Francis Chan, best-selling author of “Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God,” challenges himself every day with an intentional life in Christ. He’s not afraid to make a controversial decision or confront conventional wisdom in order to please the Lord.
The preacher and founder of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif., left his church in 2011 and moved to San Francisco. It was part of his desire to keep changing and allow God to use him in different ways.
“Every day is different,” the 45-year-old Chan said in an interview with Dr. Randy Carlson. “I want every day to be an adventure. I hate normalcy. I want to experience God and know Him better every day.
“A lot of times, I will observe my life and say, ‘What am I doing right now that shows I really believe there is a God in heaven, watching, protecting and loving me?’ What shows I believe in eternity?”
Chan frequently talks about “what the Bible really says” and challenges followers of Christ to live that way.
“I am constantly in evaluation,” he said. “Show me if there are greater steps of faith I can take. What required faith last year may not require faith this year. Let me stretch myself in a new journey.”
The Hong Kong native said churches miss the mark occasionally when it comes to teaching.
“I am not trying to be hard on a church, but the truth is, we are all incomplete in what we teach,” he said. “At the same time, there are certain doctrines in scripture about God we see from creation to the end. Yet we avoid them. I don’t know if we intentionally avoid them, or they are not as popular of a topic. “
One topic is the greatness of God, Chan said.
“We do not like to think about certain aspects of Him. And just how far beyond us He is,” Chan said. “We feel like it belittles who we are. We like to have a man-centered universe and believe we are at the center of everything.”
When Chan founded his church in California, he told the Los Angeles Times: “I think the average person sees church as a place filled with hypocrites. There’s a lot of people who say they believe in God but they just don’t believe in the church.”
By moving to San Francisco, Chan was taking a tremendous leap of faith. His church was the largest in Ventura County, Calif.
“We do step in dangerous situations because of the gospel. But here is all that matters: Faith working through love. If you don’t have love, it doesn’t matter. It sums everything up. Love. Because our belief, trust and faith in Christ, we love.”
Listen to Francis Chan’s Interview with Dr. Randy Carlson
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