I'd heard a little about Francis Chan, about how he was radically on fire for God, and like I mentioned in an earlier post, wanted to read this book.
It's a real roller-coaster of a ride. Not in the traditional sense of a story, but in the way it alternates law and grace, compulsion and love, condemnation and delight. Chan is clearly battling both the enthusiasm/determination that 'us radicals' have for doing things *right* and also his background of fear of authority and punishment by a father figure that he refers to through the book. I align myself with him as a radical in the way he handles some things because I very much recognise that I have been like that too (you must, you WILL live under grace etc) although my line is much much gentler than it was, say, 20 years ago.
The basic premise is that we who are nothing but a fleeting moment, less than a footnote at the bottom of the page of history are yet precious to and part of the plans of the creator of the universe. How can we not therefore give up what we cannot keep in order to gain what we cannot lose: wealth, possessions, relationships, personal security, in order to be like Jesus. He's bang on about this, but there's a near-brutality about it too (understandable in a way, because how can the things you want to hold onto be of any real value compared to the things you stand to gain by losing them?) as he discusses western living by comparison with what it means to be a Christian who has given themselves to God.
There are funny moments - like the person who spoke to a friend of his about going out to be a missionary except that he would only be doing it out of obedience. And there are moments of 'depression' going through the list of 'the few, real Christians' and other parts.
To me, it's intense in a 'do this or die' kind of way, not encouraging or aspirational - I am sure this isn't how Chan wanted it to be, and it may well suit a North American readership much better. It wasn't unusual to find myself having to go back and find examples of the real things that God has done in my life, to be sure that I wasn't some fake Christian, pretending to be a follower of Jesus while lying to all around me.
Would I recommend it?
Tricky. Yes, for someone who was a new Christian, who wanted something to set their sights on and who could look back at their old life & see the worthlessness of it all, provided I were around to answer their questions and walk beside them as they picked up the pieces. Yes, for a mature Christian who wanted a radical look at what it meant to be a Christian, and who was secure enough in their walk with God to hear God's voice among the others that would come while reading it. Yes for someone who was just meandering through their Christian life, seeking to get radicalised for Jesus, and who could discuss their thoughts and directions with others to bring balance and a detached set of ears to help them hear God with.
But I could also imagine that someone who was not stable could get their knickers seriously knotted over this one, begin to have doubts about their faith or end up sleeping rough to avoid owning worldly possessions.
It's a challenging book, and that's good, but like I said, I found it a real roller coaster. It's almost finished - if the last few pages substantially affect my feelings then I'll add at the end of this post.
*Addition*
As predicted, the last few pages did affect my feelings, or rather, the followup section 'A conversation with Francis Chan'. In there is a bit more heart instead of simply hard-faced bible study.
One of the more controversial bits if theology is his assertion that lukewarm Christians aren't Christians at all - it's something I've batted back & forth in my head from time to time too. I'm, not thinking of those who come to church for a bit, apparently make some sort of commitment, then drift away, but rather those who, as he puts it, swear a little less and drink a little less than those around them, but are otherwise indistinguishable. Parable of the sower 101 suggests to some that those who are Christians are the fruitful ones. Some people would say that it was all of the 'wheat plants' in the parable, but I'm not sure I could be happy to endorse that viewpoint, at least from a biblical point of view.
I do wholeheartedly want to see a return to simple church practice and new-testament style theology, which seems to be where he's headed. Maybe that shears away a lot of the excuses for being fruitless that we so often allow ourselves, letting us do religious service instead so we feel righteous, and is why he came across as a bit brutal?
Sounds dramatic. I have the feeling this book wouldn't endear someone to Chan who already has some "issues" (however baseless they *might* be) with him.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, Toni. :)
I have a feeling you're right, Marc. There's a lot of good stuff in there, and it may well come through over time for me, but there's a lot that almost feels as though it's been put in to make it HARD to want to be like Jesus and to put off those who might otherwise come over.
ReplyDeleteI've just been reading a photography forum where one of the seriously clever guys cannot win people over - he has a nature that is determined to say things as plain and hard as possible. The stuff he says is pretty much always on the money, and he's a fount of knowledge, but wrapped in a spiky personality. I had that feeling reading this at times.