Customer Reviews

Crazy Love DVD Study Resource

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This review is for the DVD-ROM. Having done a home group study of Crazy Love WITHOUT this resource really made me appreciate it even more. The book is really good on it's own, but pairing it with the video teachings and group discussions make it even better.

The DVD contains 10 different 5-9 minute lessons taught by Francis Chan in a variety of real world environments. They are simple, well produced, comfortable and not hyper. You're hangin' with Francis for a few... There's even a little promo clip in the special features that I'm going to use to promote the next class.

What's great is that the 10 clips are fresh material that directly relates to the 10 chapters in the book! Novel idea, but seriously it's tough to facilitate a group when the publishers and media producers aren't on the same page. 12 chapters and 8 video clips? Huh? These are a perfect fit without duplicating the exact words in the book.

The study guide is a simple PDF. It's basically 6 pages of follow up or "deeper thought" questions and Bible verses grouped in 10 clusters.

That's all really great. Good book. Great DVD. I'm pro Francis. But the true measure of a study is what happens AFTER. Take this heart-felt study and learn again what love is. Experience the God of I John 3 and learn to live like I John 4... the good made even better. - Peace

This thing is the real deal. It may be one of the best small group resources I've seen in a long, long time.

What makes it so good? Does it have snazzy packaging? Is there great, high-tech video footage? Are there all kinds of ice-breakers and games and other schlock usually put into small group resources?

Nope, none of that. The entire presentation couldn't be more simple. If it was not necessary to get the message across, it was left out. So, what's in the package?

The DVD has ten video chapters--all less than 10 minutes long--meant to be used during separate small group sessions. Each chapter features Francis in his natural settings: at home, at the local grocery store, at the church building. You feel like you're taking a day to visit Francis and follow him around for a day in the life.

The manner is conversational and informal, yet pointed and though-provoking. If you've ever heard Francis before, you know he has a way of taking the common everyday experience of life and making you see it in a spiritual light--the idea that everything is spiritual.

At the end of each segment, Francis gets your small group discussion started with his own questions for your group. These are great starter questions, and can help create a deeper discussion--as it is certain your group will have more questions of their own as the conversation goes on. There is a printable study guide on the DVD which gives you a hard copy of the questions. I see this (personally) as a tool for the discussion leader, and not really something that would be printed and passed out to every person. This, of course, depends on the format of your small group.

On the technical side, there was one minor glitch. The sound on the DVD menu went in and out. This might be a result of my watching it on my iMac rather than in a DVD player, and admittedly could be a software problem and not a problem with the DVD's production.

The sessions themselves, though simple, are produced with quality and expertise. Picture definition is superb, and the audio quality is among the best I've ever heard. I know the shots were all staged, but even in public places the isolation of Francis's voice and absence of all other distracting background noise was great.

This DVD might be best used in conjunction with the book, but is probably not completely necessary, especially if the discussion leader is familiar with the book and other material.

I read Crazy Love, and I love the way Francis Chan presents the Truth clearly and unapologetically and straightforward. I have recommended the book as a small group study to anyone who will listen. Now, the DVD only enhances the book and will aid in small group study experience. Short clips for the chapters with questions following each clip promote discussion within the group. Even if you are reading the book on your own, without a group, the DVD is a great resource to use with the book for your own personal growth. Buy the book! Buy the DVD!

Crazy Love is a wonderful book; relevant and challenging to today's Christian. However this Resource DVD is not what I hoped it would be. I have been studying Crazy Love with my 20 yr old son (who is in Iraq currently) and his fiancé. We read a chapter per week and I come up with questions for us to answer that will challenge us on what we learned. I was hoping the resource would be something that Francis Chan could give me extra help with for challenging questions. That is not the case. I would have preferred a study guide book with chapter questions, but this DVD is just a camera following him around during the day as he talks about the chapters, sort of, and I may only get ONE thought provoking question out of each chapter. It was not worth the money. Sorry Francis. But I would totally recommend the book... just not the DVD.

Back in October I was in the process of reading Francis Chan's book and was blown away by its simplicity and passion. As a result of that I was "blessed" with a DVD presentation of Crazy Love and wanted to go through it with a small group before making a public evaluation. I had previewed each lesson in a marathon "viewing" session but the true test would be a group of people. So several months ago the small group my wife & I are a part of agreed to go through Crazy Love. We did things a little differently with the onset of summer and the fact that we meet every other week but it was the way it had to work. We watched two of the sessions each night in order to insure "the best bang for the buck" so to speak. We knew that soon people would begin spreading everywhere for the summer so we took the unorthodox approach we did. It worked for us. We finished the series and afterwards the group took some time to evaluate the series with me. I asked three simple questions: What were the strong points? What were the weak points? What one thing did the DVD lessons show you? Here are the evaluations:

Strong points:

* Francis' honesty, he was genuine.
* The everyday setting.
* When he talked he had something to say with practical, life-application teaching.
* Questions at the end were probing and thought-provoking.
* The length of the teaching segments-short, concise, not drawn out preaching.
* They were set up for discussion.

Weak Points:

* Lose the scooter Francis. Get a Harley. :)

One thing I learned from the DVD:

* It made me look at my life and focus on what mattered.
* It showed me how woefully inadequate I am for Jesus.
* Revealed my lukewarmness.

I think as you can see it is pretty safe to say that the small group (about 12-15 during this time) would highly recommend Crazy Love. Some bought the book as a companion but what is good is that it is not necessary to do so since the DVD series will stand alone. I was glad to see that many did buy the book and read along. Priced around $20 (depending on where you buy it) I don't believe you can go wrong. It would make a great study for your small group, especially if the group is time-crunched or teacher-challenged for now. All you need is a host, a DVD player and someone who knows how to operate it. :)

Francis wrote in his book that he wrote Crazy Love for "those who want more Jesus. It is for those who are bored with with American Christianity offers. It is for those who don't want to plateau, those who would rather die before their convictions do." (p.21) If that is your desire I would suggest buying the book and taking a group through this DVD.

I ordered this book because some of my church's small groups were studying it but didn't expect much out of it (assuming this to be just another popular "doctrine lite" book that makes the rounds in evangelicalism.) Thankfully, I couldn't have been more wrong! This book is easy to read but deeply challenging. Chan's style is akin to Beth Moore, providing a fresh perspective on solid theology with an emphasis on passionate, practical application. Caution! If you aren't moved to a deeper relationship with Christ after reading this book, you may want to check your spiritual pulse! I can't recommend this book more highly.

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.

6, 7 & 8 are super challenging and stimulate good conversation and discussion. I'm sold now and I still have 2 weeks to go!

Crazy Love is a great re-look at familiar passages of scripture we read over quickly and then move on from instead of taking seriously in life. Thanks Francis for bringing your teaching to the world. God is good!

It is time to stop pretending at life and have the Crazy Love and devotion to God he deserves and demands. This book and DVD is your tool to start living the Christian love life that we are meant to have. Not the plastic churchy thing that the vast majorit of us do...

Very good compliment to a small group study. Simple. Thoughtful. Well done. Having lead many many small group and used a number of video products, this one does not dominate the discussion but dovetails nicely with the content of each chapter. Worthwhile investment for sure!

This is a must read for anyone who claims to be a Christian. However, be warned--it is also very convicting. Do not read, unless you plan to heed!!!!