A well-known and published pastor is encouraging churches to not be afraid of teaching the 'fear of God' and 'judgement' that is coming because Jesus did just that. 

Francis Chan spoke at an event for Q Commons on October 24, 2019, to a worldwide audience on a polarizing passage. Chan uses 2nd Corinthians 4:2-4 to challenge churches on the way they are speaking to the world. 

He shares that it wasn't easy to choose this passage and preach on the topic but he needed to be clear and direct about what the Word said.

"If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,” Chan says to the audience.

He continued, “Paul had no problem with just saying ‘I’m just going to lay it all out because if you don’t get it, it’s because the god of this world is blinding your minds.’” 

"Is it a hundred times closer to what I believe Jesus asked for? Absolutely!”

Chan went on to say that the Bible focuses on the judgment of God and yet churches are making the Gospel more approachable to reach audiences. “Jesus had no problem losing the crowds. We’re infatuated with numbers. Jesus wasn’t," Chan says.

When Chan left his large church to pastor a small church plant, he says the world may have called that a failure because of the size but to him he was doing what God called him to do. 

“[The membership] was thousands and now its hundreds, barely. But is it closer to what I see in [the Bible], is the love for one another closer to what I see described in [the Bible]? Are people using their gifts? Is it a hundred times closer to what I believe Jesus asked for? Absolutely,” Chan shared. 

Chan was one of many popular international speakers at the event. Q Commons is put on by the Christian organization Q. It included national, local, and internationally broadcasted speeches, and presentations.