chasing the goose

One of my favorite bloggers is Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C.  Today, his second book Wild Goose Chase is being released nationwide and I’ve had the privilege to preview the book and post my thoughts.  

If you like writers like Erwin McManus or John Ortberg, you will like Mark’s new book.  In it he challenges followers of Christ to a life of adventure.  He thinks that Christians act as if they’re like caged animals you see at a zoo without any life, adventure and joy.  So through 7 chapters he encourages readers to “uncage” themselves and pursue the passions that God has placed in their hearts.  I’ve heard some say that they read this book in one sitting.  However, I think to get the most out of a book like this is to read, stop, pray, respond and then read some more.  Here’s an excerpt:

“I think the rich young ruler is representative of a generation that longs to come out of the cage and live dangerously for the cause of Christ.  But too many among us end up settling for spiritual mediocrity instead of striving for spiritual maturity.  Jesus speaks to that deep-seated longing for adventure by challenging us to come out of the cage.  But coming out the cage means giving up the very thing in which we find our security and identity outside of Christ.”

To learn more about Mark you can visit his blog at www.markbatterson.com or go straight to his new book’s website at www.chasethegoose.com.

By the way, he gave me two copies, one for me and one to give away.  So the first person who can post a comment telling me what the word “Ebenezer” means, gets a free copy.

church and technology

I’m still scratching my head over an experience I had this past weekend. My family and I were in Dallas for a wedding and didn’t come back to Boston until Monday. So on Sunday, since I didn’t have to teach at my church, I went “church hopping.” Whenever I’m away from Cornerstone, I love to visit and see what other churches are doing and how they’re doing it. So I went to one service at 9am and another at 11:30am. Both were very big and exciting churches. Both have a lot of resources at their disposal. Both are doing great things for Jesus. But at the later service that I attended, there was something missing.

ordinary miracles

A wise man once said that the human heart was designed to be in awe of the miraculous.  However, with the advance of science and modern technology, our hearts have become conditioned to take extraordinary moments, ideas and events and pass them off as mundane.  I mean, when was the last time you looked up in awe at an airplane flying through the sky taking hundreds of people from one place to another in a matter of hours.  A hundred years ago it took people over a day to travel from Providence to Boston, but I could hop into my car and make the trip in an hour.  

can we ask anything?

Jesus tells his disciples in John 16:24, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”  In other words, Jesus is telling his disciples to pray, for he knows that without prayer there will be no joy.  But why does God really want us to pray?  Doesn’t he already know what we’re going to ask for?  

christ and culture

Can’t believe tomorrow is already the start of August!  This has definitely been a busy summer.  The staff at Cornerstone have been busily preparing for some exciting things happening at church this fall.  One of the things we’ve been working on is our Friday night Encounter series.  The theme is going to be “Christ In Culture” and we’re going to be using movies and film as the medium in which to teach.  We’re already having so much fun designing this series, I know that whoever checks it out will too.  

Question:  Does anyone have experience producing or editing videos or movies?  If so, we could use your help.  We want to utilize film clips and video intros as much as possible, and this is something they don’t teach you in seminary.  So if you’re interested, let me know.  We can’t pay, but you’ll get all-you-can-eat popcorn!!