Keep It Central

In this 6 minute interview, Francis Chan and David Platt discuss how easy it is to find our identity in our performance, work or ministry. And this is why repentance and ministry are inextricably linked, and what we can do about it. (From the Verge Network.)

The Word More Desired Than Gold

Francis Chan on Why the Bible should be "More to Be Desired Than Gold":



Francis Chan - "Why We Need the Bible" from Crossway on Vimeo.


HT: Strawberry-Rhubard Theology

Playing the Game of "Jesus Says"

Hat Tip: The Thinklings

Have You Studied This Book For Yourself

A powerful Francis Chan "Sermon Jam" - A challenge to read the Bible for yourself.

Links Worth A Look

Some links that are worth a look:

Nine Things You Should Know About Duck Dynasty

Top 10 Theological Challenges Coming Our Way

Here Come the Radicals - Chan, Idleman, Claiborn & Platt

Radicalism & Reality - A Response to "Here Come the Radicals"

The Sin of Silence - In the face of abusive church leaders

Why Studying Doctrine is the Best Medicine - Tim Keller
 
Charismatic Renewal: 10 Strengths & Weaknesses

Free Francis Chan E-Books!

You can't beat an offer like his one at Christianaudio.com and eChristian.com:

Crazy Love eBook: FREE.
Forgotten God eBook: FREE.
Erasing Hell eBook: FREE.

Every once in a while, we hear about an offer so incredible that we just have to tell you about it, even if it doesn't happen to be for audiobooks. This is definitely one of those offers!

Thanks to the generosity of the ministry of David C. Cook, these three Francis Chan eBooks are absolutely FREE on our partner site eChristian, for 48 hours only: Crazy Love, Forgotten God, and Erasing Hell.

To get your free eBooks, visit the eChristian special offer page, login (your christianaudio username and password work at eChristian!) and download your free eBooks.

HURRY! This offer WILL end tomorrow (Saturday, April 7, 2012) at 11:59pm PT.

You can also get these three books for free at Amazon for the same limited time period.

Francis Chan on "Why Do I Not Experience the Holy Spirit?"

Francis Chan - The Presence of Jesus in Suffering from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Hat Tip: Take Your Vitamin Z

Neither Super Nor Natural

The excerpt below is from an interview with Francis Chan in the Christian Post discussing whether today’s church is anything like what God originally intended.

"'You go to a building, someone gives you a bulletin, you sit in a chair, you sing a few songs, a guy delivers maybe a polished message, maybe not, someone sings a solo, you go home.'

'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.'

'Do you really see this supernatural power at work when the believers gather together for what we call church? Isn’t it the same Holy Spirit that’s supposed to be available to us today? Why is it so different?'

'I heard one person say the church nowadays is neither super nor natural,' he says. 'Everything is predictable and everything is expected.'

'There’s a truth to that. I feel bad about it. Being around a church culture, even leading a gathering of believers, I’ve gotten pretty good at predicting what’s going to happen in a church service. Was that the way it was supposed to happen?'

'When Jesus said this power (of the Holy Spirit) would come upon you, it really did come upon them and they were powerful beings (Jesus’ disciples). Why is it that in the church so many people are weak or defeated or we get so insecure because we look at ourselves rather than God? It doesn’t make sense.'

“…the response among His people today is: 'Hi, welcome to church. Here’s your bulletin. We’ll get you out in an hour. Come back next week.'

'I mean, really? Is that all God intended for us?'

'What would the church look like today if we really stopped taking control of it and let the Holy Spirit lead?'

'I believe this is exactly what the world needs to see.'

Hat Tip:  CHARISMATICA: Revival Renewal & Referral Blog

Dangers of Celebrity Status

 Who is more famous in the Evangelical world: Jesus or John Piper?  No criticism of Pastor Piper is intended - I'm just using him as one example. Some folks seem to be paying more attention to their favorite preachers or Bible teachers than to the Lord we all claim to serve. Here's Frances Chan (admittedly rather famous himself) on Celebrity Status and the Holy Spirit :

I have benefitted greatly by hearing biblical preachers via podcast. I’m glad that there is so much solid teaching available. However, I am struggling with the celebrity status that comes from this kind of exposure. It’s not healthy for the preacher, nor is it healthy for those who talk about their ministry heroes so often (I am guilty of this).

In many ways, we are conforming to the pattern of the world. While it is good that people are talking about what they have learned from “Piper, Driscoll, Keller, Chan, etc,” I am concerned about how much we speak those names rather than the name of Jesus. It has gotten to the point where I believe we have taken glory away from Jesus. Personally, I am intentionally trying to mention human names less and speak often the matchless name of Jesus.

All believers have received the Holy Spirit. We must go forth in his power with confidence. God has placed people in your path. You are called to disciple them. We too quickly direct converts toward podcast preachers and neglect our God-given mandate to disciple. We must believe in the power of the Scriptures themselves, and we must trust in the power of the Holy Spirit within us. 

Let’s use the resources God has given to the church at large, but let’s not shirk our responsibility to the local church. Let’s not boast too much of others, and let’s not underestimate what the Spirit desires to do through us.

Chan Moving On

What's going on with Francis Chan?

Here's a pretty good and balanced account at CNN (of all places) - “Christian famous” pastor quits his church, moves to Asia

He pastored a 4,000-member church in California. He was a sought-after speaker at major conferences, wrote two best-sellers and launched a DVD teaching series.

Then he abruptly resigned and left the country.

But in Francis Chan’s unexpected journey there apparently is no hidden scandal, no money trail, and no ‘other’ woman.

“I just want to disappear for a while,” he said in late September as he prepared to leave Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California for an undisclosed location in Asia....

...Chan has been traveling across Asia, according to his website, where his wife Lisa has posted periodic updates.

She wrote that the family has been to India and Thailand, visiting small churches and missionaries. In an October update, she mentioned Chan was preaching again: “Francis spoke a great message of encouragement to this little body of Christ hidden away in a slum in India . 100 years from now we will be worshiping together. We will look each other in the eye and KNOW that it was worth it."

The Web-Exclusive Video Premiere of Francis Chan's "BASIC. Follow Jesus."

RELEVANT Magazine has published on-line the "Web-Exclusive Video Premiere" of Francis Chan's new teaching video BASIC. Follow Jesus.:

BASIC is a new seven-part film series hosted by Francis Chan and created by Flannel, the award-winning team behind NOOMA. Each film explores important questions about the nature of the Church and how it can reach its fullest potential.

In BASIC. Follow Jesus, the second addition to this compelling series, Francis Chan asks what it really means to follow Jesus—and why it’s worth it.

I can't find a way to post the video here, because it's "exclusive," but you can view it at the link above. Chan fans should enjoy.

The Weird Life of Faith

Recently mega-church pastor and best-selling author Frances Chan resigned from his church to pursue a new adventure in living by faith.  Is that weird?  Here's Frances Chan on - How is My Life Weird?

"Chan declared to an arena packed with 13,000 young Christian leaders that he wants his life to fit in the Bible and that there is nothing weird about believing in the Holy Spirit and following the calling of God.

“When I don’t think biblically, I go nuts. I just go, ‘This is crazy,’” said Chan, founding pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif., last Thursday evening. “But whenever I read this book (the Bible), I think my life fits perfectly.”..."

"...While acknowledging that his life is crazy by most people’s standards today, Chan explained how un-radical his life really is by comparing it with the early disciples.

“If you put my life’s story in the book of Acts, chapter 12, [it would be] James killed, Peter imprisoned and Francis went to Asia,” said Chan to the laughter and applause of Catalyst attendees.

“Whoa, that is radical. He is so weird,” joked Chan, who says he’s been accused of subscribing to “poverty theology” because he gives away about 90 percent of his income and has donated all his book royalties to charities.

Continuing, the popular Christian speaker challenged those in the audience to compare their lives to the Bible and see if it also fits. He said it is more weird that some Christians change churches because of the service time, the music style, or the fight they got into with someone.

“Think biblically ’What is weird?' 'Who is weird?‘ based on the scripture and whether we fit in it,” Chan stressed. “So many things don’t make sense. I got to look at scripture and go ‘Does my life make sense?’ I want my life to fit in this book one day.”

Whither Francis Chan?

For all you Francis Chan fans (I am one too!) here are his comments on his plans now that he is leaving the pastorate of his California church, in an interview in CT Magazine - Francis Chan's Next Steps 
 

Joining the Gang

Francis Chan in Forgotten God:

“A while back a former gang member came to our church. He was heavily tattooed and rough around the edges, but he was curious to see what church was like. He had a relationship with Jesus and seemed to get fairly involved with the church. After a few months, I found out the guy was no longer coming to the church. When asked why he didn’t come anymore, he gave the following explanation: ‘I had the wrong idea of what church was going to be like. When I joined the church, I thought it was going to be like joining a gang. You see, in the gangs we weren’t just nice to each other once a week – we were family.’ That killed me because I knew that what he expected is what the church is intended to be. It saddened me to think that a gang could paint a better picture of commitment, loyalty, and family than the local church body.” (152)

(BTW,This is a pretty good book, IMHO)

Hat Tip: Take Your Vitamin Z: The Church Should Be Like a Gang... At Least in One Sense

What's Next for Francis Chan? A Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris

I love and have benefited greatly from the books of all three of these men -Joshua Harris, Mark Driscoll and Frances Chan - so watching this conversation between three influential pastor/authors was fascinating.


What's Next for Francis Chan? A Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris from Ben Peays on Vimeo.

What's Next for Francis Chan? A Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris

. (Video produced by the Gospel Coalition.)

Forget about God’s Will for Your Life?

Are you seeking God's ultimate destiny for your life? Ever asked yourself if that search is fruitless, or even if it is what you are supposed to be doing?  Or maybe we should Forget about God’s will for your life!

“I think a lot of us need to forget about God’s will for my life. God cares more about our response to his Spirit’s leading today, in this moment, than about what we intend to do next year. In fact, the decisions we make next year will be profoundly affected by the degree to which we submit to the Spirit right now, in today’s decisions. It is easy to use the phrase ‘God’s will for my life’ as an excuse for inaction or even disobedience. It’s much less demanding to think about God’s will for your future than it is to ask Him what He wants you to do in the next ten minutes. It’s safer to commit to following him someday instead of this day. To be honest I believe part of the desire to ‘know God’s will for my life’ is birthed in fear and results in paralysis.” (120)

God wants to listen to his Spirit on a daily basis, and even throughout the day, as difficult and as stretching moments arise, and in the midst of the mundane. My hope is that instead of searching for ‘God’s will for my life,’ each of us would learn to seek hard after ‘the Spirit’s leading in my life today.’” (120)

“The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives. Jesus Christ did not die in order to follow us. He died and rose again so that we could forget everything else and follow him to the cross, to true Life.” (122)

Quotes from Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan

What do you think?

See also Seeking an Unmessianic Sense of Non-Destiny