Why Francis Chan Left His Megachurch

so next question is what is working well in your we are Church model that others can reproduce in other areas in San Francisco or elsewhere okay that's a good question okay so those who don't know I started a church in Southern California just out of my living room and up growing to like 5,000 people not in my living room but you know so we did the typical church and that's all I knew what to do but I got frustrated at a point just biblically I'm going wait a second according to the Bible every single one of these people has a supernatural gift that's meant to be used for the body and I'm like 5,000 will show up every week to hear my gift see my gift that's a lot of waste then I start thinking how much does it cost to run this thing millions of dollars and I'm going gosh how come people in other countries go to church for free like that seems like a waste so I'm wasting the human resource of these people that according to scripture have a miraculous gift that they could contribute to the body but they're just sitting there quietly meanwhile they'll go to their companies and they're running big companies are doing this and that and yet they just sit there and listen to me and year after year and just got so convicted I thought wait and then the Bible says oh I forgot we're supposed to love each other like that's not a small command like that's over and over he says this is how they'll know you're my disciples by the way you love one another and there's over fifty one anothers in the New Testament some gone god I'm so sorry our people don't even like each other you know like I make them greet each other for 30 seconds you know like that's that's extent and it doesn't sound we're meaning to each other we just we like people if they were like us and you we pick you know little cliques but it I was like god this you wanted a church that was known for their love you wanted a group of people where everyone was expressing their gifts and otherwise that body it talks about what a body I'm one member maybe I'm the mouth but if the mouth is the only thing that's working in the church and I'm trying to drag the rest of the body along true it on the carpet and inching you know I what would a body look like where everyone's using their gifts and everyone's eagerly pursuing the spiritual gifts like first Corinthians tells us to do man what could that be like and is it even possible like if we were a church in started one right now could we literally by the power of the Holy Spirit love each other so much that people it would blow people's minds like we're none of us have a need because it's like oh man I just got fired you work here yeah okay I do have a prophetic gift you know like would we then come around our sister and go whoa that was crazy you were right in there he said it it it happened you know like what do we do for her like can we be known for this and so when I came to San Francisco I just thought you know what I and again it was that weird celebrity thing where I just go I just want to hide and I just there's one the TL no one reads crazy love there and I just want to go and just talk to people and pray for people I don't want to gather people in gatherings where they can actually use their gifts and and could it be that we could actually obey all of the one another's and and then why would it cost anything you know if I'm just leading a small group maybe I can just start multiplying that teaching other people to lead and Shepherd these groups maybe we get everyone reading the Bible so we're on this reading plan I don't know if you guys have seen that read scripture app if you haven't it's it's it's amazing you know just gives you a quick cartoon like understanding of every book before you read ends a daily reading plan to where we read through the Bible every year so all of the people in the church I move got guys coming off the streets out of prison to doctors and people that work here or Google and everyone's on these same reading plans and everyone's in these these homes and so it costs nothing we have like 30 pastors now that all do it for free and then then we have like with sin Mountain twos and they're like and so we have like 14 15 house churches and we just plan on multiplying that doubling every year and so in in ten years we could have like 1.2 million people you know like it the multiplication and free that can not be stereotypical but that's my heritage we like cheap and so I'm like whoa we've got a few hundred people now and it costs nothing and everyone's growing and everyone's having to read this book for themselves and people are actually caring for one another I don't even preach you know they just mean their homes they study they pray they care for one another they're becoming the church and I'm just loving it and realizing these these 30 guys that are leading this and and the women as well it's like the way they've grown because they suddenly have responsibilities and I never realized that would happen you see it's just like those of us when we first brought our first kid home from the hospital it's like the fear the absolute fear like what do I do with it like all right how do you keep it alive what do you know seriously I mean that all that went through our mind like so the nurse isn't coming home like literally but is you with me we're gonna keep this alive like we've got it like it's it's and it's it's nightmarish in a way cuz you're just like no one taught me this I kind of figure it out but then you figure it out you know and you grow when you learn and I'm seeing these guys going late you're gonna take care of these 10 people how do I do that you're gonna help them study the word you're gonna help them cancel them through and the way they rise up you just figure it out and so now these guys are like my best friends you know as we're all in this thing together versus one guy trying to teach everyone there's one guy put it like this he goes it's like being adopted rather than being at an orphanage you know the church the way I was doing it was like an orphanage you know here's just a bunch of kids with one leader and rather than saying no you know what we're gonna put you into a home and these guys are actually gonna really know you and love you and care for you I just heard this morning you know this is one of the gals it's new just I was pregnant with twins and lost the baby but almost lost her life just started hemorrhaging and jut the way still had been around for two weeks her friends came in the church came in got her to the hospital took the kit the other kids you know watch them and you guys it's just like family because it bugged me last story at the old church you know when I had the big thing I remember this kid from this gang that I baptized he he was so involved then he left and I remember him saying when sit one of my friends asked him how come you're not at Cornerstone anymore he said I I didn't understand Church he goes when I was baptized he goes I thought that was gonna be like being jumped into the game where it's like 24/7 they're my family because I didn't know it was just somewhere we attend on Sundays and that's like oh that makes me sick that makes me so sick that the gangs are a better picture of family than the Church of Jesus Christ this is this I I can't I can't live with that I cannot live with that we're gonna we're gonna do something different you know so I don't know take what you can from that I love it I love these guys it's not without its it's it's issues because relationships are messy and some days I think I was a lot easier when I could just preach go back and drive off in my car and leave all of them like I will too like I I don't have to care for your issue you know it's like you'd be mad whatever it's like I'll never see you again like this is easy but you have this circle here and and you're in each other's lives and no offense but it's not this Facebook I can just put up what I want you know about myself that's kind of like the way Church was it's like let me just show you this one side on Sunday morning and just like okay let me show you the best pictures of me and my greatest accomplishments but when it's family it gets messy and you start finding out people's dirt just like you know about your brother and sister and every Thanksgiving it's messy because it's family that's what Christ wanted and so we fight for it and it's and it's been a blast

Channel: Ready4Eternity

Views: 1,706,807

Rating: 4.8732414 out of 5

Keywords: Francis Chan, Church, Family, House Church

Id: VyZx_SSOyfI

Length: 9min 44sec (584 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 01 2017