Book Review: Crazy Love

I have already written about Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love, elsewhere, but it is worthy of a more thorough review.  I must admit that I was hesitant to pick up this book (though I had no good reason to be), but I am glad that I took the time to digest this relatively quick read from a passionate pastor.  This is not a book that you will find intellectually challenging, but it is spiritually stimulating.

Chan begins his book by extolling the beauty and sovereign majesty of our holy God and his extravagant love for himself and for his creatures.    He then moves to chapters that are written pointedly at Christians in our Western culture.

Chan’s humble and unassuming writing style make his rebukes aimed at Christians bearable while convicting.  He pulls no punches, however, in pointing out the problems with 21st Century Christians:

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.  We see Him as a benevolent Being who is satisfied when people manage to fit Him into their lives in some small way.  We forget that God never had an identity crisis.  He knows that He’s great and deserves to be the center of our lives.  Jesus came humbly as a servant, but he never begs us to give him some small part of ourselves.  He commands everything from His followers.

From that point, Chan spells out what this everything should look like.  He challenges Christians to examine their lives, not in light of our culture, but in light of the gospel which commands us to live counter-culturally, or, as he puts it, something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers. 

This book is easily approachable by any and everyone in your church and will be convicting to your baby-Christians, and to your most mature and committed believers.  Read it for yourself and repent of your commercialized Christianity.  Then, reccommend it to your friends, family, and church so that you can all repent together.