Francis Chan

I continued south toward Simi Valley after visiting a church in Bakersfield Sunday morning. I was extremely excited about attending a 5pm service at Cornerstone Church. Why? Because Francis Chan, who has long been one of my favorite speakers, founded the church. Francis is a radical and a non-conformist. He tired of playing church games and is not afraid to say the hard things that Christ followers need to hear even when they aren't popular and fly in the face of popular western thought. Despite the wealth in Simi Valley, the church is remarkably simple and basic. From what I hear, that stems from their intentional decision to invest half of their yearly budget back into their community and world. They now run 4 Sunday services in a building smaller than the gym at Neighborhood and are very cramped for space. In response they entered a building campaign. Interestingly enough, after deciding that 50% of all commitments would be invested back in their community and world, they also decided not to build a large, expensive worship center. Instead, they are looking at building an outdoor amphitheater that will be a fraction of the cost. Granted, they are blessed with Southern Cal weather, but I mention their decision as an example of their desire to turn outwardly and reveal the love of Jesus to those outside their church family. Back to the service- Francis and his wife Lisa spoke on I Corinthians 7:29-35, a passage normally aimed at single people. However, their message was also about marriage. If you are putting a lot of time and effort into your marriage but your spouse just isn't who you want them to be, let me encourage you to listen to the message on-line (you can find it on http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/ under the quick-links to the sermons- "Christ Centered Relationships Part 1"- July 27th).