Crazy Love

Chan seeks to combate the "lukewarmness" of the American Church by calling us to live a radical "obsessed" life for Jesus. Lots of good ideas here. The American Church certainly is lukewarm and quickly going the way of the increasingly churchless countries in Europe. Chan argues that our call to live radically is rooted in God's crazy love for us, and that's certainly true.

I have no doubt that Francis Chan is a solid follower of Christ with a big heart for his God and his neighbor. But because this book has made such a big splash in the Church in the last few years, I felt that it warranted a very careful consideration and, to be honest, I found it to be a well-intentioned but profoundly flawed book. The problem is, the house Chan builds has a pretty soggy foundation.

It's not rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, but in this amorphous notion of God's love. In one cringe-inducing paragraph Chan actually asks, so why does God love messed up people like us so much and his response is that he doesn't really know. We do know the answer, God loves us because of Jesus. He's united us to Christ and his love for us is because we are "in Christ. This lack of gospel-centeredness is the biggest problem here, because then all of the imperatives that follow are guilt-driven, not gospel-driven.

Sure, Chan says once or twice that he doesn't want us to be motivated by guilt, but simply saying that doesn't remove the guilt-driven ideas throughout the book. There are some other unfortunate theological choices as well. Chan gives us a heavy individualism with very little attention given to the Church. He talks of taking four day retreats to be alone in the woods with God and uses lots of the warm, fuzzy, quasi-romantic "fall in love with God" language which I keep hoping will run its course in our culture.

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I also think Chan doesn't consider the believer's battle with sin realistically. The Christian life is a constant battle with indwelling sin. The other big problem with this book is how Chan describes this radical Christian life that we ought to be living. He really hammers home the importance of working with the sick and the poor those in America, but especially those around the world, and even more especially those in Africa it seems-- he mentions people going to Africa a lot and giving away money, selling possessions especially houses he mentions people selling their houses a lot.

The problem with all that is I can sell all my possessions, spend decades in Africa doing missionary work and still not love Jesus. Chan's call to radical Christianity doesn't necessarily address the primary problem in the American Church, he's just giving us something new and exciting to do, something that's frankly easier than taking up our cross daily and following Jesus. The problem in the American Church is that we love other stuff more than we love Jesus. And not everyone is called to go to Africa, some people are called to go next door. And not everyone is called to sell their house and downsize so they can give more money away, some folks use their homes as tools for ministry.

Chan holds these activities up as the definition of radical Christianity and tells us countless stories an entire chapter devoted to them, in fact of people who've done these sort of things. But he's missing the problem, namely, our wayward hearts. He's addressing the symptoms, not the sickness. As a pastor in the American Church, I don't want everyone in my congregation to sell their possessions and move to Africa.

I'd be delighted if some of the did that because of a genuine sense of the Lord's calling. But the Church is a body, Paul tells us, and each member has different functions and different uses. What I want for these people is for them to love Jesus more than they love their houses, their jobs, AND even mission trips to Africa.

Crazy Love (Van Morrison song) - Wikipedia

I want them to be faithful spouses, parents, and children. I want them to be godly bankers, truck drivers, doctors, business owners, teachers, retirees, students etc. I want them to be faithful and boring and I want them to love Jesus more today than they did yesterday. Radical Christianity takes many different forms, sometimes it means going to Africa and dying for the gospel there and sometimes Radical Christianity means being genuinely OK with the fact that God has called you to be a boring, faithful Christian in your small town.

Because what makes Christianity radical is not how much money we give away or how many countries we do mission work in, what truly makes Christianity radical is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which every single day is pulling people out of darkness and into the light and then sending them into every nook and cranny of this world with the good news of a Perfect King and a Coming Kingdom. View all 33 comments. Feb 13, Kevin rated it it was amazing. This is one of those WOW! So many times while reading this I had to stop and wrap my mind around what I just read.

Francis Chan has taken the very things that I need to focus on and concisely and passionately expressed them in this book in a way that I totally get. How to live my life in a way that I am showing a God who loves me that I love Him back. Francis writes This is one of those WOW! Francis writes in a way that is convicting without seeming judgmental or accusatory. He gives examples and every day methods of living out the scriptures. I finished this book early this morning and now am deciding who I should give it to next.

Without a doubt one of the most influential books I have read. Read this only if you care about being what God created you to be. View all 13 comments. Jul 26, Kate Davis rated it did not like it Shelves: Here are some highlights: Chan is dismissive of life, even it's highest joys and lowest sorrows, because the story is about God, not people. So that's all that matters. In addition, a person's life boils down to how many people they've "saved" which seems to mean "have gotten to say a prayer". Not sure where this leaves, say, Mother Teresa, who focused more on taking care of people than convincing them to say prayers.

Oh, and now Chan's confronting the problem of hell. A student asks how a loving God can demand we love him via threats of punishment, and Chan's response is that God does it for our own good. He threatens us because he loves us! Wasn't that student listening when her boyfriend hit her? It's for her own good, it's because he loves her!! Apparently God's love for us isn't crazy in the sense that it's so abundantly good, it's crazy in that stalker-boyfriend-with-a-knife-who-ignores-a-restraining-order kind of way.

Next Ch 4 is a misinterpretation of the 'lukewarm' verse in Revelations for a great interpretation, Rob Bell has a sermon in Mars Hill's series on the Letters to the 7 Churches. If anyone's interested, leave a comment and I'll look it up. The verse is concerning water; both hot and cold water are useful in that time and place, lukewarm water was unhealthy and unuseful. Chan says "good" or "real" Christians aren't lukewarm, which seems to boil down primarily to morals within sex: This is where I stopped reading.

I don't feel badly about it; there are plenty of great theological authors I'd rather put my reading time towards. View all 39 comments. Mar 12, Matt Rundio rated it did not like it. It is not about love until, maybe, chapter 10, but by that point it is too late; too much damage has already been done. When a friend asked me about the book, this was my initial response: The following are summary statements and reflections I made of each chapter.

I wrote them down immediately after reading each— I was honestly summarizing and reflecting upon what I took from that part of the book: It seems manipulative — wrong somehow. Excitement for life, not the imminence of death, should be our motivator. It seemed shallow to me. Still with the angry punishing God. It occurred to me that Shane Claiborne frames the same kinds of things in a way I find compelling. Shane tells stories of living fully committed lives — this book just badgers me.

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

This book makes me feel attacked; Shane [in Irresistible Revolution: I make God angry. I make God sick. I make God disgusted. We do need the help of God in order to live fully committed lives. Pages are very good, in fact. God is bigger than you, Point 2: You are a stupid sinner, you make God angry, and you deserve death, Point 3: But I was and I still am.

Perhaps it is my visceral reaction against hell-fire and brimstone preaching that causes me to dislike the book so much. Needless to say, I was unimpressed and disappointed with most of Crazy Love. It was NOT what I expected. What I got was a book about how completely horrible I am and that God is very angry with me and it is crazy that he would love such a punk. But, despite my initial and prevailing thoughts, there was some good in the book, and to that good, I now turn.

The better parts of Crazy Love The best part of the whole book is, without a doubt, chapter 9 and the second best part is chapter Chapter 8 was also mostly good, and chapter 1 has some great things to say. This chapter contains a number of true stories, stories of people who lived or are living their lives in complete surrender to God. The stories inspire, they contain beauty, and they demonstrate the wonderful variety of ways people might give their lives fully to Christ.

This is the second-best chapter. It does a descent job of communicating the fact that each of us will have our own story to live, our own calling to follow, our own choices to make. And that when one lives a life of love, it changes everything. Chapter 9 and 10 were more of what I expected.

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Chapter 8 is where the book stopped being so horrible. Page contains a quote from Frederick Buechner. However, the chapter was still not great, overall. God hates me, I disgust God. The best part of this chapter is the reminder to notice to whom we pray. God is wonderful, huge, creative. God has made an intricate, delicate, breathtaking world in which we live.

We should remember this before we pray; stand in awe of the creator. But, again, there were some problems with this chapter. Chan overemphasizes fearing God, that God is about punishment, that Jesus was beat up and killed because God is so upset with me, etc. I, personally, would never recommend this book to anyone. It seems that Chan is trying to shake up lazy Christians.

That is a good thing. We need to be honest about our lives. Too many of us are caught up in materialism, safety, etc. Too many of us, to many churches, are asleep, and we need to wake up. Both of these superior books aim at similar thing as Crazy Love: But Claiborne and Labberton both do it in much better, much more compelling ways. And for a book that communicates, in a powerful way, the crazy love that God has for us mortals, I highly recommend The Shack by William P.

It does a wonderful job of painting a picture of God as he truly is: Allow me to end with this, my own words to you: God is crazy in love with you. You make him happy, just because you are you. God sings wonderful songs because of and to you. He weeps with you when you cry, he laughs with you when you laugh, he enjoys watching you smile even if your mouth is mis-formed or your teeth are missing.

You see, God IS love — it is his very nature. And you, you are the Beloved of God. You are the object of his affection. Allow that crazy love that God has for you to fill you up and empower everything there is about you. May you, filled with the love of God, become more fully human, more fully you. And see yourself in the same light: View all 17 comments. Jan 14, Katie rated it it was amazing. Totally whooped my tail. Probably THE most convicting spiritual book I've ever read. Challenges you out of any luke-warm tendencies. Challenges you especially in the realm of giving financially and sacrificially.

Really, really good - prepare to be challenged out of your mind. Jul 09, Maureen rated it really liked it. This book really challenged me a lot - I'm gonna have to change some things after reading it! I really like Francis Chan's style of writing and how personable his narration seems. Oct 15, Bradley rated it really liked it. Just flip through the ratings on this book. It looks like that there are about two possible reactions for a devout Christian to this book.

For me, all through high school, theology was my god. God's love, God's grace, and God's compassion didn't register for me. I "saved myself" by knowing how to refute consubstantiation and by knowing what year the Council of Chalcedon was. I could argue with the abs Just flip through the ratings on this book.

I could argue with the absolute best about predestination infant baptism. But it was all shallow, and it was all empty. The 18 inches between the head and the heart are some of the longest in the world. Forget love; it never really struck me that the infinite creator of all the world actually liked me. A lot of things have changed for me in the last few years. I struggled deeply with suicidal depression and I nearly lost.

I was a broken individual let down by my church, my friends, and most especially myself. I could say the words "Jesus loved me" over and over again, providing verse after verse to prove it, but in my heart, I believed God didn't like me one bit. God reached me in the darkest stage of my life, and today I'm the happiest man in the world. I'm not going to say that this book changed my life forever and ever and therefore you need to read it and love it. But God used Francis Chan in my life to make me ask questions that I wouldn't have asked otherwise.

I realized that I couldn't put God in a box. I guess, if I have a point, I said all of that to say this: I know as well as anyone else that the theology here is kinda suspect. I understand that there's a lot more emotional arguments than rational arguments. But you know what? I'm not sure that that matters too much. Is theology very important? Should you hammer Chan for misinterpreting some verses, making a few stretches, and throw out the challenge that the book offers?

I think that that's a cop-out. Chan isn't saying that everyone needs to sell everything and live in a van or a commune or something. But you need to be willing to. At least, that's what Jesus told the rich man in Matthew OK, so not all of the stories make sense. Pulling out all of your teeth is over the top. But maybe putting your head and your logic above your love for God is dangerous. And I can hear you know. Well, if you're damned sure about that, fine, then the book wasn't written for you.

But it helps a lot of people who need to hear what this book has to say. Lukewarmness is a problem in the church today, and Chan's message, whether you deem is intellectual enough for you or not, is something that the church today has to hear. So many people have missed the point of this book in the reviews. It isn't about condemning people to Hell and it doesn't boil you down to how many people you saved.

It does the opposite. It frees you up to live you life with a true sense of passion and purpose. Augustine one time said "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, and then do what you want. I don't believe Chan wants you to move to Ethiopia. But if that's what it takes for you to love God back, so be it. As for condemning people to Hell, it does ask everyone to seriously contemplate their faith. Those are to me some of the scariest verses in the bible, and it's important to discuss it openly.

But as opposed to condemnation, you can approach those verses with the understanding that Jesus both likes you and loves you more than you can possibly imagine and that his grace is stronger than you can imagine. This book isn't without its faults. Two friends of mine that I think very highly of gave this book a one-star rating, and I'm sure that they weren't just plugging their ears to reject the premise.

After all, theology is still very important. We don't need to "please God" like the book seems to imply. Christ's righteousness is enough for us, which is great because our righteousness is as dirty rags to him anyways Isaiah This may not be the best book for a recent convert because of the theology. It could be possible to incorrectly get the idea of works based salvation from this book. However, this book helped breath new life into my relationship with God. It restored my perspective on love and liking not only between Jesus and me, but also between me and my community.

This book powerfully delivers a message that the American church needs to hear. Jul 22, Tim Yearneau rated it did not like it. I have to be honest, I disliked this book. I respect what Chan tries to accomplish and for the choices he has personally made, but I disagree with him wholesale on many levels.

The theme is very Catholic in nature; I deserve nothing, I am not worthy, I must constantly suffer, accomplishing personal goals and dreams are only a manifestation of greed and selfishness. Ok, fine, I admit it; I am a former Catholic. I applaud him for walking the talk; downsizing his house, taking I have to be honest, I disliked this book. I applaud him for walking the talk; downsizing his house, taking the same salary as when he first started, choosing a much smaller footprint for church expansion, etc.

But dreams and goals come from God to begin with.

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So why are they bad? I don't agree we should all downsize and live at the same economic level to eradicate poverty. Redistribution of wealth has been tried and it doesn't work, i. I don't think it's a requirement to demean ourselves and jump on the sword in order to help our fellow man.

I offer the Parable of the Talents. In it the Master rewards the servants who not only used their talents, but multiplied them. He punished the servant who played conservative and didn't use the talents given him. I offer Doctors Without Borders as an example. They work hard to develop their talents and gain personally from those talents, but choose to share their talents, while at the same time not demeaning themselves. Chan promotes a radical philosophy that says "you downsize so others can upsize.

There is nothing wrong with this, in fact, it is admirable. However, he ignores that Paul also stated it shouldn't be a case of now the other person has is easy while you suffer.

Crazy Love (Van Morrison song)

Chan further points to a singular verse in the Bible where it says to sell all of your possessions and give to the poor as being the singular Truth we should all live by. His example of this Truth in action is of the guy at his church, upon hearing the Truth, donated his house to the church and moved in with his parents, stating it didn't matter where he lived as long as he has a house in Heaven. While this is noble, it says God is finite. Everything I have read or heard says God is infinite. God's ability to provide isn't like a pie, where there are only eight slices, and if you have two slices someone else gets none.

My other problem with Chan's singular Truth is it focuses on one line, " In that passage, Matthew Jesus looked at them intently and said, 'Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible. For example, perhaps Jesus is reminding us that as humans we think and operate in terms of limits, and God does not. Personally, I'm focusing on "'But with God everything is possible. He gets dogmatic in that he tends to focuse on one line in a passage without considering the whole context.

The way Chan presents it, success is evil. I contend that dreams and goals are not bad, they're good. For example, Milton Hershey didn't skimp on his dreams and goals, yet gave away his fortune for the greater good. Every Tech Ed program in America can thank him for that. I contend that opportunity eradicates poverty Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Chuck Feeney, and Abraham Flexner are modern day examples of those, like Hershey, who multiplied their talents in the spirit of the Parable of the Talents, and gave back to society.

We should share our skills, talents, and abundance, but I don't think it's a requirement that we tear ourselves down to do it. Jul 05, Matt rated it it was amazing Recommended to Matt by: Cornerstone Simi Valley Podcast. This book is incredible. One of my all time favorites. Chan takes simple truths we have heard our whole lives, but actually challenges and dares us to change our lives. Apr 23, Tom rated it did not like it Shelves: I'll admit up front that I went into this book with a bias. I've seen Chan give talks and read one of his other books. Something has itched at me about him. This book helps me understand why I have been bugged, but I don't think it's fair for me to speculate too much in public.

I'll just say that I understand now why he chose to leave his church, seemingly sell his family's possessions and "follow the Spirit" wherever. I don't think he could have published this book with a straight face unless h I'll admit up front that I went into this book with a bias. I don't think he could have published this book with a straight face unless he eventually did so.

I'll just say that this book is really one chapter, one sermon, stretched into pages through a saturation of scripture quotes not a bad thing and repetition. My theological take is that Chan knows only the law not the Gospel and, ironically for a Pentecostal, does not seem to trust the Holy Spirit to produce fruit, seen and unseen, in the lives of those who hear the Word in faith.

Chan's "gospel" is a new and higher form of the law love and nearly entirely misunderstands grace, faith, and baptism. He will acknowledge salvation by faith alone, but the entire message of the book is salvation by love alone, as evidenced by a very particular experience of God, personal righteousness, and works of the law. It is a strange thing to speak against love, but in our present reality where the old Adam hangs around our necks even as we are new in Christ, we live by faith, not sight, not love, not feelings.

Love is wonderful when you feel it, but it is fleeting, it is not primary and it is not justifying. Instead of the authentic paradox of a sinner-saint like the father in Mark 9, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief," Chan sees things in black and white. You are "all-in" or "all-out. Martin Luther's Heidelburg Disputation includes, "The law says, 'Do this' and it is never done; grace says, 'believe this,' and behold everything is already done. Love is only love when it doesn't score points. I don't feel like taking the time to unpack my takes any further, but if you want to engage in conversation or push back, please leave a comment.

View all 6 comments. Jul 26, Hansen Wendlandt rated it did not like it. If you like the idea of a cool surfing Jesus, who sends most surfers to hell for not being deeply committed Christians, this is a book for you! If you need your regular boost of weak theology, flat Bible interpretation, and smiling preachers talking about a distinctly depressing God, this is a book for you!

To be fair, Crazy Love does in fact add a touch of narrative creativity and useful morality to the basic, useless evangelical message: Despite his all-too-regular message that God will bless true believers, and his obvious and unobjectionable call to donate more of our blessings, Chan embraces solidarity with the poor and repudiates any hint of the prosperity gospel, in ways uncommon to the evangelical community.

Another creative aspect of Crazy Love is its view of creation. If Chan could apply that sort of non-literal reading to even a few of the hundreds of Scripture passages he quotes, he might preach himself into a decent book. As it is, however, Crazy Love brings nothing special to Christian literature.

Meanwhile it forces us to deal with theological inconsistencies Is the book right, that God must punish sin 34 or the video that God can choose to punish us? Jul 25, Amy rated it liked it. I'm not a very good Christian these days - heck, I'm not even sure if I qualify as Christian, since I'm not big on evangelism - but I do believe that the way Christ lived is the way we should live - loving, giving, sacrificing, and with minimal possessions.

So I find myself wondering how there can be so many wealthy Christians in the world; doesn't hoarding and having so much when others have so little go against Christ's teachings? I'm glad to know now - after Chan's call to live "to the median I'm not a very good Christian these days - heck, I'm not even sure if I qualify as Christian, since I'm not big on evangelism - but I do believe that the way Christ lived is the way we should live - loving, giving, sacrificing, and with minimal possessions. I'm glad to know now - after Chan's call to live "to the median" and trust God to provide - that I'm not the only one out there that thinks that.

He's a pastor and he thinks it. Maybe I'm not such a heathen after all. This book is bound to get some people thinking about how much they have and how much they should be giving, which is a very good thing. The things I dislike about the book have more to do with what I dislike about Christianity in general and not the book or Chan himself. It's a worthwhile read for anyone who thinks there journey as a Christian is never complete and they can always sacrifice more shouldn't that be everyone?

View all 8 comments. Oct 30, Mason Wren rated it it was ok Shelves: This used to be a 5-star book for me. I've read it multiple times. I started a devotional study around this book before the group material and videos were ever released. It was extremely important and helpful for me during that time in my life. But as I have grown in my faith and understanding of God, I have seen many flaws in its theology and perspective and I don't believe it accurately portrays the heart of God, the father of the prodigal. In my opinion, this book called crazy love falls shor This used to be a 5-star book for me.

In my opinion, this book called crazy love falls short of capturing the God who not only loves, but is love, and who's every action is defined by love. Instead this book often uses fear, guilt, and shame to attempt to get people to love God back by doing what he requires us to do. And if we don't do those things, this God will reject us and punish us forever Again, this book was really helpful for me at a more beginning developmental stage, but I don't believe it is the most accurate picture of the love of God and how that love transforms us and inspires us to our full potential of what we were created to be.

Apr 12, Ben De Bono rated it it was ok Shelves: I honestly don't like being the person who winds up disparaging books that everyone else seems to adore. I enjoy excellent work and do my best to avoid a cynical perspective that looks for reasons to be critical. Nevertheless I seem to often find myself as one of the lone dissenting voices amid a cacophony of fawning praise.

And so it is with Crazy Love. My friend, Dave, mentioned in his review that Francis Chan seems to be one of the most genuine people out there. I'd have to agree. This book i I honestly don't like being the person who winds up disparaging books that everyone else seems to adore. This book is written with the utmost sincerity and conviction. In addition, most of the material present isn't wrong in and of itself.

My negative reaction to the book doesn't stem from a belief the Chan is going against Scripture with his teaching or anything of the sort. So why the low rating? There are a few main reasons I'll highlight. The book is mired with the individualism that is such a negative force in evangelical theology. No doubt many who have read the book will raise an eyebrow at that statement? Doesn't Chan spend an enormous portion of the book talking about caring for the poor and disavowing selfish Christianity?

But consider the way he goes about advocating that position. His arguments are focused on how God can use YOU as an individual. It's clear throughout that Chan's ecclesiology, like most of evangelicalism, is virtually nonexistent. Even more to the point, the first half the book only encourages the just "me and God" mentality that is truly a scourge of evangelical theology. A personal relationship with God is important and biblical, but it must be grounded in the covenantal and ecclesiological context put forward in Scripture. When it's not, we're left with individualism.

It may be selfless individualism, but it's individualism all the same. Chan's points are true but they lack a proper context. As such, they serve to only encourage a major evangelical error. The book promotes the anti-intellectual attitude that is far too prominent in evangelical thought. Consider this passage from chapter 5: In an earlier draft of this chapter, I quoted several commentators who agreed with my point of view. But we all know that you can find quotes to support any view you want to take. You can even tweak word studies to help you in your effort.

I don't want to claim that the Spirit can't work through a "simple reading" of Scripture or that there are no valuable insights to come from such a reading. However, what Chan is doing, intentionally or not, is encouraging his readings to disregard scholarship in favor of their own readings. The hermeneutical problems with that are abundant. In addition it encourages a cultural arrogance that far too many 21st century readers already suffer from.

I don't think it's Chan's intention do so, but intended or not, that is the effect of his words. I've spent a great deal of time in my ministry trying to combat the anti-masculine bias present in modern Christianity note: The tone Chan writes with in this book only combats the efforts of myself and others with similar concerns.

As a straight male, I'm tired of being told, as Chan does repeatedly in this book, that I need to "fall passionately in love with Jesus. We're keeping things platonic, thank you very much. I'm being facetious and overstating things for the sake of making a point, but it is a very serious problem. If we want to turn around the masculine crisis that Murrow documents so clearly in his book, we need to stop using the language Chan does in this book.

It's not helping and it will only drive men further away from the church. I don't want to act like the book is all bad. I applaud Chan's efforts to point out that grace is a starting point, not an ending point.

But overall the book is riddled with problems. I understand why it's so popular, but I find the fact that it is so a little disheartening. If we want to turn the church around it is essential we fix our ecclesiology, stop eschewing intellectualism and stop driving away men. Unfortunately, this book does the exact opposite of what is needed in those three areas.

For all its admirable qualities, it ultimately does much more harm than good. Sep 08, Hope rated it it was amazing Shelves: Because reading this book was a rather personal experience, I want this review to be personal. The past few months have taught me anew that it is the biggest deal in the whole wide world and we should talk about it as much as we possibly can because it is a huge deal!

So let me tell you about this book, my friend. I have a whole pot of hot tea and no one but you to share it with. About halfway through this book I was struck with a terrible case of depression. You probably noticed I stopped writing to you for a while…actually, I stopped writing at all.

I stopped reading this book, too. It just seemed unimportant. I felt like it was telling me all these things I already knew…and it made me tired. Like the world was suddenly very big and empty and I was very lost in it. And then that passed and I buried myself in a lot of things.

Clothes, travel, work…for about a month. I replenished my wardrobe, I worked every day, I visited NYC for a week… And the world still was feeling rather empty, though a bit smaller than before. And I was still feeling mostly aimless in my existence. Stuff I already knew but had, I guess, sort of just forgotten about. Page to page I used to do many of the same things I do now, but I was motivated by guilt or fear of consequences.

When we work for Christ out of obligation, it feels like work. But when we truly love Christ, our work is a manifestation of that love, it feels like love. I would be happier. Instead, tell Him how you feel. Tell Him that you want Him to change you, that you long to genuinely enjoy Him. Tell Him how you want to experience true satisfaction and pleasure and joy in your relationship with Him. Tell Him you want to love Him more than anything on this earth. Tell Him what you like about Him, what you appreciate, and what brings you joy. Why would I confess that to Him? All my life I have struggled to put Him first and failed to do so over and over, and yet I never thought of telling Him about that in my prayers.

But I never thought to do that. Or anyone else, for that matter! It made me reevaluate my life, in a good way, and for that I am so very thankful. All I can say is that I recommend this book to everyone. I loved it very much and I intend to re-read it in the near future with a highlighter or a pencil nearby to mark my favorite parts, because there were many! And remember, live recklessly for HIM. View all 3 comments. Jun 23, Kamsin Kaneko rated it it was ok.

I guess this book is pretty challenging, but something about Chan's style or his theology or just his general intensity didn't quite sit right with me. Maybe I used to think that God was calling me to "give up everything" and live only for him and give away everything to the poor, the way this book says. But now I think that I don't need to be "crazy" to love God. Maybe quiet, day to day acts of faithfulness, in a fairly ordinary kind of a life are just as important as the big, "wow, you're so a I guess this book is pretty challenging, but something about Chan's style or his theology or just his general intensity didn't quite sit right with me.

Maybe quiet, day to day acts of faithfulness, in a fairly ordinary kind of a life are just as important as the big, "wow, you're so amazing" acts which Chan seems to advocate. I mean how many people show up for work every day and try to find the best in themselves and each other? Especially as a teacher, it seems so many teachers have little faith in, or respect for, their students. And all the simple day to day things like loving your spouse might not seem very heroic, but how many people actually do this consistently?

As for his ideas on Christians living safe, comfy lives. I don't know exactly what God has to say about that, but whilst walking round a photography exhibition with photos from some of the worlds most troubled and dangerous places, I left thinking the world is a pretty scary, unsafe kind of a place for the vast majority of people. Maybe trying to protect what with have is a natural reaction to that fact? Anyway, Chan seems to be super popular and I keep seeing his words quoted on blogs and facebook, but for whatever reason, I'm not a fan.

Nov 07, Nick rated it it was ok Shelves: This book has a huge fan base in the evangelical world. So many of my personal friends have gone gaga over this book that I feel a little guilty busting it down to two stars. However, I have several reasons that I must do so. Is it because I'm a calloused Christian that isn't willing to be "overwhelmed by a relentless God"? It's that I'm not overwhelmed by this book I am really hard pressed to find any new material in this book. Recently there has been a wave of si This book has a huge fan base in the evangelical world.

Recently there has been a wave of similar books calling for comfortable suburban Christians to get Radical about their faith and realize that there is a Hole In the Gospel well That covers several of them anyway. I haven't read all of these books, so I will refrain from commenting on them and stick to Crazy Love. Here's the deal Tozer and Bonhoffer said it better. Ray Charles introduced Van Morrison by starting the first verse before Van's appearance when he was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in Morrison and Charles then finished with a duet of "Crazy Love".

Ray Charles remarked about this performance: The original version from Moondance is one of the hits included on the compilation album, Still on Top - The Greatest Hits.

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The Songs of Van Morrison. Kirka recorded the Finnish rendering "Rakkauden sain" for his album Kaksi Poulta. The single was released on 29 June , accompanied by a number of bonus tracks and mixes from the album. The video premiered on YouTube on 1 May From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 12 November Retrieved 4 November When a Man Loves a Woman". Archived from the original on 31 May Archived from the original on 2 April Retrieved 17 October Retrieved 27 October Retrieved 10 October