I’m going back to scripture and seeing what the church was in its simplest form and trying to recreate that in my own church. I’m a pastor first and foremost, and I’m trying to offer a solution or a model of what church should look like.
It comes across as someone who doesn’t love the church. In a recent interview, when asked about the emergent church, he said this: “As a pastor I hear a lot of emergent leaders talk about what is wrong with the church. Chan is committed to critiquing the church as an act of love. We can critique out of love or out of disgust. There are two ways of critiquing the church. It is for those who don’t want to plateau, who would rather die before their convictions do.” It is a book that is meant to change the way Christians live their lives. It is for those who are bored with what American Christianity offers.
“This book,” he says, “is written for those who want more Jesus. In his new book Crazy Love, first-time author Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California, regular speaker at Passion conferences and other events, and the guy who recorded that “Just Stop and Think” evangelistic video where he walks for miles holding a surfboard, takes his opportunity to challenge the church. But what? In many cases the prescription is the same while the cure varies widely. We all know that there is something wrong. The voices come from both within and without from those who love the church and those who hate it.
In stark contrast, the book offers real-life accounts of believers who have given all-time, money, health, even their lives-in obedience to Christ’s call.Chan also recounts his own attempts to live “crazy” by significantly downsizing his home and giving away his resources to the poor.Earnest Christians will find valuable take-home lessons from Chan’s excellent book.There are many voices critiquing the North American church today.
He describes at length the sorry state of “lukewarm” Christians who strive for a life characterized by control, safety and an absence of suffering. Chan writes with infectious exuberance, challenging Christians to take the Bible seriously. As a pastor, Chan says that conducting weekly funerals for people younger than himself has likewise sobered him to life’s unexpectedness and frailty. His mother died giving birth to him, his stepmother died when he was nine, and his dad when he was 12. Chan’s own life compels him to live with urgency, and with good reason. Chan, senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif., offers a radical call for evangelicals to consider and emulate in this debut guide to living “crazy” for God.
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