Francis Chan
Francis Chan
Francis Chanis a preacher in America. He is the former teaching pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, CA, a church he and his wife started in 1994. He is also the Founder and Chancellor of Eternity Bible College and author of the best-selling books, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, which came out in 2009, and most recently, You and Me Forever: Marriage In Light of Eternity, which came out in 2014. He released his second book...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionReligious Leader
Date of Birth31 August 1967
CitySan Francisco, CA
CountryUnited States of America
All my life I've heard people say, 'God loves you.' It's probably the most insane statement you could make to say that the eternal Creator of this universe is in love with me. There is a response that ought to take place in believers, a crazy reaction to that love. Do you really understand what God has done for you? If so, why is response so lukewarm?
If God is truly the greatest good on this earth, would He be loving us if He didn’t draw us toward what is best for us (even if that happens to be Himself)? Doesn’t His courting, luring, pushing, calling and even ‘threatening’ demonstrate His love? If He didn’t do all of that, wouldn’t we accuse Him of being unloving in the end, when all things are revealed?
Which is more messed up- that we have so much compared to everyone else, or that we don't think we're rich? That on any given day, we might flippantly call ourselves 'broke' or 'poor?' We are neither of those things. We are rich. Filthy rich.
When you read the New Testament, you see the Holy Spirit was supposed to change everything so that this gathering of people who call themselves Christians had this supernatural element about them.
To call someone a Christian simply because he does some Christian-y things is giving false comfort to the unsaved.
James 2:19- 'You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder.' God doesn't just want us to have good theology; He wants us to know and love Him.
Oswald Chambers writes, ‘Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with other people as He is with you.’ To that I would add, ‘Be careful not to turn others’ lives into the mold for your own.’ Allow God to be as creative with you as He is with each of us.
Trying harder doesn’t work for me. Slowly I’ve learned to pray for God’s help and He has become my greatest love and desire.
We say to the Creator of all this magnitude and majesty, ‘Well, I’m not sure You are worth it…. You see, I really like my car, or my little sin habit, or my money, and I’m really not sure I want to give them up, even if it means I get You.’
I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don't swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally, and seriously, is rarely considered. That's for the 'radicals' who are 'unbalanced' and who go 'overboard.' Most of us want a balanced life we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering.
Christianity was simple: fight your desires in order to please God.
A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions, or commitments are piled up on top of it.