Have you heard of Francis Chan<\/a>?\u00a0 Who is this guy who is making such a Christian wave that one can not help but notice his wake?\u00a0 He was born in Hong Kong in 1967 and has a Master\u2019s in Divinity.\u00a0 This man has been anointed by God to be a Bible teacher, pastor, author, and now a church planter.\u00a0 He also has a deep desire and passion for inner-city children.\u00a0 He presently lives in Northern California with his wife, Lisa, and their five children. He had a difficult childhood as his mother died while giving birth to him. Not long after this his father remarried but his stepmother died in a car accident when he was only 9 years old. Once again his father remarried when, at the age of 12, his father died of cancer. Something in him was restless after all this and no wonder after facing so much death as a child.\u00a0 It was soon after all of these tragedies that he came to saving faith as a teenager in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n In 1994 he founded the Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California and was the church\u2019s first Pastor.\u00a0 Chan also founded and is now chancellor of Eternity Bible College.\u00a0 He is an author of several books, including best sellers Crazy Love<\/em>, Forgotten God<\/em>, and Erasing Hell<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Children\u2019s Hunger Fund and World Impact.\u00a0 The more you know Francis Chan, the more you will understand why he is so energetic about doing God\u2019s work and not letting obstacles get in the way.<\/p>\n Francis Chan has more energy than some churches have collectively.\u00a0 He is passionate about planting a church in San Francisco in the inner city while at the same time launching a discipleship movement in a nationwide effort to bring authentic Christian principles to believers.\u00a0 If you have never heard Francis Chan speak, then you are in for an amazing experience.\u00a0 I have heard this man speak with such passion and purpose.\u00a0 He boils down the Christian walk into such a way that he is comparable to another<\/em> voice crying out in the wilderness.\u00a0 He focuses on the power that is available through the Holy Spirit and yet the vast majority of Christians are not tapping that power.\u00a0 It is like he has found a key to unleashing the same power, the resurrection power, of the Holy Spirit, that Paul writes about in the New Testament.<\/p>\n In his powerful book, Crazy Love<\/em>, he asks the reader if there is something deep inside your heart that longs to break free from the status quo?\u00a0\u00a0 He isn\u2019t saying that he is the reason for that change but that we are not accessing what the Holy Spirit can do \u2013 a real Change-Agent.\u00a0 If you are hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of your world, this man can create a deep hunger inside of you for that change. His teachings give the believer real, tangible, and even radical solutions to what we can do in this present church age.\u00a0 Chan tells us, if only we will listen, that God is calling us to a passionate love relationship with Himself.\u00a0 What he writes and teaches about is the answer to what most Christians want to address in their life;\u00a0 religious complacency.\u00a0 Much of what a believer does in their lives doesn\u2019t seem to make any impact on this world.\u00a0 He says that working harder at a list of do\u2019s and don\u2019ts is doomed to fail.\u00a0 He like\u2018s John Piper\u2018s teachings of Christian Hedonism\u2026that is, we most glorify God when we are most pleased with Him.\u00a0 It\u2019s not working at it, but a falling in love with God.\u00a0 He believes it is like when you first fall in love\u2026it changes everything!\u00a0 Remember how blue the sky was, how red the roses were?\u00a0 That is what this diving into love with God can be like.\u00a0 It is an effectual change and one that will ensure you will never be the same.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve had the pleasure of reading any of his books or listening to any of his teachings, it\u2019s easy to see that he teaches expositionally right out of the Word of God and you almost feel like the Apostle Paul is there!\u00a0 He speaks with such authority because he is so \u201cin-love\u201d with what God wants to do through us\u2026and is doing in him.\u00a0 You can sense that what is breaking the heart of God is breaking his heart too.\u00a0 This is why he serves on the board of directors for the Children\u2019s Hunger Fund.\u00a0 The Children\u2019s Hunger Fund is an international humanitarian aid foundation that is dedicated to assisting the poor.\u00a0 He also sits on the board for World Impact which is an inner city mission\u2019s organization dedicated to planting churches among the urban poor in America. Francis Chan is practicing pure religion as described by James (1:27), \u201cReligion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Francis Chan sees the need for authentic Christianity to impact the world and he is walking the walk like few others that I have ever seen.\u00a0 He has given me new hope and inspired me that our God can do all things through us so long as we are glorifying Him.\u00a0 Chan doesn\u2019t even flinch when doing what seems impossible.\u00a0 For Francis Chan, it is \u201cMission Possible.\u201d\u00a0 If you have never heard him teach or you have never read any of his books, then you are missing out on something very special that will light a fire under you.\u00a0 Listen to some of his thoughts from the book Forgotten God<\/em>.\u00a0 He states that there are 2 obstacles to connecting with the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 One is comfort.\u00a0 Chan believes that maybe our safe, little haven is due to our addiction to comfort.\u00a0 He says, \u201cI have felt closest to God when nearness to Him was a necessity<\/em>\u201c<\/span> (p. 106). Another hindrance to connecting with the Holy Spirit is volume.\u00a0 What he means by this is that maybe our lives are a little too loud and much too busy.\u00a0 Noise and busyness are drowning out the voice of the Holy Spirit\u2019s and His ability to work in us.\u00a0\u00a0 For example he says, \u201cIt takes tremendous effort to find a quiet place. It takes time to quiet your mind and your heart before the Lord. It means turning off the music, the television, or your cell phone. It might mean going outside to your favorite spot. \u2026it is a spiritual discipline to be still, to listen, and to cut out the distraction and din of our world\u201d <\/em><\/span>(p. 109)<\/p>\n I love the story of Elijah in the Old Testament and so does Francis Chan.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 \u201cMy favorite part of that story comes when it is all over and the prophets of Baal are saying, The Lord \u2013 he is God! The Lord \u2013 he is God!\u00a0 They didn\u2019t say, \u201cElijah is a great speaker\u201d or \u201cElijah sure knows how to connect with God!\u201d They were stunned by God. They were in awe of His power. They knew that what they experienced could not have been manipulated by Elijah. They experienced the power of God<\/em>\u201c<\/span> (p. 144).\u00a0 It\u2019s like okay, we give up!\u00a0 You win\u2026no, no, God\u2019 wins.\u00a0 In James 5:17 Chan says, \u201cElijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently so let\u2019s stop looking at the godly men and women in Scripture as though their prayer lives are unattainable<\/em>\u201c<\/span> (p. 144)!\u00a0 He makes you really believe that the Bible is not just a historical record of some men and women of God who did some amazing things.\u00a0 No!\u00a0 He sees that we have that potential and haven\u2019t tapped it yet.\u00a0 Whatever you do, try to read or listen to Francis Chan.\u00a0 He makes the Bible leap right off the page and makes you believe, and rightly so, that you too can bring down fire from heaven and tap the Spirit\u2019s power that most believe is not accessible to them. He will say to your face, you could not be more wrong.<\/p>\n Jack Wellman is Senior Writer at What Christians Want to Know<\/a>\u00a0whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer\u2019s daily walk with God and the Bible.<\/p>\n Resources: The Holy Bible, Francis Chan \u201cForgotten God\u201d \u201cCrazy Love\u201d<\/p>\n photo credit: williamhartz<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you heard of Francis Chan?\u00a0 There is something special about this man of God.\u00a0 Where does his deep desire and hunger for the Word of God and his deep desire to help children come from? Francis Chan Beginnings Have you heard of Francis Chan?\u00a0 Who is this guy who is making such a Christian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1485,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-95","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-famous-christians","tag-francis-chan"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/h2>\n
![\"Francis](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/348\/2013\/05\/medium_3005755866.jpg\" "\\"medium_3005755866\\"")
<\/a>Chan on a Mission<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Bible-Centered<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Francis Chan Quotes<\/span> <\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/348\/2013\/03\/Jack-Wellman.jpeg\" "\\"Jack")
<\/a>Article by Pastor Jack Wellman<\/span><\/h2>\n