Pastor's 'missing person' alert for Holy Spirit

Written by Staff

Tuesday, 01 September 2009 04:04 PM America/New_York

'Crazy Love' author returns with a strong, new challenge to churches

Francis Chan searches for the missing ingredient in many modern churches in Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit, releasing this month. The best-selling author and pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif., was prompted to tackle the issue after noticing the success of programs in churches he visited and wondering if the same results could be achieved without the Spirit's help.

"I know there's some that's supernatural, but a lot of the things we do are the result of human effort that would have happened at a business meeting, a rally, a feel-good meeting we can create," Chan said. "There are so many different venues to where what we're doing in church really looks the same as what they're doing in the world."

Chan writes that the Holy Spirit brings about a different type of result, one evidenced by spiritual fruit such as love, joy, patience—traits that are missing in many churches.

"When the Holy Spirit comes on us, there'll be a noticeable difference between us and the unbelievers around us or the cult members around us," he said. "We're not seeing that difference. In many ways, we're seeing unbelievers with more joy than we see in the churches nowadays and more life than we see in the church."

Chan believes the Christian life calls believers to what some may see as "crazy," but is a life truly guided by biblical principles. Regarding the concern about spiritual abuse and excess, he said: "Let's not let the fear of what we might become guard us. Let's let the biblical boundaries guard us from messing up our lives."

The author and pastor is known to not just talk the talk. When Chan and his wife decided to donate the proceeds from his Crazy Love best-seller, some of his friends wondered if giving away all of the money was too extreme of a step.

"I know my own tendencies and spending what I'll regret rather than giving it away and enjoying the blessings of giving and enjoying the rewards for eternity," he said. "It's not like this noble thing we've done, but knowing my own sinful tendencies, we'll be happier for eternity."

Forgotten God will be promoted through a high-profile national publicity campaign, including print, online and broadcast media as well as street team promotion.

To order, call 800-323-7543, or visit http://bookstores.cookministries.com. For an extended audio interview with Chan, visit www.christianretailing.com.