Francis Chan's 2008 book Crazy Love is a staple in almost every millennial Christian library. You'll scarcely find anyone who was in a youth group from 2000 - 2020 that isn't familiar with Chan's illustrations or literature.
There is much that could be said about Chan, mostly positive and that which is negative would be speculative. Some people knock him for his continuationist views and others think he is not stringent enough on separating himself from false doctrines. However, there is no questioning the legitimacy of his commitment to God, as he has made a practice of repeatedly forsaking all of his Earthly wealth in exchange for service to God. This mindset is encapsulated in Crazy Love, as Chan attempts to bring others into the view that he holds of the value that God's Kingdom holds in comparison to the value of this life.
While Chan is a graduate of The Master's Seminary, some have questioned his commitment to Orthodox Reformed Theology. There is good reasoning for this, as he has appeared alongside leaders of questionable theology (and repute) such as Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris. With that said, the theology that is manifested in Crazy Love is respectable, thought-provoking, and challenging.
Before escaping even the preface to the book, Chan begins to introduce the concept of God's greatness and the obligation that man has to worship him because of who God is, rather than because of what God has done. This is a brief but important introduction into the concept of Sola Deo Gloria, which is often unexplored in modern Christian literature. Many authors explain that people should praise God because of his goodness, grace, love, blessings, etc. All of these things are praiseworthy, of course, but what if a person is unable (or unwilling) to see God's goodness, grace, love, or blessings? It is not enough to praise God's works. Chan affirms strongly, we must praise God's being.
Never one to shy away from theatrics (making him unpopular in some Reformed circles), Chan does insert at the conclusion of the first chapter an assignment to go online and watch a video of a sermon he prepared on the vast greatness of God's creation. While this isn't without a point, it is nevertheless awkward and could have easily been excluded with better explanation inside of the book. It comes off as self-promotion, in my opinion, that is heavily unwelcome as the first chapter focuses on the attributes of God with subsections entitled "God is all-knowing" and "God is all-powerful" to name a couple.
"Frankly, you need to get over yourself." - Crazy Love
Personally, I love it when pastors ream out their congregants (most of us quiver at the words, "I don't know why you're clapping" and if you don't know - YouTube it). When Chan uses the illustration about a movie being made about all of human history, and then compares us to extras that are on screen for two-fifths of a second compared to the main character who is in the entire movie, I took that as a personal reprimanding. It is so easy to see ourselves as the star of this movie. But we are not. God is.
Later in the book, Chan distinguishes himself from the average Christian author (and pastor for that matter) in that he is willing to say that many of the people that congregate in our churches week-to-week are not Christians, and then gives standards by which he distinguishes those who are Christians from those that are not. This is in staunch contrast to other prominent Christians previously reviewed (see Adrian Rogers' What Every Christian Ought to Know) who refuse to ever give standards by which to judge ourselves. Chan spends nearly two full chapters devoted to examining the phrase "lukewarm" especially in the context of Revelation 3:15-18. His words are hard but brutally honest: "Many people read this passage and assume Jesus is speaking of saved people. Why? When you read this passage, do you naturally conclude that to be 'spit' out of Jesus' mouth means you're a part of His Kingdom? When you read the words 'wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,' do you think that He's describing saints?"
He summarizes his argument of distinguishing Christians from non-Christians by examining the common practice in which people ask, "Can I ______ and still go to Heaven?" However, Chan makes an important diversion from the average answer and shifts the focus on the person asking rather than the standards of judging. Chan reflects back, "If you truly loved and were faithful to Jesus, would you do that thing?" This is a very different question, but the answer is actually the same. Then, almost on the same page, Chan sprinkles in encouraging truths that speak to those of us that are struggling with the process of sanctification, "I do not want true believers to doubt their salvation as they read this book. In the midst of our failed attempts at loving Jesus, His grace covers us." The coupling of this truth with the hard and challenging truths is, in my reckoning, the most effective way of avoiding a one-sided Gospel presentation. Chan is masterful at this, presenting a recklessly self-sacrificial Christianity alongside a God who forgives those that try it and fail.
"As we begin to practice regular giving, we see how ludicrous it is to hold on to the abundance God has given us and merely repeat the words, thank you." - Crazy Love
The majority of the latter half of the book has courageously been devoted to giving - a topic that most pastors avoid like the plague until the offering starts to dip. Incredibly, Chan spends an appropriate amount of time examining the famous "bring the tithe into the storehouse" passage from Malachi without beating a dead-horse, and yet challenges believers to give more than their obligatory 10% out of duty, and to give sacrificially out of love.
Admittedly, and very regrettably, there is something very unsatisfying about the way that Chan chose to end his book. While the whole book has been focused on looking to God for our standards and finding a way that we can serve God by looking in the scriptures for our examples, Chan finishes the book with a series of stories about other people who have lived in ways that serve as models for the manner of life he is encouraging. It seems as though it would be encouraging, but it serves rather to make the reader feel as though the likelihood that anyone would actually do the things that he is encouraging is so low that it would only occur in a handful of situations - and most of those in dire circumstances. It seems as though Chan may have more successfully completed the book with an admonition to seek the Lord's will in the Bible, rather than in the example of other people. His intention was probably to show the plausibility of the lifestyle he wanted people to see as a real possibility, but in my opinion that was not the achieved effect.
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