Francis Chan’s recent book, Crazy Love (2008), has been among Amazon.com’s 100 best sellers for the last 255 days—currently it ranks #69, and #1 for books on “Christian Living.” I’d been wanting to read it, and on vacation this summer I had the opportunity to do so.
Just to be clear, in this case “crazy” has entirely positive connotations. Radical devotion to Jesus and detachment from fleeting earthly treasures may look foolish to unbelievers, but Chan helps us see how it’s really anything else that’s crazy if you know and love Jesus. In fact, it’s insane to love things and yawn at Almighty God.
The book begins with a few chapters to help readers “see” God—to correct our small, shallow, and desperately inaccurate view of the Lord. Countless problems in countless stagnant, small-minded, conflict-ridden, love-starved churches are rooted in a failure to truly see God: horizontal troubles follow from vertical failings. “The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. The crux of it all is why we are this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God” (22). The theater of nature provides a special stage on which God displays his splendor: the heavens declare the glory of God. Chan goes to great lengths to help us step back and wonder at the awesome reality of the Lord God!
The key contrast in the book is between “lukewarm” and “obsessed” Christians. Lukewarm religious people make God puke—he wants to spit them out (see Rev 3:15-17). Chapter 4 profiles the lukewarm. The message is chilling, and indicting—and I must admit that I feel sin’s pull toward many of the ugly manifestations of the bland, nominal religion Chan attacks. But note, his frontal assault on the American church stems not from meanness but broken-hearted love for the church, the beloved bride of Christ.
Chan contends that “Lukewarm Christian” is an oxymoron—that is, there’s no such thing (83-84). Lukewarm church-goers, like the Laodiceans, aren’t Christians. “We will not see them in heaven” (84). Authentic followers of Jesus are moved, aroused and drawn to live out their faith in zealous (i.e., “hot”) ways. And so, those who profess to be Chrsitians should examine themselves (2 Cor 13:5); don’t assume you’re “good soil” (Mark 4:20) unless you’re fruitful in cherishing and spreading Jesus’ love. “I think most American churchgoers are the soil that chokes the seed because of all the thorns” (67).
In bold contrast with the lukewarm, Chan points to the “obsessed” (ch. 8). Genuine believers are not just “nice,” decent, law-abiding folk, friendly and polite. There’s more, so much more, to true faith (130). Like loving enemies, and forgiving those who commit even heinous crimes against us. Christians are risk takers, bold to step out in faith and witness. Chan laments how the American church is so often safety-centered. “We’ve elevated safety to the neglect of whatever God’s best is…” (133), and his best for us is not always earthly comfort.
Authentic Christians are “obsessed with Jesus,” and that means they: give freely, love those who hate them, live lives that connect with the poor, admit their pride, seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known, think about heaven frequently, have a passionate love for God that overshadows every other thing and being, don’t put on an act for others or God, have a 24/7 spiritual life, and take joy in serving people (it isn’t a burden to them). Secular people may call such obsessed Christians “fanatics,” but the radical, unconventional love of Jesus that exudes from them will reach the hearts of many critics. Chapter 9 then gives several mini biographies of Christians, many of them relatively obscure, who’ve lived “obsessed with Jesus” lives (terrific stories!—though I have questions about some of those named).
This is a great book, and I hope you read it! But it does require some discernment—some (shall we say) “unpacking.” I think in particular of how Chan tends to err in the direction of oversimplification. Like the many times readers are exhorted to “surrender totally,” be “obsessed,” give up everything, it’s all or nothing, no half-heartedness, trust God completely, be faithful in every aspect of life, hold nothing back…
Of course, this call to devotion is biblical and right and necessary, and we need to be confronted in our religious play-acting and self-protection. But Chan does not do enough to help us see how all these great biblical ideals are reached—even by the most mature of believers—only progressively and only in part this side of heaven. He does not do enough to help Christian readers process the present and future realities of ongoing sin. This is not to excuse willful sin, but to grapple with the Bible’s pervasive theme that we remain far from perfect all our days, all the way to glory (e.g., Matt 6:12; Phil 3:12; Jas 3:2; 5:16; 1 John 1:8-10). To be sure, Chan admits that Christians do sin and indicates that the aim in this life is movement toward Christ and not perfection (87-88). But the fierce “in your face” message of the book—as good and necessary as it is—becomes weakened by the shortage of attention to the way we experience all the great, biblical ideals that are set forth only in part this side of glory.
With that word of clarification, I recommend the book. The strong points far outweigh this weakness. Chan’s word is a breath of fresh air and a kick in the pants all at once. Don’t miss it!
