Francis Chan Episode 1: Can God's Love Be Real? What If My Real Dad Was Just Abusive?

Candace welcomes pastor Francis Chan for the first of a six-week series built around his book Beloved and the theme of God's love. The two share history going back to Candace's teenage years at Cornerstone Church, and that context shapes the conversation from the start. Francis has written several books, including Crazy Love, and Beloved is the anchor for everything this season covers. A lot of this episode focuses on Francis's early life. His mother died when he was born, his father gave him up, and he was raised by his grandmother in Hong Kong before being returned to his dad at age five. Francis remembers arriving in a home where he felt like an interruption, not speaking English, with older siblings who didn't know what to do with him. His stepmother died in a car accident when he was seven, and his father died when he was twelve. Francis connects that history directly to the reason he wrote Beloved: accepting a holy, sovereign, judging God came naturally to him, but believing that God personally loved him was something else entirely. Candace comes to the conversation from a different starting point. Growing up with a loving earthly father, she says she absorbed God's love almost by default and never stopped to think too deeply about whether it was real or not. She reflects that believing something and actually sitting inside it aren't the same thing. Francis responds that this is its own kind of distance, and that he sometimes tells his own children he worries they'll miss out on the particular dependence on God that came from having no one else to rely on. The episode closes with a listener theology question from Vicky about Moses interceding when God threatens to destroy the Israelites. Vicky asks how a sovereign God who knows everything can be genuinely angry about things He already knew would happen, and whether Moses actually changed the outcome. Francis points to Isaiah 55, acknowledges the tension honestly, and draws out what the passage teaches about prayer, intercession, and how scripture uses narrative to communicate what neat answers alone can't. What's Inside 0:00 - Welcome and season overview 1:45 - Candace and Francis trace their shared history at Cornerstone Church 5:30 - The origin of Beloved and why Candace connected with it immediately 10:00 - The gap between knowing God's holiness and receiving His love 15:00 - Francis shares his childhood: the deaths of his mother and stepmother, his father's rejection, and years in Hong Kong 24:00 - Candace reflects on how a loving earthly father shaped her relationship with God's love 28:00 - What Francis tells his own children about the dependence on God that loss can produce 32:00 - On productivity, stillness, and sitting in God's presence 37:00 - Listener question from Vicky on Moses, God's anger, prayer, and sovereignty 43:00 - Season preview and resources at candace.com #candacecameronbure #francischan #crazylove #candacecameronburepodcast #candacepodcast #candace #candacecameron #beloved #pastor #theology #faith #christian #christianpodcast #christianity #godslove #prayer #bible #scripture #bibleteaching #churchplanting #gospel #holyspirit #jesus #jesuschrist #discipleship #spiritualgrowth #personalgrowth #hope #grace #redemption #forgiveness #fatherless #healing #testimony #christianliving #womenoffaith #podcast #podcastforwomen #faithpodcast #truthseeker #biblicalliving #devotional #worship #biblestudy #intercession Connect with Candace and Francis Candace on Instagram @candacecbure Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Candace's Website: https://candacecbure.com/ The Podcast Website: https://ccbpodcast.com/ Francis on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/DWT8kswCPMj/ Francis on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@CrazyLoveMinistries Website: https://www.crazylove.org/ Sponsors For This Episode GCU https://gcu.edu IFCJ https://ifcj.com Lovebird https://lovebirdfoods.com/bure and use code BURE for 25% off Toups & Co https://toupsandco.com/candace and use code CANDACE for 25% Each season of The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast features one guest for a deep exploration of a single theme, encouraging viewers to grow in their experiences of faith, family and purposeful living. --- Best known as ‘D.J Tanner’ in the hit television series “Full House” and Netflix’s “Fuller House,” and as the actor and director who takes over your television around Christmas time.  Candace is also a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, and CEO of CandyRock Entertainment. Candace has been interviewed many times over her decades on television, and in her podcast she hosts deep conversations with experts.