I think it is time to say that Francis has shifted so far that he has embraced false teachers and has disqualified himself from the benefit of the doubt. That does not mean that he is a false teacher, nor that he is beyond repentance. But it does mean that, as for me and my house, we will not only not recommend Francis Chan as a trusted resource, but I also encourage you to stay away from him. 

I’ll never forget the first time I heard Francis Chan speak.

I was at a big music conference in California feeling really discouraged. The music was man-centered, the teaching was problematic, to say the least; it just really seemed like no one was there to exalt the Savior. It seemed to all be about money and fame. And then something happened. In between bands, a preacher came forward. He passionately, accurately, and stunningly preached the Gospel in such a way that it brought me to tears. I was overwhelmed and as I looked around I felt as though I may have been the only one. I asked some people around me who this preacher was, and no one knew. So sadly, I wasn’t able to learn his name.

Fast forward a few months and I’m at the Master’s University chapel. To my joy, this same man stepped into the pulpit. I was so excited. He brought the house down. I finally learned his name: it was Francis Chan. For a few months thereafter I devoured everything he preached. I couldn’t get enough of his preaching. It’s clear that, rhetorically speaking, he is able to stir up the heart in a powerful way. But as time went on I started to notice a drift. He made some interesting decisions at his church that culminated with his departure. (Recently I attended an event where I heard him preach in person for the first time in 10 years. He compared the people of the church he pastored in southern California to a boyfriend and girlfriend whom you see hanging out in public and you can tell they are not interested in each other. That was, he said, his church’s attitude toward Jesus. They seemed to be really into the L.A. Lakers and the stock market, but not really into Jesus. Sadly, his takeaway was to blame the “way he did church” rather than himself as the preacher and church planter.)

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