy, Robert Hamblin Chair of Biblical Exposition Professor of New Testament and Greek at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
“This vivid retelling brings to life Paul and his companions—alongside Peter, James, and John—chronicling the conflicts and hardships they endured and their unwavering courage to proclaim Jesus as promised Messiah and Savior. Viola’s ‘plausible reconstruction’ not only fills in the New Testament’s historical narrative but also invites readers to see themselves as part of an ongoing story. (Lovers of footnotes will find themselves in paradise!)”
—Amy J. Chase, Ph.D., Drew University, Madison, New Jersey
“Understanding the early church requires more than just dry facts. Frank Viola’s The Untold Story of the New Testament Church takes on the monumental task of retelling this history in a captivating narrative, offering a fresh perspective on the people, places, and events that shaped Christianity.”
—Christoph Heilig, Ph.D., New Testament Scholar and Research Group Leader at the University of Munich
“In The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised and Expanded, Frank Viola has engaged the wider world of biblical scholarship and produced a work that flows like a novel but is in fact part New Testament Introduction, part New Testament history, and part Christian inspiration. Viola is a gifted writer and this book will help persons hungry to know more about Scripture and the Jesus to whom it testifies.”
—Brian D. Russell, Ph.D, Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary
“Frank Viola has produced a unique book that will not only enable readers to understand the message of the New Testament on a much deeper level but will also draw people closer to Jesus Christ. The Untold Story of the New Testament will captivate ordinary readers and engage scholars without losing the average high school or college student. It is a gift.”
—Tim Oslovich, Master of Theological Studies, Harvard Divinity School, Bishop of the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America