There are a few national pastors that I enjoy following by reading their blogs, reading their books, and listening to their messages every now and then. Mark Batterson, the pastor of the National Community Church in Washington, DC is one of those thinkers who constantly challenges me. When I was given the chance to preview his new book, Primal, before it's nationwide release I jumped at the chance. Primal is a call to rediscover the love for God that has been diluted, convoluted, and distorted by our modern lens. My first, of many, highlighted quotes is from page 3, "I couldn't help but wonder if we have accepted a form of Christianity that is more educated but less powerful, more civilized but less comapssionate, more acceptable but less authentic than that which our spiritual ancestors practiced." Batterson calls on believers to rediscover what it means to love God with your heart, soul, mind and spirit...what he terms as "compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy" as the answer to rekindling this lost Christianity of our culture. This book is chocked to the hilt with many illustrations from science (my favorites), pop culture, and literature to show the wonder that we need to rediscover. The result is a clear challenge for all of us to bust out of the modern mediocrity miring us down. The title reveals the heart of this challenge: getting back to the heart of our faith by being awed at the wonder of the God we serve, His work around us, and the Word He gave us. I highly recommend this book as a jumpstart to your new year!
You can purchase it directly from the publishers here.
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