Crazy Love Podcast: Expect the Mysterious | Francis Chan

Date: March 16, 2026
Host: Crazy Love Ministries
Guest: Francis Chan

Overview

In this episode, Francis Chan challenges listeners to recover the sense of sacred mystery in church gatherings. Drawing on the Apostle Paul’s exhortation that church leaders are "stewards of the mysteries of God," Chan urges modern believers to move beyond mere routine, information, and polished presentations. Instead, he calls the church to gather expectantly for supernatural encounters with God through community, Scripture, prayer, communion, and love.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Losing the Sacredness and Mystery

• Routine vs. Sacredness: Chan laments how worship and church can become routine, losing their sacredness and awe.
  • Quote:

  "It's so easy to let things become routine in your life where you lose the thrill of it. One of the things that really bothers me is when something very sacred becomes common and even boring." (00:41, Francis Chan)

• Conviction from Scripture: He reflects on his own heart, questioning whether he truly "trembles" at God's word (01:29).

2. Paul’s Model: Servants and Stewards of Mystery

• Servanthood over Celebrity: Paul wanted to be known only as a “servant of Christ,” not a celebrity or expert (01:53–02:27).
  • Quote:

  "This is all I want to be known for, is just a servant of Christ...we're all just servants of him, the one who died for us." (01:53–02:27)

• Stewardship of Mystery: Church leaders are not just teachers, but stewards of the mysteries of God (02:29–02:37).

3. Modern Church Lacks Expectation of Mystery

• Consumer Mentality: Many attend church expecting good music and teaching, but not mystery or transformation (03:06–04:32).
  • Quote:

  "Where's the mystery in that? The world can do that." (04:32)

• Information vs. Transformation: The aim is often to learn something new, rather than encounter the living God (05:12).

4. The Living Word

• Uniqueness of Scripture: Chan contrasts human writings with the Bible, which he insists is "living and active" (Hebrews 4:12) and capable of discerning hearts (06:59–07:40).
  • Quote:

  "Nothing I've written is living except when I quote this book...but you've never written anything that's living, that's alive." (07:03)

  • Notable Illustration:

  "It's almost like the Bible is reading you, it's discerning you...somehow it's alive and it's looking at us." (07:40)

• Scripture Familiarity: He notes that easy access to Scripture may make us lose reverence for it (08:51–09:21).

5. Church Culture: Performance over Trembling

• Leadership as Performance: Chan critiques the focus on communication skills over spiritual trembling (10:18–11:01).
  • Quote:

  "These are the words of God, and you need someone to pump you up about them?" (11:01)

• God’s Gaze on the Humble: He points to Isaiah 66:1-2, highlighting that God looks to those "humble, contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word" (11:50–12:34).

6. A Call for Leaders to Tremble at the Word

• Transformation over Technique: Chan wishes more pastors were "lead tremblers" than "great communicators" (14:08–16:04).
  • Quote:

  "Some of the best sermons I've heard on purity were from guys who were cheating on their wives...the lead pastor needs to be the lead trembler, not the greatest communicator." (16:04)

7. Supernatural Fellowship and Spiritual Gifts

• Mysterious Encounters in Gathering: He insists that when the church gathers in love, the Spirit can move in supernatural, mysterious ways (16:41–19:27).
  • Scripture:

  1 Corinthians 14:24–25—unbelievers’ secrets revealed, leading them to declare "God is really among you."

• Gifts Centered in Love: Spiritual gifts are to be exercised within a context of love (20:13).
  • Quote:

  "The point is...you look around, you go, oh, I love these people. I've been praying for these people. And then God says, okay...can you give me a word to bless them with? Can you do some sort of mystery through me?" (20:32–21:07)

8. The Mystery of Communion

• Union With Christ: Chan explores the mysterious nature of the Lord’s Supper, where believers’ flesh and blood join with Christ’s (21:09–22:22).
  • Quote:

  "Some mysterious grace is going to be imparted to me. Like, somehow my flesh and blood is going to intermingle with the flesh and blood of Jesus. And I don't know how that works." (22:25–23:31)

• Emmaus Road Illustration:

  Luke 24 story—only in the "breaking of the bread" are the disciples’ eyes opened to Jesus’ presence (24:01–26:34).

  • Quote:

  "He broke a piece of bread. And at that moment, your eyes are open, you're like, that's Jesus. And then he vanishes...That's mysterious." (26:29–27:10)

9. Prayer as Mystery and Power

• Expectation in Prayer: The Lord’s Prayer and benedictions like Numbers 6 should be prayed with anticipation of tangible blessing and change (27:10–29:39).

  • Quote:

  "Do you believe that as you are praying, that you are bringing, like, a sacredness to his name here on earth?" (28:09)

• Blessing over the People: When blessings are spoken over others, God’s name is placed on them in some mysterious way (29:46–32:33).

  • Quote:

  "If I pray this for Sarah and Delali, somehow God from heaven puts his name on you. What does that mean...I want his name upon me. I want his blessing." (31:06–32:33)

10. Acts 2:42 Model: Devotion to the Mysteries

• Devoted to the Mysteries: The early church devoted themselves not just for community but for the mysterious power in teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers (32:33–34:45).
  • Quote:

  "My prayer is that all of us come prepared, anxious, anticipating...trembling at the word of God, loving my brothers and sisters with spiritual gifts, expecting to receive grace from the body and blood of Jesus and expecting to receive blessing from the prayers." (34:00–34:45)

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "When something very sacred becomes common and even boring...that really bothers me." (00:41, Francis Chan)
• "This is all I want to be known for...as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." (01:53–02:37)
• "We're not looking for mystery. We're looking for information. Teach me something...We want explanation. But I'm saying...don't you want more than that?" (05:06–05:12)
• "These are the words of God, and you need someone to pump you up about them?" (11:01)
• "He who's humble, contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. Trembles at my word." (12:34)
• "The lead pastor needs to be the lead trembler, not the greatest communicator." (16:04)
• "Somehow...my flesh and blood is going to intermingle with the flesh and blood of Jesus...And I don't know how that works." (22:25–23:31)
• "He broke a piece of bread. And at that moment, your eyes are open...That's mysterious." (26:29–27:10)
• "These are mysteries: the word of God, the way that the church fellowships and loves and blesses one another, the breaking of bread, the prayers." (32:33–34:45)

Notable Timestamps

• Stewards of the mysteries – 01:33–02:37
• Routine vs. mystery in church – 03:06–04:32
• The Living Word—uniqueness of Scripture – 06:59–07:40
• Leadership as performance, critique – 10:18–11:01
• Isaiah 66: trembling at God's word – 11:50–12:34
• Lead trembler, not lead speaker – 16:04
• The mystery of spiritual gifts/community – 19:09–21:09
• The Lord’s Supper—mystery of union with Christ – 22:16–23:31
• Emmaus road story, breaking of bread – 24:01–27:10
• Powerful prayer and blessing – 28:09–32:33
• Acts 2:42 and devotion to the mysteries – 33:47–34:45

Final Takeaways

Francis Chan’s message is a passionate call for the church to return to an expectant, trembling approach to God’s Word, prayer, fellowship, and the sacraments. He challenges listeners to seek not just information or emotional moments, but real encounters with the living God—expecting the mysterious every time the church gathers.

"Let's not just show up, church. Let's be the church and let's steward these mysteries." (34:45, Francis Chan)