I mentioned the other day of keeping an eye on bestseller lists, and if there’s an author who has resonated with a whole lot of people at once, for whatever reason, you ought to check out what that author has to say.
I said all that in connection with Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love and the more recent Forgotten God. A lot of people don’t know him yet, and I think another dimension — without embracing celebrity culture, something Chan himself would despise — is to check out other resources that help you to get to know the heart of the author.
Especially if you can see and hear that author speak. What a difference to then be able to read the author’s printed works and hear the author’s voice inside your head as you read or imagine their smile or the spark of passion you see in their eyes. But — and this is important — to also know more background as to where the author is coming from.
If you want to play this out with reference to Francis Chan, there’s a little 4-minute video that really says it all:
Sometimes certain natural giftedness plays out and certain authors and music artists simply work their way up the “success” ladder of Christian influence. However, there are other times that I believe people are justified — even if it can be a little cliché — to say that God has “raised up” certain people with a unique message for our particular place in history.
If you’ve got 55 minutes to invest, here’s a recent message where Francis returned to Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California after seven months away. (If you’re on dial-up or have a slow connection, scroll down to the second link, which is audio only.) If your time is very limited, after an intimate time of getting re-acquainted with his former congregation, the sermon begins at 16:47. Sort of. Please remember, I’m not posting this because it’s the best Francis Chan sermon out there; I’m posting this because it reveals his heart.
This link below is for people who get frustrated with slower connections and lagging video; it’s just the audio of the same sermon.
Christianity 201 