Francis Chan's plans

A couple weeks ago I had the chance to hear from Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love and Forgotten God, in person. He was in the Cities speaking at a Desiring God conference, and dropped by a church in south Minneapolis, where about 200 people from various ministries and churches had gathered. I've been a fan of his since reading Crazy Love with my Bible study the Fall of 2009, and have since listened to many of his podcasts. It was really fun to see Chan in person while hearing his voice.

The thing that I was most surprised about was his humility and authenticity. He had notes ready for his talk, but he didn't use them. He spoke off the cuff about many different things, and while it was a little randomly put together, it was refreshing that it wasn't polished. He truly just shared his heart. It was like you were just sitting down with him in a coffee shop.

Even though he said he's been busy speaking at some conferences and helping some pastors with their urban ministries, Chan also stated several times he isn't totally sure what he and his family are doing. This was a bit shocking to me. Shouldn't he have a plan? He needs to know what's next!! He sold his house, left Simi Valley with his wife and kids to travel internationally for awhile. They are back in California for right now in a big urban area (I can't remember what city, I think he said LA). Even though it doesn't seem like he has a plan, he does: glorify God today. He's trusting God to reveal what's next in due time. In the mean time, he's actively helping others follow Jesus: serving the poor in his neighborhood, challenging and motivating believers at conferences, and coming alongside urban pastors and churches to encourage and equip them. Sounds good to me.

But what about his church he left? I mean, he just up and left!

In the book Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman explains the strategy of Jesus' earthy ministry. He writes, "why did Jesus deliberately concentrate His life upon comparatively so few people? (the disciples, specifically the inner 3)...he easily could have had an immediate following of thousands if He wanted them."

I'd say Chan has followers of tens of thousands, at least. His book Crazy Love sold more than a million copies just 15 months after being released in May of 2008. At one time in his pastoral career, Chan told his church staff of 60 people, you could all quit tomorrow and we'd be fine. We'd miss you, and we'd need to figure out what to do next, but we'd be fine. His heart is that people would use what they've learned in the world. He didn't want people to continue to leave other churches to join his church.

Jesus was a realist. He did what He could to help the multitudes, but He had to devote Himself primarily to a few men, rather than to the masses, in order that the masses could be saved. He needed men who could lead the multitudes after he was gone.

Sounds like what Chan is doing right now. I think he realized that people were starting to become followers of Chan and not followers of Jesus.

It reminds me of Saul. He wanted to be king, but he couldn't follow God in the midst of his role. It seems like Chan has his head on straight; he wants to follow God, and God called him to give up his role as pastor of his church, so why wouldn't he? If he stayed against God's plans, it's likely that His walk with God would really suffer.

I don't remember where I first heard it, but it's true: the best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them away. It seems like that's Chan's plan right now. Not a bad idea.