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 A thought provoking, challenging look at the Holy Spirit March 9, 2010
Aaron Armstrong (Ontario, Canada)
Depending on who you talk to, the Holy Spirit is either overly discussed or utterly neglected. Francis Chan would be firmly in the latter group.
"[W]hat if you grew up on a desert island with nothing but the Bible to read? . . . [Y]ou would be convinced that the Holy Spirit is as essential to a believer's existence as air is to staying alive," writes Chan (p. 16). And that's why Chan wrote Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit--to help believers recapture the necessity of the Holy Spirit to the Christian life.
Chan feels that we have lost a robust understanding of the Holy Spirit. We have neglected Him. This neglect has caused us to look and act no differently than our surrounding culture. But this should not be. Chan writes,
"If it's true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit's temple, then shouldn't there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?" (p. 32)
In this assessment, I think Chan is right on. If our lives do not have a marked difference in any way aside from what we do on Sunday morning, perhaps we have some bigger questions to ask ourselves, no? If we were dead but now live, there should be some kind of marked difference in how we live, what we think and how we speak... shouldn't there?
Absolutely, there should. And it's only possible by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. This is a truth that we dare not take for granted and I appreciate Chan highlighting it.
Chan does a solid job of reminding readers of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Person, a "He," not an "it." He is God; eternal & holy; omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. He has emotions, a mind and a will. He prays for us. He teaches and reminds us of what we we need to know. He applies our salvation to our lives. Chan wants these truths to lead readers "to a deeper relationship with and a greater reverence for the Spirit--that good theology would lead you to right action, genuine love, and true worship" (p. 77).
Chan encourages readers to read John 14-16, to notice "how Christ desires that His disciples have peace and how He comforts His disciples with the truth that they are not left alone" (p. 110). He continues,"Part of His answer to how we are to have peace and be comforted is through the provision of the Holy Spirit, the other Counselor, who He promised would come once He left."
Having read these chapters, I notice that the peace that comes with the Holy Spirit is the fuller knowledge of what it means to be grafted into the vine (cf. John 15:1-11), and it's the Spirit who does the grafting. The Spirit brings us peace and comfort by giving us the words to act as witnesses to the gospel, even as the Spirit Himself bears witness to Christ (cf. John 15:26-27). Truly, the Spirit's role is to glorify Jesus and to guide us into truth:
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you." (John 16:13-15)
The heart of Chan's message is that the Christian life is to be lived in the power of the Holy Spirit, in obedience to Christ, to the glory of the Father. We must not quench His work in our lives, caring more for comfort than for holiness. To walk by the spirit is to live a life that is counter cultural and often antithetical to the world in which we live.
But, it's one thing to talk about what "walking by the Spirit" can be, and another to show it.
Where Chan best illustrates this is in the wonderful biographical sketches of men and women whose lives have been completely transformed as they've sought to obey the Spirit's leading. These serve as testimonies to the truth that the Christian life is one that glorifies God in extraordinary ways.
A married couple in their 50s, Domingo & Irene, fostered thirty-two children and adopted sixteen. A teenage girl who works multiple jobs all summer to sponsor 14 children. Thomas Yun, who gave up a fortune in the restaurant business to work at a rescue mission because he believed that God was calling him to serve there.
These are the stories that move me and inspire me, probably more so than the rest of the book (no offense to the author).
What I find lacking is the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Scripture. Chan writes that Spirit "teaches and reminds us of what we need to know and remember" (p. 74), but I think this needed to be more than a bullet point. God's written Word is the primary means through which God speaks to His people--it is the Spirit who gives us the ability to understand them. It's through the hearing of the Word that the Spirit's primary active role takes place, bringing the spiritually dead to life, sealing them as God's people and sanctifying them (cf. Eph 1:13), all serving to glorify Jesus.
If Scripture is the primary means by which God speaks, it should probably have a more prominent role in any discussion on the Spirit's work. I would have really enjoyed seeing Chan address this a little more, in addition to focusing on the "private nudging" of the Spirit (which is where he spends the bulk of his time).
In Forgotten God, Francis Chan reminds readers just how much we need the Holy Spirit. "There is no such thing as a real believer who doesn't have the Holy Spirit, or a real church without the Spirit. It's just not possible," writes Chan. Without the Spirit's active presence in our lives, we cannot live a life of obedience to Christ. The question for you is, is the Holy Spirit forgotten in your life?
Read the book. It's challenging and there are likely parts you'll disagree with, but it's worth investigating.
 Call to elevate role of the "still small voice" March 6, 2010
Elizabeth H. Cottrell (Shenandoah Valley, VA USA)
Well worth my time, but I had mixed feelings about some of the content. While Chan addressed the problem of forgetting about Grace, his themes seemed to emphasize OUR part in a transactional relationship which, if taken too far, minimizes the importance of Grace and the undeserved love of God in our lives. I agreed with his conviction that our churches need to turn more to the Bible to model the early church and its energetic and viral Spirit at work.
My personal take-aways from this book (not all new, but worthwhile reminders):
1) Try to spend more time throughout the day acknowledging the presence of God and Spirit.
2) Pray more often and more specifically: for guidance, for inspiration, and for others.
3) Intentionally listen for the "still small voice" and expect to hear it.
4) Beware of good-intentioned quenching of the Spirit in myself and others.
5) Quit trying to do things on my own steam -- rest in God's love and power.
6) Remember that the cultivation of a relationship -- whether with God or others -- is not done by wishing or waiting for the other party, but only by an investment of time and intention to it.
 No longer forgotten. March 4, 2010
Irene
This book brought about a transformation of my thinking about the Holy Spirit. Francis Chan is a wonderful writer and his love of God is shown through his writings.
Not Great, But Worth a Glance March 2, 2010
Spined Out (Texas)
Francis Chan tries to stimulate the memory of Christianity in his book, Forgotten God. Chan turns the spotlight on the most overlooked member of the trinity: The Holy Spirit.
But this isn't some thick theological treatise. This is an in-your-face challenge. Will you not only stop overlooking the Holy Spirit, but also let it be the driving force in your life? Chan gives interesting examples and even points out his own failure to acknowledge the Holy Spirit.
This book follows the typical format of evangelical Christian books, written almost like a study for small groups. While it isn't original, Chan does shed some light on some often neglected aspects of Christianity regarding the Holy Spirit. It's worth a glance or two, and based on the success of his other title, Crazy Love, most people will find this a good read.
 One Huge Omission February 26, 2010
Jesse D. Miller (Wasilla, AK USA)
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
I was excited to see what I considered a seeker-sensitive approach to the Holy Spirit. However, after reading the book, I found that he never mentioned speaking in tongues because he did not want to put "labels" on anyone's experiences. The problem is that you cannot assemble a book on the Holy Spirit without bringing the many verses about tongues into the discussion. Cessationist may argue all day long that tongues have ceased, but unfortunately never have any scripture to back it up. The one scripture that is used is in the same verse that says knowledge will be done away with. So, unless a person wants to argue that knowledge has ceased (and with that argument, it may have ceased to exist in themselves), there is no other Biblical argument to stand upon. I certainly wouldn't stand on traditions, or other writings outside the Bible.
With all that being said, I cannot reccomend this book to anyone because a simple study of Acts chapters 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, and 19, 1 Cor. chapters 12-14, Luke 11, John chapters 14-16, Luke 24, Eph 5, and more will show that tongues is for the church age and church dispensation, and is a seperate and unique experience from salvation.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 66
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