Book Review: Forgotten God

Forgotten God by Francis Chan
Published by David C. Cook, 2009, U.S. Retail $14.99

In his previous book Crazy Love, pastor and popular speaker Francis Chan set down the gauntlet for today’s lukewarm “believer” and for Christians in general to return to the type of life that Jesus taught and was exemplified in the early church, especially in view of the pattern set up in Acts 2. It remains a powerful exhortation and as of this writing is the number one best seller according to the Christian Booksellers Association. Chan now follows up that book with Forgotten God, a treatise on the Holy Spirit and how some churches and individuals today have more or less neglected Him and His role not just in their worship, but are lacking power for living the type of Christian life that can make a difference for God in today’s world. In this book he speaks about important topics and theology of the Holy Spirit, and in typical fashion challenges us to re-examine where we are in our relationship with the often “forgotten” third member of the Trinity. In the latter chapters especially Chan asks us some hard questions that we all need to answer to evaluate our relationship with God through the Holy Spirit and how that is impacting our lives. Chan ends each chapter with a mini-biography of people that have lived out the spirit-filled life in exemplary fashion to encourage us in living out this life in a similar fashion. At the end of the book, the publisher included chapter one of the previous book Crazy Love, which is a bit unusual, but in a sense the two books go hand in hand so perhaps it isn’t that strange, although I would recommend that you read Crazy Love first as a few things he mentions in this new book would flow better for you as you read.

Overall the book is good and worth reading. My only criticism is that Chan takes so long to actually get into and becomes repetitious at first about who the Holy Spirit is, His purpose, and our relationship with Him, but I can understand his concern in a sense because there has been so much division among believers over the Spirit, the gifts, etc. and it is easy to be labeled in one way or another and have the reader alienate themselves from what you are trying to say without really “listening.” I too have been in contact with many churches and groups with many views on the Holy Spirit and seen both ends of the “abuse” of the gifts (either “Charismania” or total ignorance of the Spirit’s work). But I think that overall Chan presents a good view of the Holy Spirit and what He does—or wishes to—in the lives of the believer today. You will be challenged as you read to gain a fresh understanding of what it means to live a spirit-filled life.