April 18. Francis Chan. For the first five years of his life, Chan was raised in Hong Kong in a Buddhist home. By sixth grade, he’d lost his mother, his step-mother, and his father. In his high-school years, his uncle killed Chan’s aunt and then himself. But Chan had been taught about Jesus, and he never let go.
Chan became a pastor, founded and grew a church, and attained fame. With Danae Yankoski,
Chan wrote Crazy Love and became a NY Times best-selling author. But on this day in 2010, Chan resigned from the church he and his wife Lisa had started in 1994—so he could do more work, reach more people, love the least-loved among us.
He co-founded Multiply—a nationwide discipleship movement, and he serves on the board for Children’s Hunger Fund, which—since 1991—has distributed more than 1 billion dollars in food and other aid to more than 20 million children across America and around the world. Chan also serves on the board of World Impact—a ministry that “empowers urban leaders and partners with local churches to reach their cities with the Gospel.”
Success may draw people to us; laying it aside may draw people to God.
Francis Chan shuffled behind the stage as he readied himself to speak to the crowded ballroom. A man standing nearby asked him how he prepared to speak to such large crowds.
With a smile, Francis said, “I’ve got a series of seven questions that I ask myself, but … one I ask is, ‘Do I really love these people?’” Francis knew that he had made a name for himself, but he also knew that sometimes success must be sacrificed to serve God.
In fact, love led Francis to leave the mega church he’d founded. He wanted to pursue an image of the church where the members equally loved and edified one another.
Francis told the audience about times he’d deeply felt love for his fellow staff members at his church, but he admitted there were also times the same people were difficult to love.
One night, he went to dinner with one of those men and his wife. Francis enjoyed himself and thought the couple was doing fine, that is he assumed they were doing fine.
However, a few days later that couple’s serious marital issues became public knowledge. Francis had spent a whole evening with them and didn’t have a hint of what they were really suffering.
Instead of actively loving his staff and congregation, Francis found that he “was just getting the message across.” What if he had loved that couple enough to ask the right questions? Francis knew the love that Jesus expected from his church was active and engaging, not just people delivering and listening to a sermon.
As Francis continued to study the Scriptures, he could not escape how many times the Bible said that Christians should love one another. One passage he returned to over and over read, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another,” (John 13: 34, NIV).
This inspired Francis to leave the mega church to pursue a new, smaller church structure, where members were intimately involved with each other’s lives. With this form of church, there was simply no way for him to avoid asking the question of whether he loved the people he saw face to face. Their success was defined by the degree of love they shared.
The standard God expects of us is that we love one another as Jesus loves us—an impossible standard by natural means. But Francis pointed out that our love was “not supposed to be natural—it’s supernatural,” empowered through Christ himself.
For the next twenty-four hours, challenge yourself: when others talk to you, put down your phone and give them the attention that love requires. Success may draw people to us; laying it aside may draw people to God.
“Francis Chan.” Christianity Today. Accessed August 2, 2020. https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/contributors/francis-chan.html
“Francis Chan Bio.” Just Stop and Think. Accessed August 2, 2020 http://www.juststopandthink.com/francis-chan-bio.
Klett, Leah MarieAnn. “Francis Chan Discovers Link between Birth Mother, Move to Hong Kong: ‘It’s Confirmation of God’s Goodness.’” Christian Post Reporter. March 11, 2020. https://www.christianpost.com/news/francis-chan-discovers-link-between-birth-mother-move-to-hong-kong-its-confirmation-of-gods-goodness.html
Chan, Francis. “How Deep The Father’s Love For Us (Alliance Council). Crazy Love Ministries, http://crazylove.org/podcasts/57 Accessed 15 December 2018
Thompson, Keith. “Francis Chan | Why I Left The Megachurch I Created.” YouTube. Published 4 July 2017. Accessed 16 December 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ9Yeq-t
Chan, Francis. Letters to the Church, Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2018, 72.
Story read by Chuck Stecker