A Conversation
with Francis Chan
Q: Tell us about the title Crazy Love.
A: The idea of Crazy Love has to do with our
relationship with God. 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 your response so
lukewarm?
Q: Why do you think so many Christians blame the church for their
failures?
A: We all need to justify our actions. The easiest thing to do
when we’re not living how God wants us to is to blame someone or something
else. It’s not unique to the church. You see it everywhere, people blaming
their parents, a chemical imbalance, whatever, rather than looking to
themselves and changing who they are through the Holy Spirit. The same thing
happens in the church. All of us who have the Holy Spirit have the potential to
live a "crazy love" type of life, but it’s easier to not live it and
blame someone for that.
Q: You talk about believing in God without having a clue what He’s
like. As a Christian, how is that possible?
A: Because we’re taught so little about God, most people just
want to know what God can do for them rather than desiring to know Him. When we
present the gospel, we try to answer one question: How do I keep from going
to hell? After that question is answered, we stop asking questions about
God. With the American church being so concerned about converts, we don’t take
the time to present the God-centered universe to people. We don’t try to dig
deep into the truth of God. We need to learn the attributes of God before we
know what He is like.
Q: There is urgency in your message. Where does this come from?
A: I think from two things. One, as a pastor I was doing
funerals just about every week. A lot of these funerals were for people younger
than I am, and so many of them are unexpected. Seeing the shock of their loved
ones and realizing God can take your life at any time gives me a sense of
urgency.
The other is my upbringing. My mom died giving birth to me; my stepmom died
when I was nine; my dad died when I was twelve. I learned that there might not
be a tomorrow. I always want this to be the greatest message I’ll preach in
case I’m not here to give another one.
I have a sense of urgency built into me from my upbringing and going to so many
funerals and seeing friends pass away. I can’t help but be urgent in my
message.
Q: You talk about what it means to be a lukewarm Christian. You make a
bold statement that "churchgoers who are 'lukewarm' are not
Christians." We will not see them in heaven? How do you explain this? How
does grace play into this statement?
A: I explain it through the passage of Revelation 3
and look at the passage objectively. God says that the lukewarm will be spit
out of His mouth, and that is drastically different than God embracing you and
welcoming you into heaven. The lukewarm still need to be saved. How can we say
a lukewarm Christian is saved?
Salvation has nothing to do with my performance. If I’m truly saved, then my
actions are going to show. All through the New Testament a person’s faith is
shown through his actions. New Testament teachings are clear that someone who
loves God and doesn’t obey God is a liar, and the truth is not in Him.
It’s not popular to question someone’s actions and salvation, and Scripture
tells us to test ourselves and see if we’re really in the faith. I believe 100
percent in grace, that I did nothing, and I’m completely saved by the cross. By
the grace of God we believe and are saved. If someone has the Holy Spirit in them,
there will be fruit, and there will not be a lukewarm life.
Q: In one chapter you state, "Dare to imagine what it would mean
for you to take the words of Jesus seriously." What does this mean? Why do
you think so many Christians would turn down this dare?
A: We’ve conditioned ourselves to hear messages without
responding. Sermons have become Christian entertainment. We go to church to
hear a well-developed sermon and a convicting thought. We’ve trained ourselves
to believe that if we’re convicted, our job is done. If you’re just hearing the
Word and not actually doing something with it, you’re deceiving yourself.
I remember preaching on Luke 6,
and I brought up the passage that says, “Do good to those who hate you? I told
the congregation to think of someone who hated them, and I asked, "Are you
willing to go do something good for them? Will you do that? Yes or no?" I
said, "Tell God right now, 'No I will not do that.'" We’re not
willing to make that statement because we don’t want to say that to God, but
we’re doing that every day.
We don’t think it through because we've developed a habit of listening to the
Word of God and not obeying it. If we take Scripture literally and if we
actually apply it, we won’t have what our flesh desires, so we walk away sad or
we run to the church where no one else is doing it, but they seem okay with
that.
Q: How does the American dream play into a lukewarm faith?
A: It’s interesting when we talk about the American dream. In Luke 12,
Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool. There’s this guy who is rich and has
an abundance of crops. He builds bigger barns so that he can store it up. He
says, "[I] have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life
easy; eat, drink, and be merry." Basically, he'll retire and enjoy
himself, the American dream. God says, "You fool! This very night your
life will be demanded from you."
We shouldn't worry about our lives, what we’ll eat, buy, or wear. God says the
American dream is absolute foolishness. It’s exactly what Christians are doing
and defending. God could take your life at any time. Don't conform to the
patterns of this world.
Q: Do you think God calls you to live a radical, crazy life?
A: It's not that this lifestyle should be crazy to us. It should be the only
thing that makes sense. Giving up everything and sacrificing everything we can
for the afterlife is logical. "Crazy" is living a safe life and
storing up things while trying to enjoy our time on earth, knowing that any
millisecond God could take your life. To me that is crazy, and that is radical.
The crazy ones are the ones who live life like there is no God. To me that is
insanity.
I often find that we look around in this world at others who call themseleves "Christians" and compare ourselves to them. Oh
well, Becky is going to see that movie, Lisa is wearing that dress,
sheila is going out to that party and they are "Christians" isn't that
okay? You take this "Jesus Stuff" way to seriously. We tend to look around at others instead of looking up at the one who created us, the one who left us HIS living word to be our guide.
We are not called to be followers of people, but followers of God. In
The Book Crazy Love, Francis Chan challenges the Lukewarm Church to live
a life in response to the CRAZY LOVE that the Creator of the universe has poured out us!
XoXo
Stephanie B.
If you want to read this AMAZING life changing book, you can order it HERE! (Crazy Love by Francis Chan)
