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Wild Goose Chase Review

If you are a regular reader of nolanbobbitt.com, it comes as no surprise that I am a big fan of Mark Batterson.  Mark is the Pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C. and was one of my favorite bloggers before I read his first book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day in late 2006.  Based on the impact Lion had on my life, I had high expectations for his newest book, Wild Goose Chase.

I was not disappointed.

In Wild Goose Chase, Batterson talks about the natural bent that every Christ-follower should have to chase a life of adventure ("We all have a primal longing to be uncaged.  And the cage opens when we recognize that Jesus didn't die on the cross to make us safe.  Jesus died to make us dangerous").  He explores six cages (responsibility, routine, assumptions, guilt, failure, and fear) that often imprison well-intended Christians who will never fully reach their God-given potential to change the world for His glory.

One of Mark's greatest strengths in my opinion is his genuine heart that shines in all of his writing.  He is a refreshing voice to the world of Christian authors.  He is very open about having a failed church plant early in his ministry.  He shares the long journey that it has taken to get National Community Church and Ebenezer's Coffee House where they are today.  Mark divulges his own story of chasing the Wild Goose and the disappointments and pain and triumphs he has encountered along the way. 

Wild Goose Chase is a fast-paced book that you will want to read quickly.  It is also a book that I will look forward to re-reading because many of its thoughts deserve deeper reflection and consideration than I gave them the first time through.  In my mind, any book that I just finished that I am excited to read again immediately is a fantastic book.

Wild Goose Chase is definitely a fantastic book.

There are many great thoughts in this wonderful book, but I'll leave you with one paragraph that I am still pondering:

"If you would describe your relationship with God as anything less than adventurous, then maybe you think you're following the Spirit but actually you have settled for something less--something I call inverted Christianity.  Instead of following the Spirit, we invite the Spirit to follow us.  Instead of serving God's purposes, we want Him to serve our purposes.  And while it may seem like a subtle distinction, it makes an ocean of difference.  The result of this inverted relationship with God is not just a self-absorbed spirituality that leaves us feeling empty, it's also the difference between spiritual boredom and spiritual adventure."

Don't settle for spiritual boredom when God has appointed to enjoy a life of spiritual adventure.  Chase the Goose!

Happy Birthday, My Love

Alison Marie, the love of my life, is celebrating a birthday.  She is my best friend, the queen of my heart, the best mother of the best daughter on the planet, my most encouraging cheerleader, my love.  Hope it is a great day for you, Sweetheart.  LYB!!!

And The Wild Goose Chase Winner Is...

Congratulations to my friend Daron Koch for winning my extra advance copy of Wild Goose Chase.  He didn't win because he is my friend but because he gave the best answer to the question.

The fact that he could pick the book up yesterday (he lives a couple of miles from us) instead of me mailing it was a bonus to me.

Hope you enjoy the Chase, Daron!

Weekend Thoughts

• It has been a fantastic day off.  Lots of family time, rest, Olympics, reading!
• God is stretching my heart in new and exciting ways.  Seriously, as much as passionately pursuing the Lord can jack-up your plans for life, there is no more exciting journey!
• My friends in my small group are wonderfully amazing, fun, and creative people!
• It's funny to me that the older I get, the MORE I use my iPod!
• I really wish I had an iPhone, but our service is with Sprint.  I use the iOuttaluck instead!
• Madalyn has finished her first week of first grade.  Wow, my baby is growing up so quickly.  I see things happening in her life everyday that make me even more proud that she is my daughter.
• Alison, my lovely bride, will celebrate a birthday on Monday.  I may never win an Olympic event, but I won the marriage lottery.
• It has been interesting to see some of my relationships with customers at the store transforming.  There are a couple of regulars that I would define as "challenging" who are opening up a little more and being much more pleasant.  It has been great to see this.
• I have a new project I am going to be working on for my church starting next week...I'm stoked.
• I'm thinking of launching a new podcast but have to figure out the logistics of recording and what the focus will be if I do it.
• Maddie informed me this weekend that she is "over" the Olympics.
• Alison and I aren't
• Loving Wild Goose Chase and some old school Lincoln Brewster praise/worship these days.
• I wouldn't mind seeing The Dark Knight one more time in the theater--wow, I'm a nerd!
• I'll post pics of the winner of my Wild Goose Chase giveaway tomorrow!
• I feel like I am cheating this weekend because I don't have to go back to work 'til Tuesday!!!
• Hope you have a great day!

From Page 2

I just started reading Wild Goose Chase yesterday while waiting for Mada to get out of school. Statements like this one from Page 2 are why you ought to read this book:

Nothing is more unnerving or disorienting than passionately pursuing God. And the sooner we come to terms with that spiritual reality, the more we will enjoy the journey.

I agree wholeheartedly agree with the first sentence. I am trying to embrace the truth of the second.

You can still get a free copy of Wild Goose Chase from me.  Just send me a quick email telling me why you would like to get the book!

Back to Youth Group

One of the commitments Alison and I have made is to be faithful in serving the church we call home until God moves us to lead a ministry again.  I ran into Erik, our church's youth pastor last week, and asked him if he needed any help with youth group stuff, so as of tonight, I am going back to youth group.

It's almost surreal to think about.  I have been a youth leader since I graduated high school (with the exception of most of 2003 and the past year since leaving Euzoa)--so most of my adult life I have been connecting with middle schoolers and high school students.

I don't ever remember being very nervous about working with kids, but I find myself there this afternoon.  I am getting close to 40, so I am thinking that my "cool factor" may not be that high (if it ever was, I am not sure).  I hope that I can relate to the kids and that I will have something to offer them.

Tonight before youth group starts, our church will get to hear the testimony of a young man who is serving in China.  He felt a call for a long time to serve the Lord on the mission field and it is a joy to see this young man accomplishing the dream God placed in his heart a long time ago. 

He grew up in our church.  I used to be his youth pastor years ago. 

I honestly feel like my best years of youth ministry are probably behind me, but I still love kids.  They are the hope of their generation and the generation to follow them.  I pray that God will wake some of these young people to live out the amazing dreams He has for their lives. 

And the hope that I might be able to add value to another Kenny over the next few months, is worth pushing through any awkward feelings of "un-retiring" from youth work one more time!

Free Copy of Wild Goose Chase

The postman was good today!!!  I hold TWO free copies of Mark Batterson's Wild Goose Chase in my hands, eight days before it officially releases.  One is for me to read and review, the other can be for you.  Send me an email and tell me why you would like me to give you my other free copy of Wild Goose Chase.  Best answer wins.  You must submit your e-mail by Friday, August 15 if you want to win.  Please include your mailing address.

Loving the Olympics

• I was BLOWN AWAY by the first hour and a half of the opening ceremonies from Beijing. Amazing thought, planning, and execution made for a great opening in my mind anyway.
• I didn't get to see the entire "Parade of Nations" because I had to be at work early Saturday, but at one moment, my inner pastor had the thought that Heaven is gonna be amazing (people of every nation, tribe, and tongue worshipping Jesus Christ)!
• I LOVE the athlete stories and I think NBC is off to a great start with them!
• I find myself watching sports I would never watch at any other time of the year (I don't think I know what handball was and am still not sure that I do, but I was watching it about an hour ago)
• I am happy that there is not a "Favre" ticker on the Olympic scoreboard
• I am really happy to have DVR so that I can watch the basketball game later today
• I am extremely happy that the Titans won their preseason game...oops, that's not Olympic news, but just had to throw it in! :)  
• I am sad that there is no way I will ever bring home Olympic gold (unless the IOC one day recognizes the great sport of "barista")!

Cut and Paste Christianity

Here's another great excerpt from Mark Batterson's upcoming book Wild Goose Chase:

In the beginning, God made man in His Image.

Man has been making God in his image ever since.

Call it naturalism. Call it anthropomorphism. Call it idolatry. Call it what you will. The end result of this spiritual inversion is a god that is about our size and looks an awful lot like us. And most of our spiritual shortcomings stem from this fundamental mistake: thinking about God in human terms. We make God in our image and what we’re left with is a God who can never surprise us, never astonish us, never overwhelm us, never transcend us.

Thomas Jefferson loved the teachings of Jesus. In fact, the author of the Declaration of Independence once called them the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man. But Jefferson was also a child of the Enlightenment. He didn’t have a cognitive category for miracles so Jefferson literally took a pair of scissors and cut them out of his King James Bible. It took him two or three nights. And by the time he was done, he had cut out the virgin birth; cut out the angels; and cut out the resurrection. Jefferson extracted every miracle and the end result was a book titled the Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth or what is commonly referred to as the Jefferson Bible.

Hard to imagine isn’t it? And something rises up within those of us that believe the Bible is divinely inspired by God. Part of us scoffs or scolds Jefferson. You can’t pick-and-choose. You can’t cut-and-paste. You can’t do that to the Bible. But here’s the honest truth: while most of us can’t imagine taking a pair of scissors to the Bible and physically cutting verses out, we do exactly what Jefferson did. We ignore verses we cannot comprehend. We avoid verses we do not like. And we rationalize verses that are too radical. And we may not cut them out with a pair of scissors, but the end result is the same. We are trapped by our own logic. Our lives are limited to those things we can comprehend with our cerebral cortex. And we end up in the cage of our own assumptions. And the more assumptions we make, the smaller our cage becomes.

Chase the Goose

Mark Batterson posted this excerpt from Wild Goose Chase on his blog.  I can't wait to get this book (by the way, I DID get chosen to receive a preview copy of the book and also one to give away here on the blog...more info about that next week)!  I think this excerpt really spoke to me because of a recent lunch with my friend Alan.  He said that he thought I was a caged lion in the church, and he was trying to help me find a key!!!

"I wonder if churches do to people what zoos do the animals. We try to tame them in the name of Christ. We remove the risk. We remove the danger. We remove the struggle. And what we end up with is a caged Christian.

Jesus didn't die on the cross to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous. I would like to think that when I pronounce the benediction at the end of our church services, I am sending dangerous people back into their natural habitat to wreak havoc on the Enemy."

excerpt from Wild Goose Chase