Review of Francis Chan’s Crazy Love DVD

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Crazy Love is a beautifully filmed and produced small group resource. There’s a warm, friendly, genuine feel to each of the 10 chapters.

Just as he did in the book Crazy Love, Francis Chan talks to the viewer like an old friend who is desperately in love with Jesus and wants the same for you. Each 10-minute chapter is a vignette, a slice of Chan’s day. He talks about what it means to really love Jesus while he makes his breakfast (chapter 1), goes to the grocery store (chapter 3), puts his kids to bed (chapter 10).

While going about the mundane activities of his day, he beckons the viewer to more. Standing in the market, he asks, “…how do you have these supernatural times when you’re doing mundane and boring things?” Then he says, “I want to be standing in a market and think about the blood of Jesus Christ.”

While the specific content is not exactly the same as the book, thematically, the chapters cover the same ground, but the video serves its purpose by turning the book’s more individual purpose to a community-focused purpose. For instance, near the end of Chapter 8, Chan says, “…the truth is, to live out biblical Christianity in the American church, that’s a very difficult thing, and you really need each other for that.”

Each chapter ends with a probing question to be discussed by the group, which is more or less standard. Like the book, however, the questions Chan asks feel disarmingly simple but dig deeper than some viewers may be used to.

The subject matter is strong, but the strength of this small group resource in delivering that subject matter is its warmth – generated not just by the NOOMA-esque settings and quality of the video, but the authenticity of Chan’s style – which draws the viewer in and – in my opinion – makes the viewer think a little harder about these subjects than another approach might have.

I’d recommend this video resource to any small group leader.

On Twitter

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Just wanted to let my readers know I'm on Twitter now. Here it is.

Confession for a Change

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Proverbs 28:13 (New American Standard Bible)
13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

Sin thrives in the darkness.

And yet, when we sin, the first thing we do is shove that nasty little sin into the back of the closet, turn off the lights, quietly close the door, and hope no one noticed what we were doing. We’re afraid of being found out. If anyone knew what we’d done, we’d be ostracized.

I wish I could say that wasn’t true. There are some sins the revelation of which probably would get you ostracized, but that’s not the way it should be.

I’ve written before about the bent of people in the church – everyone really – to hide their indiscretions, to wear masks. And I’ve written about the need to be real, but this is different. This isn’t about what hiding our sins does to the church as a whole. It’s about what it does to us as individuals and our relationships with God and others.

I confess to you that I have sinned. (Whoa, seriously?!) In fact, I may be sinning right now. You don’t know!

I confess to you that I have hidden my sins, and when I did, here’s what happened. I became a slave to them. You see, there’s a lot of talk in the Bible about darkness/evil/sin and light/goodness/righteousness. I think that’s more than just a visual way to think about the difference between God and Satan or sin and righteousness. I think it tells us something about the nature of these concepts.

Let’s talk about darkness. You can’t see in it. Therefore, things can be hidden in it. It’s really easy to get lost in the darkness. It is – by definition – devoid of light.

Now, how about light? When a room is lit up, you can see everything. It’s impossible to hide in an open, sunny, expanse. You can generally – given the absence of other obstacles – see right where you’re going in the light. Light drives away the darkness.

Let’s compare sin and darkness. Attachment to sin can “blind” you to what you should do. Or, if you like, it can cause you to “lose your way.” (Take a look at Romans 1:18-31 to see how sin takes root and leads to more sin.) We all have a tendency to hide our sin. Sin is the exact opposite of righteousness – there is nothing good in it.

Hence, my opening statement: Sin thrives in the darkness. It grows and breeds and takes over. But once the light shines on it…

This is confession. Shining the light on our sin.

It requires humility to truly confess your sins. Therefore, a true confession requires not just speaking them aloud, but forsaking them, i.e. repentance. It is in this repentance that we find compassion. God shows compassion to those who confess and forsake their sins. What does this mean?

Remember how God hardened the hearts of those people in Romans 1? They became, as Paul later writes, “slaves to sin.” (Romans 6) I believe that sin’s power over us is found in the darkness, and when we shine the light on it by confessing, its power is broken. We are then free to become “slaves to righteousness.”

So, to whom do we confess? To God, of course. He has the power to forgive us and deliver us from our sins, but let’s be honest. We confess sins to God, but it’s still really easy to hide them.

I believe God calls us to confess our sins to our fellow believers. (See James 5:16.) This means we must trust one another, and that’s a near impossible thing to do when you can’t tell if the face someone is showing you is real. But we must trust one another.

So, confession is a powerful instrument of God in freeing us from bondage to sin. But there is an even greater impact.

I sincerely believe that if you find one fellow Christ-follower that you think you can trust and confess your sins to that person, this can be the beginning of change in the church. Masks will fall away. True faces will be revealed. People will be humbled before God, and they will see him do amazing things (2 Chronicles 7:14).

I’ll close with these words spoken by Alistair Begg during an exposition of Hebrews 3:13: “God has determined that it is in our relationships with one another that we are strengthened and equipped.”

My Thoughts on the Presidency (and the President)

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I think we’re all aware that today is a great day in the history of the United States. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican – or neither – you know today is big.

Today our first African-American President was inaugurated. It’s a day to be proud of our nation. The dream of racial equality is coming true. It’s also a day that I find myself a little sad – and more than a little embarrassed – about the state of civil rights in America. What took us so long?

Like millions of Americans, I am ready for change, and President Obama speaks of change my heart longs to see – a change in the way the politics of our government work. (For the sake of full disclosure, let me say that I did not vote for Obama.) A change in the petty arguments, the partisan divisions.

His words are beautiful and paint a portrait of an America I think most of us would love to see – one defined not by consumerism and narcissism, but by generosity and kindness.

But I’m not sure that government-enforced wealth sharing is really the way to go.

And the fact that Obama’s record is extremely pro-choice is terrifying to me.

My prayer is that God will grant him the wisdom to lead our nation and the humility to serve our nation. My hope is that he will be just as great a president as some think he will be.

Jud's a Loser

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Today is going to be another short entry because it serves simply as an invitation. I've begun a journey to better health and less of me. Literally. And I want you to be part of it.

I'm on my way to being 80 pounds lighter, and I've started a new blog to chronicle the journey called "Jud's a Loser." The first entry will be there today, Jan. 16, 2009, describing the beginnings.

My hope is that you will help keep me accountable, and that those of you who are also struggling with your weight will find some encouragement.

Click on the link above and join me in the journey.

(For those of you wondering when I'm going to do another "real" blog entry here at Words, not to worry! I'm planning a new full entry on Monday, Jan. 19, which - in addition to being Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - is the first anniversary of this blog!)

Snowing in Houston!

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So, it's pretty amazing. It is actually snowing in Houston. I don't really have much to say about it except it's the COOLEST THING EVER! And I posted some photos on Photobucket. Click the pic above to see more.

Review of Francis Chan's Crazy Love

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Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
First of all, I am a HUGE fan of Francis Chan. If you haven’t heard his message from Passion 07, go download it on iTunes now!

Crazy Love is disarming in its charm and conversational tone – so much so that at times you may find yourself wishing for more meat only to realize you’re still chewing on the last chapter. Chan writes the way he speaks – like he’s just telling you what he thinks. He puts on no intellectual airs, though the issues he addresses go deeper than the great majority of Christian books today.

Chan loves God’s Word. He loves Jesus, and that completely comes across in this book. He is speaking in Crazy Love from the same place in which many Christians today find themselves – the place where we have realized that all is not right with the bride of Christ.

He calls us on to the radical life in the voice of a loving, laid-back dad.

View all my reviews.