(6 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ...Crazy Love: Interactive DVD
by Francis Chan
Popular author, speaker, pastor and videographer Francis Chan takes his best-selling book Crazy Love and springboards it into audio-visual life. Reminiscent of Rob Bell’s Nooma videos (but with perhaps a compassionate Calvinist perspective), Chan explores imagination, death, dedication, fellowship, simplicity and more from the perspective of God’s lavish love for us and the love this inspires in us as a result.
This 10 week DVD study resource takes individuals and groups deeper into Crazy Love the book. While reading the companion book is helpful, though, it isn’t necessary – the DVD resource stands on its own nicely. Rather than just ‘preaching,’ Chan designs these short sessions to initiate and facilitate interactive discussion by asking questions of the viewer. This resource should play well with churches, youth groups, campus ministries & the ever-ubiquitous ‘small group.’
The DVD includes:
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Ten 10-minute segments that can be watched straight through by an individual or section-by-section for group conversation.
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Discussion questions and prompts corresponding to each section with Francis Chan raising questions as conversation-launchers.
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Behind the scenes juiciness, outtakes, afnd other bonus features.
digitalnomad777
I watched the Crazy Love DVD yesterday starring author Francis Chan, the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. The DVD is actually a companion to the book written by Francis Chan with the same title, which the cover is pictured here to the left.
I must say that I was completely blown away. I have not read the book Crazy Love, so I was not sure how much of the DVD I would really be able to grasp, but let me tell you, I was definitely not disappointed. Even if you have not read the book, this DVD is well able to speak for itself without you feeling left out in any way. As a matter of fact, I am now going to have to go get the book so that I can read it as well. This DVD was nothing short of sincere, and extremely thought provoking. I watched it by myself, but would also love to be able to hold a small group just to watch this video and see what other people’s thoughts and opinions would be to some of the questions presented by Francis. I definitely enjoyed this movie, and I would definitely recommend it to small group leaders, as well as pastors and Sunday School teachers. There is definitely a lot of food for thought here, and the video segments are divided into 10 sections that you can use as small bite size pieces, or one huge meal depending on how much time you have. You will definitely be inspired to fall back in love with the one who is the source of all true crazy love… Jesus Christ.
A.J. Nichols
http://radicallyaltered.wordpress.com
http://talesoftenacity.wordpress.com
Mar 16th, 2009
chadkmiller
I was floored by the challenging content of this DVD series for small groups. Francis Chan (pastor of Cornerstone Church and Passion speaker) takes us through a day in his life, where with each moment he links to a subsequent teaching. He covers topics from appreciating your family, having an in-love relationship with Jesus, and the idea of sacrifice.
This is clearly unlike so many “cookie-cutter” small group packages. I have not read the book, but after watching all ten segments, I know I will buy the book and keep it around. Congratulations to Francis Chan for an excellent concept and follow through. While Francis talks, it feels, as though he is in the room with you, it is intimate, challenging, and inspiring.
Chad Miller
http://chadkmiller.wordpress.com
Mar 22nd, 2009
fivepointoh
Although I don’t know very much about Francis Chan, I do know that he seems to be getting a lot of press lately. His recent gig as one of the keynote speakers at the National Youth Workers Convention has also thrust him into the forefront of many youth ministers.
His Crazy Love DVD is supposed to be a companion to his book, which bears the same title, although I did not know that at first. I thought that the DVD was a stand-alone product. He makes reference to the book almost every segment of the DVD.
Format
The DVD is ten chapters long, each chapter averaging about 9 minutes a piece. The DVD is meant to be used as part of a small group study of the book. At the end of each segment Chan asks a question, usually referring back topics covered in the book. To watch this without having read the book made me feel a bit lost at times. The DVD also has a PDF of a discussion guide that you can print off from your computer.
Style
If you are familiar with Rob Bell’s NOOMA videos, Crazy Love has a very similar production quality, which means top-notch. The video images, lighting, transitions, music, and sound are all as good as anyone could want. Of course, style isn’t everything, but it is nice to see a Christian video curriculum that is visually and audibly appealing.
Theme
The ten segments essentially follow Chan throughout his day, starting at the breakfast table and ending with him putting his kids to bed. Along the way, he talks about different stories and points that relate to the chapters in his book. Though the production style of Chan’s video is very similar to Rob Bells NOOMA videos, Crazy Love has less symbolism and thought-provoking material going on in the background of the video. The obvious thrust of the video is the words spoken by Chan. The settings to his monologues are almost extemporaneous.
Theology
As I stated above, I am quite unfamiliar with Chan, so all of my observations are based solely on this DVD. That being said, Chan appears to come from a more conservative end of the theological spectrum, which will be fitting for those churches who are a bit skeptical about using resources from Rob Bell (I’m not one of them, but I know they are out there). He talks a lot about personal devotions and growing one’s personal relationship with God in the first half or so of the videos.
Towards the end, Chan talks a good amount about what it means to be missional, which is an area where he leaves many of the traditional conservative ways of doing things. He talks about giving up your possessions for one another, opening your home for people to actually live with you, and dropping everything for the sake of the gospel. The end is a good balance of action to complement the prior emphasis on devotion.
Using it in Youth Ministry
As someone in youth ministry, I always try to think through how things would work in my youth ministry, so here are some thoughts:
Read the book alongside the DVD. Watching the DVD by itself won’t have the impact of using it as a tool alongside the book.
Use it with high school. I’m not sure what the target audience is of Crazy Love, but it seems to be geared for adults. Mature high school students would probably enjoy it, though. I have a girl in my youth group reading the book and she loves it.
Don’t use this with small groups who are not already trusting of and familiar with one another. The material is designed to be used in small groups, but some of the material hits really close to home. Chan asks the groups to discuss times in their life when people have died (and what regrets they left behind) and when you have doubted your own salvation, among other things. Such questions are not meant for strangers to discuss among themselves, in my opinion, and especially with teenagers. Without a certain level of intimacy and boundaries in a youth small group, some of these questions could open one up to a high degree of pain if handled incorrectly by immature group members.
Should You Buy It?
In the final estimation, you should first buy Chan’s book Crazy Love. If after reading it you think it would be good material for guiding your small groups, then I would use the DVD to accompany the book. Each segment in the DVD is only about nine minutes long, so the bulk of your time is spent in small group discussion, not watching the screen. The DVD is just a helpful guide, but does not stand well on its own.
Mar 31st, 2009
onetyme18
I must admit I was a bit skeptical when I started reviewing this interactive DVD. A huge fan and owner of all of Rob Bell’s NOOMA series, I immediately found myself comparing the two. I was pleasantly surprised as I made my way through the DVD to find that Chan’s presentation was unique and thought provoking in its own way….
Style and Format
First off, the DVD coincides with a book, and I believe in order to get thorough insight into his DVD, I strongly feel one must read the book with it. The DVD also has a very thoughtful flow from beginning to end, namely that Chapter 1 is set in the early morning and Chapter 10 concludes at night time as the lights go out. This is a distinct difference from Bell’s work, and I found myself drawn to the continuity (this isn’t a criticism of Bell). I still think Chan’s communication style is a lot like Bell, yet he lacked the ability to tug at my heart strings as much (this is not a criticism because in my mind Bell is one of the most effective communicators around).
Content
I noticed at the beginning Chan seems to be dealing with our own one-on-one, personal relationship and walk with God. This laid a great foundation for the DVD as a whole. What I was especially impressed with was his ability to ask tough questions, forcing one to critically think about the answers. However, the brilliance wasn’t just the in questions, but that the questions were supposed to be addressed and answered in a communal context, thus enhancing vulnerability, transparency, and accountability. Brilliant and inspiring move by Chan.
Chan then seemed to move from our own personal, intimate walk with God and how that looks, to the out flowing of that walk into a missional lifestyle. This is where he really drew me in. He continued to ask tough questions, but this time to challenge the status quo of how Christians think and act. He really left me asking: am I really in love with Jesus; am I really obsessed with Him and His Kingdom; how does this look/not look right now in my life? He was very blunt that this was a focal point of the DVD. Again, the fact that these questions and challenges are supposed to be contemplated and answered in a communal setting adds to the immense value of the DVD.
Overall
I would recommend this DVD for a discipleship group, youth group, community group, etc. that is looking to be challenged and stretched on what their walk with God looks like and how they live out that walk in the world around them. If done properly, with the Holy Spirit working in individuals/community group willing to rethink their walk and apply the DVD in their practical lives, it could yield amazing results!
Grant Walsh
http://www.ordinaryradical.blogspot.com
Apr 20th, 2009
darien
My initial expectations were very high. After all, the book was incredible and extremely challenging. So I was expecting some hard-hitting video content.
Well, I was disappointed after the first 3 sessions. They are 10 min. shots of Francis sharing from his home or community. Now I like that personal angle a lot. But the questions were not closely tied to the reading and the content in the video clip was at times kind of awkward.
Then came weeks 4 & 5…
I liked these much better. The questions took you back to the reading and we had much better interaction in our group. This is more what I was hoping for.
So we’re not done yet. So how this ends up remains to be seen. But whatever it takes to get your small group through this book–do it! It’s a great re-look at the passages of scripture we read and then move on from instead of taking seriously in life. Thanks Francis for bringing your teaching to the world. God is good!
Jul 2nd, 2009
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