Crazy Love – Chapters 9-10
This marks the end of the book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I hope you enjoyed the book and the chance to talk through it with everyone. I had a blast and really appreciate the insight you have all shared. I can honestly say that I read it with different eyes because of the comments that everyone contributed. Here are my thoughts on the last two chapters:
1. Page 150. The guy getting his teeth all taken out so that he would never be distracted from the mission field was pretty intense.
2. Page 154 -155. I had no idea Rich Mullins was like this. I was a huge Christian music snob growing up and missed a lot of the great stories behind the music. I love that Mullins constantly fought against people trying to put him on a pedestal.
3. Page 159. How do you feel when you bump into stories about miracles like the one with Brother Yun’s broken legs?
4. Page 166. I like that Chan lays out that the solution or opportunity is not the same for everyone. For some people, they’ll quit their job and head to the mission field and for some others, they’ll work harder at the job they already have. It’s frustrating to me when people propose a one size fits all solution.
5. Page 166. If there were two camps in the Stuff Christians Like Book Club, I was clearly on the “pro-Crazy Love” side, but I can understand the push back people are having with statements like page 166, “The stories in chapter 9 are brief snapshots of how a few people have lived out true Christianity in America …” The challenge is who decides what “true Christianity” is?
6. Page 167. “Have you ever said: “I was made for this moment?” I have and it’s usually not the moment I would have expected it to be. How about you?
7. Page 168. “We try to set our lives up so everything will be fine even if God doesn’t come through.” Ouch, that one hit home.
8. Page 169. “I’ve made a commitment to consistently put myself in situations that scare me and require God to come through.” I love that and that’s something my wife and I are actively praying about right now with a few things that are coming up.
9. Page 172. “The world needs Christians who don’t tolerate the complacency of their own lives.” I agree with this 100%.
10. Overall, what did you think of the book? Did you love it? Did you hate it? Would you tell friends to read it?
Those are my thoughts, what are yours?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Crazy Love - Chapters 6 - 8
Crazy Love - Chapters 6-8
This marks the second to last section of Crazy Love we'll be talking about for the Stuff Christians Like Book Club. We'll discuss chapters 9 and 10 on Wednesday, February 25. Here are some things that struck me about chapters 6-8.
1. Page 100. "When you are truly in love, you go to great lengths to be with the one you love." I think that’s true. Would anyone that watched my life see me going to great lengths to be with God?
2. Page 102. "We don't have to worry about a burdensome load of commands, because when we are loving, we can't sin. Do you feel free in your Christian life?" I've seen this in my own life with how I approach lust. When I tried to focus on cutting lust from my life it felt impossible. When I focused instead on God's love, my desire to lust diminished.
3. Page 104. "The fact is, I need God to help me love God." I really liked this idea. Sometimes I feel so bent out of shape trying to "get love right." I essentially say, "God I am so sorry I keep failing at loving you. No, no, I don't want your help with loving you, let me figure this out on my own and then come to you." The idea of being able to pray, "God, help me love you" is really freeing to me.
4. Page 108. "We are always the recipients of His great and manifold gifts. Not the givers. Never the givers." Again, this statement removes the pressure for me to feel like God is waiting on my gift and I keep blowing it. He is already complete.
5. Page 110. The section on Malachi 3:10 about giving God your whole tithe and not robbing Him was one I wrote "wow" beside in the margin. Time is the tithe I don't give very well and the idea of writing Him a blank check with my time was really challenging. And I liked the idea of "Give God more than you can manage"
6. Page 115. "Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers." How sensible is your life right now?
7. Page 119. "How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ…" This is stupid, but I actually tried this while driving to church the other day. I usually get really mad at people that cut me off on the way into the church parking lot. And I honestly tried to see them as Christ instead of an enemy preventing me from getting a good parking spot.
8. Page 123. "Do we really believe that "it ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day?" I rarely think about the final day and all too often live life firmly planted in the right now.
9. Page 127. "What matters is that we spend ourselves." I like that phrase, "spend ourselves." For me, part of that means writing as much as I can and trying to pour out for others what I feel like God is pouring into me. What does spending yourself look like to you?
10. Page 130. “True faith is loving a person after he has hurt you.” What was your reaction to the last person that hurt you?
11. Page 133. “We’ve elevated safety to the neglect of whatever God’s best is …” This was challenging to me because right now I am wrestling with whether I should be doing “this blog writing” more. And I want God to say, “Sure and here’s why it is perfectly safe to do that.” But He won’t. How are you living safe?
12. Page 136. The description of wasting the day by “spending hours connecting with God” was a good push point for me. I once heard another minister say that in the age of busyness we are called to do something that seems wasteful, pray. I also liked the question why “do we assume we could never do anything so radical or intense?”
13. The humble section on page 137 was well timed as I get the opportunity to speak more. God has been planting that idea on my heart a lot lately, that He wants me to get smaller and quieter in His hand while the things around me get louder and pick up the pace.
14. Page 145 kind of asks the question, “What is your thing?” If you did an audit of the way you spent your time last week, what would your thing be?
15. Page 146. “Joy is something that we have to choose and then work for.” I completely agree with that.
Those are my thoughts, what did you make of chapters 6-8?
This marks the second to last section of Crazy Love we'll be talking about for the Stuff Christians Like Book Club. We'll discuss chapters 9 and 10 on Wednesday, February 25. Here are some things that struck me about chapters 6-8.
1. Page 100. "When you are truly in love, you go to great lengths to be with the one you love." I think that’s true. Would anyone that watched my life see me going to great lengths to be with God?
2. Page 102. "We don't have to worry about a burdensome load of commands, because when we are loving, we can't sin. Do you feel free in your Christian life?" I've seen this in my own life with how I approach lust. When I tried to focus on cutting lust from my life it felt impossible. When I focused instead on God's love, my desire to lust diminished.
3. Page 104. "The fact is, I need God to help me love God." I really liked this idea. Sometimes I feel so bent out of shape trying to "get love right." I essentially say, "God I am so sorry I keep failing at loving you. No, no, I don't want your help with loving you, let me figure this out on my own and then come to you." The idea of being able to pray, "God, help me love you" is really freeing to me.
4. Page 108. "We are always the recipients of His great and manifold gifts. Not the givers. Never the givers." Again, this statement removes the pressure for me to feel like God is waiting on my gift and I keep blowing it. He is already complete.
5. Page 110. The section on Malachi 3:10 about giving God your whole tithe and not robbing Him was one I wrote "wow" beside in the margin. Time is the tithe I don't give very well and the idea of writing Him a blank check with my time was really challenging. And I liked the idea of "Give God more than you can manage"
6. Page 115. "Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers." How sensible is your life right now?
7. Page 119. "How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ…" This is stupid, but I actually tried this while driving to church the other day. I usually get really mad at people that cut me off on the way into the church parking lot. And I honestly tried to see them as Christ instead of an enemy preventing me from getting a good parking spot.
8. Page 123. "Do we really believe that "it ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day?" I rarely think about the final day and all too often live life firmly planted in the right now.
9. Page 127. "What matters is that we spend ourselves." I like that phrase, "spend ourselves." For me, part of that means writing as much as I can and trying to pour out for others what I feel like God is pouring into me. What does spending yourself look like to you?
10. Page 130. “True faith is loving a person after he has hurt you.” What was your reaction to the last person that hurt you?
11. Page 133. “We’ve elevated safety to the neglect of whatever God’s best is …” This was challenging to me because right now I am wrestling with whether I should be doing “this blog writing” more. And I want God to say, “Sure and here’s why it is perfectly safe to do that.” But He won’t. How are you living safe?
12. Page 136. The description of wasting the day by “spending hours connecting with God” was a good push point for me. I once heard another minister say that in the age of busyness we are called to do something that seems wasteful, pray. I also liked the question why “do we assume we could never do anything so radical or intense?”
13. The humble section on page 137 was well timed as I get the opportunity to speak more. God has been planting that idea on my heart a lot lately, that He wants me to get smaller and quieter in His hand while the things around me get louder and pick up the pace.
14. Page 145 kind of asks the question, “What is your thing?” If you did an audit of the way you spent your time last week, what would your thing be?
15. Page 146. “Joy is something that we have to choose and then work for.” I completely agree with that.
Those are my thoughts, what did you make of chapters 6-8?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Next chunk of Crazy Love
Next chunk of Crazy Love
On Wednesday, February 11 we will be discussing chapters 6 - 8 of the book Crazy Love right here.
Jon
On Wednesday, February 11 we will be discussing chapters 6 - 8 of the book Crazy Love right here.
Jon
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