Letters to the Church

by Francis Chan

Imagine you find yourself stranded on a deserted island with nothing but a copy of the Bible. You have no experience with Christianity whatsoever, and all you know about the Church will come from your reading of the Bible. How would you imagine a church to function? Seriously. Close your eyes for two minutes and try to picture “Church” as you would know it. Now think about your current church experience. Is it even close? Can you live with that?

There came a point when some of the elders of the church began to question whether our idea of success was somehow inadequate. Was this really what the Church is meant to be? Is this all God had in mind when He created His Church in the first place? We began to wonder whether our definition of a church actually fit God’s definition.

One of the main things that we questioned was the level of love we had for one another.

I remember asking my kids what they felt after one of our first outreaches. Rachel, my oldest daughter, blurted out, “It felt like we jumped out of the Bible.” I knew exactly what she meant. We were experiencing something in America that was congruent with what we read about in the New Testament! We felt alive, on an adventure that required faith, and it was right here in our backyard.

For the first time in my life, I actually feel closer to God while praying alongside my church family! It’s as if I can sense His actual presence in the room with us. It makes me want to stay in a room with them all because I want to get as close to Jesus as possible.

It recently dawned on me that Jesus wrote seven different letters to seven different churches in Revelation 2 and 3. I’m trying to write to thousands of different churches with just one book! And Jesus writes better than me. After I finished writing this book, I found that it read less like a book and more like a collection of connected but independent letters. Each chapter/letter addresses a different issue your church may or may not need to work on. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would help you discern which letters you and your church must take to heart.

Sometimes I pretend that the clock is a countdown of my life. I imagine that I’ll be standing face-to-face with God when that timer expires. This gives me courage to say everything I think He would want me to say. If I really was going to die, I would care very little about people’s complaints. I would be obsessed with seeing the face of God and wanting His approval. I have the same thought now. If I knew I was going to die right after writing this book, what would I write?

COMMANDS VERSUS EXPECTATIONS There is a simple exercise I walk through with church leaders. First, I have them list all the things that people expect from their church. They usually list obvious things like a really good service, strong age-specific ministries, a certain style/volume/length of singing, a well-communicated sermon, conveniences such as parking, a clean church building, coffee, childcare, etc. Then I have them list the commands God gave the Church in Scripture. Usually they mention commands like “love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12), “visit orphans and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27), “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19), “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2), etc. I then ask them what would upset their people more—if the church didn’t provide the things from the first list or if the church didn’t obey the commands in the second list. In Luke 12, Jesus told a parable about a master leaving his servants with specific tasks. When the master returned, he expected to see the tasks accomplished. When he saw his commands neglected, the servants were punished harshly. How can we shrug our shoulders at a parable like this? That’s insane! Jesus is returning soon, and He expects to find His Church taking His commands seriously. Yet far too often we are more concerned with how well the sermon was communicated, whether the youth group is relevant enough, or how to make the music better. Honestly, what is it that gets people in your churc...

THIS!

Honoring traditions made the Pharisees feel like they were obeying God when they actually weren’t. If we are not careful, we can be guilty of the same sin resulting in the same divine displeasure.

yes, good warning

In our impatient culture, we want to experience biblical awe without biblical devotion.

In our impatient culture, we want to experience biblical awe without biblical devotion. Chan, Francis. Letters to the Church (p. 56). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

The early church devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. There is a miraculous power to the apostles’ teaching that no other writings have (Eph. 2:20; 2 Tim. 3:16–17). Most Christians have heard all their lives that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). We’ve heard it, but do we believe it?

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63 Chan, Francis. Letters to the Church (p. 57). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63 Chan, Francis. Letters to the Church (p. 57). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10–11

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10–11 Chan, Francis. Letters to the Church (p. 58). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

Paul said, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Tim. 4:13).

Paul said, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Tim. 4:13). Chan, Francis. Letters to the Church (p. 58). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

THE PARTY I asked my daughter how many kids would come to her birthday party if all we offered was cake. No games, no entertainment. They could come to the house to spend time with her and bring gifts to celebrate her, but we wouldn’t have anything else for them. She thought for a minute and said, “Maybe just a couple.” Then I asked her how many would come if I rented out Dave & Buster’s and let them have unlimited tokens, food, and prizes. She laughed and said confidently that the whole school would show up. So let’s say that for her birthday party I rent out the arcade and her whole school comes. They’re all going nuts, having the time of their lives. Imagine if I pulled her aside during the party, put my arm around her, and said, “Look at all the people who came to be with you!” Would she actually believe those people were there because they love her and want to spend time with her? Or would my comment actually be insulting?

Isn’t this basically what we do with God? We have learned that we can fill church buildings if we bring in the right speaker or band. Make things exciting enough and people will come. We say, “God, look how many people are coming because they love being with You!” But do we really think God is fooled by this? Do we think God is pleased? He knows how many would show up if it was just Him. He knows there might be only a few if all we offered was Communion or prayer. Most of us do this out of good motives, I think. We are just trying to get people to show up to His party. But based on everything you read in Scripture, does that seem like what Jesus would want? Again, if God had it His way, would He really want a bunch of churches desperate to entertain? Or would He want to be the reason people were coming, even if that meant a much smaller number of people? On top of that, are we sure what Jesus is looking for is well-attended church services? Our current models seem directed at this and little else. Mike Breen said, “Most of us have become quite good at the church thing. And yet, disciples are the only thing that Jesus cares about, and it’s the only number that Jesus is counting. Not our attendance or budget or buildings.”4

SUPERNATURAL LOVE Is it just a nice cliché to say the Church should be like a family? I mean, it’s a great thought, but our families are our families! Does God really expect us to be this close with people we’re not related to, people we wouldn’t even choose to be friends with? I agree that it’s natural to be close with your family and unnatural to experience this with people who are not like you. But that’s exactly the point! It’s not supposed to be natural—it’s supernatural! “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34–35

This is my personal manifesto. We can love the unlovely an unloveable ....no one is unloveable if supernatural love is what is shared.

So ask yourself, Who does God want you to pursue? Who could you desire to spend time with more? Jesus went to the ultimate extent for them; why would you hold anything back? Jesus pursued those people from heaven to earth to bring them into His family; what barriers could hold you back from pursuing a deep familial relationship with them? We have experienced the greatest love in the universe. Shouldn’t that profound love flow out of us? And shouldn’t that be enough to shock the world?

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