Chan points out that we’ve made church about “all these different peripheral issues” when instead only two things matter. Being crazy in love with God is #1.
And secondly…
“God’s displeasure with the church is our lack of love for one another,” Chan says.
And when people see the love for people in the church that Jesus calls us to, it’ll be magnetic. They won’t be able to resist it! Church growth won’t be a program or a strategy; instead, it’ll be organic. Chan says people will say, “Wow! You should gather with these people. You should see the way they care about each other. It’s fascinating!”
Is Francis Chan’s revelation from God or just another idiot reading the Bible?
Chan is quick to say he’s not saying anything new. This is all in the Bible! In fact, Jesus said that people would know Christians by their love. Chan says this isn’t something he has come up with on his own: “I’m just another idiot reading the Scriptures and going ‘this seems most important to Him.’ ”
Chan believes (and Revelation supports this) that God is not happy with churches that don’t focus on the two greatest commandments to love God and love their neighbors. And God is looking for churches that are so in love with Him and with others that “we are producing lovers of Jesus and people that love each other so much that the world is going, ‘There’s something supernatural going on there because I’ve never seen a love like that before.’ ”
Where do we start with this simple but radical change in ourselves and our churches?
“What changes us is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit,” says Chan. Let’s start there.
And let’s end with this: an eternal perspective that this day could be our last on Earth and we will stand before God.
“What I try to do is, like I said in the book,” says Chan, “when I teach, I try to think if I die at the end of this message will I have said everything God wants me to say?”
There’s definitely nothing idiotic about that!
Listen to the latest ChurchLeaders Podcast featuring Francis Chan.
