Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursing God by Mark Batterson

Mark Batterson in Wild Goose Chase attempts to guide us in chasing the Spirit of God, the Wild Goose. Batterson promises this chase is one that will be frustrating, scary but most of all an adventure that is worth it. Batterson pushes his readers to escape boring religion and replace it with an exciting journey. In order to free ourselves to chase the goose, Batterson reviews six cages that keep us from pursuing God. The cage of responsibility keeps us from chasing God because of the things we must do. The cage of routine keeps us from adventure due to habits that we have worked ourselves into. The cage of assumptions holds us back by the things we believe are true but may be false. The cage of guilt reminds us of our faults and keeps us from acting. The cage of failure keeps us from moving forward due to past mistakes and detours. And the cage of fear frustrates our need for chasing the Goose due to the terror of the chase. Once one overcomes these cages, one can live a life of adventure chasing God.

This is a book I have wanted to read for a few years. I love Batterson’s view of a relationship with God as an adventure. That language and word picture is highly attractive to me, a fan of action epics. Who doesn’t want to engage themselves in an adventure, an important adventure at that as one becomes open to the influence of God in their life? Overall, that’s an exciting proposition. And overall Wild Goose Chase is an enjoyable, easy to read book that reminds us that Christians are not called to boring mediocre lives. We were called for adventure. The only criticisms I can give are minor. I was hoping to get more from the book about the Holy Spirit, which is painted as the Wild Goose by the Celtic Christians Batterson cites. Instead, in my mind, it was best to thing of the Wild Goose for this book as a relationship with the Trinity and not the Holy Spirit alone. Additionally, some of Batterson’s stories were ones that I was familiar with. I’m assuming they were used in Primal or Soul Print which I have also read. But even if repetitive, I wish I had read this book before those two and enjoyed it more than his more recent books.

Soul Print: Discovering Your Divine Destiny by Mark Batterson

Soul Print: Discovering Your Divine Destiny by Mark Batterson encourages readers to discover their true self and their personal destiny. Batterson argues that everyone has a soul print, which defines not just who one is but who one is destined to become. He adds that our soul print is who God has designed us to be and that it contains our uniqueness. He urges us to embrace our soul print, to have the courage to be ourselves and to not experience regret by failing to be who we were individually designed to be. Batterson then explores the life King David and how his soul print played out in his life. He shows us that our past experiences and weaknesses help us to understand who we are. He shows how like David, our character will be challenged both through experiences and the words of others to behave differently than we have been built. And Batterson shows how accepting our soul print leads to personal success, while rejecting it causes pain in our lives.

Overall, this is an easy book to read. Many readers will be familiar with the stories that Batterson has selected from David’s life providing reassurance that you know where Batterson is heading. And Batterson’s writing style is easy to read. The author’s honesty and willingness to share his own faults also makes the text relatable. He presents several thoughts that many of us have to deal with in our own lives. I’m still meditating on, “I’d rather by hated for who I am than love for who I’m not( Batterson, 102).” So many in ministry have people pleasing personalities realistic talk that this is a bitter but needed pill to swallow. It’s very encouraging to have such a visible and successful pastor provide that pill in a discussion of his own failures.

Review Copy Provided by WaterBrook Multnomah

Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson

Mark Batterson in Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity challenges the church to question the current state of Christianity. Batterson finds our faith to be educated, civilized and generally acceptable to the world while losing its power, compassion and authenticity. To regain these lost elements Batterson drives us to the essence of our faith in the Primal Commandment 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.

Batterson charges the church with not striving to be great with the commandant, in fact he states the church often is not even good at this charge. The author argues that in order to regain its God given authority, the church and individuals must excel at this essential directive. Batterson then examines the pieces of the primal commandant; heart, soul, mind and strength for his reader. Batterson concludes with a call for a new reformation based on believers who have learned to excel at this basic command.

Though Batterson’s material may seem similar to some readers, Batterson’s voice provides a new take on calls for authentic faith and response. Batterson enjoys science and understanding how things work, reinforcing his faith by understanding the complexity of the world. Batterson the pastor shows a willingness to experiment; seeing movie theaters as a platform for delivering the gospel. Multnomah Books and Batterson are encouraging Christians to consider this book as their first read in 2010 sparking a Primal movement. For some readers this book could serve as a good introduction to emergent thought and a challenge to foster a passionate relationship with God that surpasses apologetics and involves the readers mind and soul. For other readers much of the book will seem to reinforce the thoughts of other authors that have called the church to return to the essentials of the faith. For both audiences this book could be a fruitful first read for 2010, though perhaps not essential.

Review Copy provided by Multnomah Books