The Simple Pastor
Simplicity & Generosity
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For sometime now I’ve been meaning to read a book by Francis Chan and I really enjoyed this one. Chan is the pastor of Cornerstone Church in California and every time I’ve come across him, he’s been saying something that really resonates with me.
‘Crazy love‘ is not that loving God and taking Jesus’ words seriously is crazy but that saying you believe in God and then living a safe life that stores up treasure on earth instead of heaven is the ‘crazy’ option.
Chan sets out to demolish the reasons why so many Christians fail to take seriously the call to discipleship and seeks to oust the false American dream that so many have bought into. Crazy Love is not a difficult book to read but it is a hard one (or should that be the other way around?). Whichever it is, reading this book is profoundly challenging especially the devastating chapter 4 (profile of the lukewarm) and the inspiring chapter 8 (profile of the obsessed).
It has down to earth examples and Chan writes in a readable and accessible way, but the great strength is the directness of it. No pulling the punches, no ducking the hard sayings. So for example, I found the following question provoking from p124. If you take seriously Heb 11:6, then ask yourself the question, ‘what am I doing in my life now that requires faith?’ – what am I doing that would leave me in great trouble if God wasn’t calling me to do it? And that’s one of the easy ones!
It’s perfect for students and twenties but should be read by everyone. Highly recommended. You can hear some of Francis explain the book at its website
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a church pastor, a bookshop owner, a husband, a father, a keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.
Mark Heath said...
1Sounds good. It’s a message that needs to be heard in the UK too, so hopefully it wasn’t too contextualised to the USA.
I’d like to read something by Francis Chan too. His Forgotten God book looks interesting.
02/2/10 3:13 PM | Comment Link
admin said...
2No it definitely crosses the pond, it speaks well to the UK.
02/2/10 3:19 PM | Comment Link
David Frey - AppreciateLife.com said...
3Thank you for point me to this book. Gonna go over to crazylovebook.com and check it out.
All the best.
David
BigTomMovie.com
02/3/10 4:17 AM | Comment Link
Mark Heath said...
4just stumbled across another review of this book:
http://www.denverseminary.edu/article/crazy-love-overwhelmed-by-a-relentless-god-/
02/3/10 12:29 PM | Comment Link