I took my last sip of coffee while sitting at Hans and Harry Bakery as I read the final page of Primal by Mark Batterson . I was wondering if Mark’s latest book could be as good as his first and the answer is a resounding yes.
Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. He is also the author of In and Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase.
Primal, subtitled “A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity”, is based on the Great Commandment found in Mark 12:30- Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. For Batterson, the heart of Christianity is primal compassion, the soul is primal wonder, the mind is primal curiosity, and the strength is primal energy.
If there was one word I would use to describe Mark’s writing style it is relevant. He speaks to the real world in which we live in. Never pretending to have it all figured out himself, his challenge is to leave mediocrity behind and become who God has intended for you to be.
One of the best ways to get the heart of a good book is to look back at the sentences that have been underlined as you read it. Here is a sample from Primal:
- Sometimes our minds interfere with our hearts. Logical objections get in the way of compassionate actions.
- Are you focued on what you have or what you don’t have? That is the difference between gratitude and greed.
- The Bible isn’t meant to be read reactively. It is meant to be prayed proactively. There are thousands of promises waiting to be claimed.
- I wonder if our certainties actually expose our insecurities. The more insecure we are, the more certainty we try to project, especially in the realm of theology.
- Lack of faith is not a failure of logic. It’s a failure of imagination.
- Don’t miss the link between creativity and energy. Most of us are not creative not because we’re not creative. We’re not creative because it’s too hard.
The danger in reading a Batterson book if you are a minister is that you can see ways to use it in ministry (message series or small group topic for example) but you may overlook the personal application for your own life. Make Primal a book you put at the top of your reading list but make sure you read it for yourself first.
Filed under: Discipleship, Ministry Tagged: | Mark Batterson, Primal
