Wild Goose Chase

To my regular “Word For The Day” readers…here is the review I mentioned in today’s message. As promised I will send a free copy to (1) of the first 25-people to post a comment. So be sure to sign your name and I will follow-up with an email to get your address so I can send you the book. And I will even cover the postage.

And…if I get even more comments I just may look into getting more books to send out. And some of you may be wondering…yes…my “Word for the Day” goes out to more than twenty-five people. Actually…quite a few more…but I will let you wonder about that for a while. Maybe that is another contest for another time.

When posting your comments, please include some thoughts on the review, the topic of the book, and what your own thoughts are on this topic. Don’t worry if you don’t see your comment posted immediately, as I will read each comment before it appears on the blog.

Happy reading…

"REVIEW"

I have been reading Mark Batterson's blog for nearly a year now and have grown to appreciate his organic sense of relating with people. You can tell that he is truly a “people person.” He strives to relate with those to whom he is writing in a very real and personal way…all the while realizing that he will never personally meet the vast majority of those very people.

His book carries the same flavor but has a much greater impact simply because it is focused and directed at one specific topic. And that topic is what he refers to as the “Wild Goose Chase.” Mark derives the term “Wild Goose Chase” from the Celtic Christians who used this term to describe the Holy Spirit. Mark feels that this term hints at the mysterious nature of the Holy Spirit…saying that the Holy Spirit “cannot be tracked or tamed.” That an “element of danger and an air of unpredictability surround Him.”

The great advantage I have as a regular reader of his blog is that I have been able to track his ministry for the past twelve months and I have been able to witness his “Wild Goose” spirit in both his personal life and his ministry. There is certainly something to be said for a person who lives what he preaches.

A few quote highlights from the book that I believe to truly reflect the heart and the passion that Mark wrote this book with…

"Wild Goose Chase is an invitation to be part of something that is bigger than you and more important than you"

"One of the greatest mistakes we make is asking God to do for us what God wants us to do for Him" (28)

"The primary reason most us don't see God moving is simply because we aren't moving. If you want to see God move, you need to make a move!" (33)

"Don't whine. Don't complain. And don't check out. Make the most of the situation. Do little things like they are big things. Keep a good attitude. And faithfully carry out your current obligations. If you job isn't exciting, then bring some excitement to the job. One of the greatest acts of worship is keeping a good attitude in a bad situation. And doing a good job at a bad job honors God. It will also open doors of opportunity down the road. It did for Nehemiah" (37)

"Hurry kills everything from compassion to creativity. And when you're in a hurry, you don't have time to get out of your routine, do you? No room for Spirit-led spontaneity. No time for Wild Goose chases"

Mark talking about failures in life - "Sometimes it takes a shipwreck to get us where God wants us to go. Failure (or what at the time looks like failure) can become a cage if you let it. It can keep you from pursing the passions God has placed in your heart. But there's life after failure." (119)

"But sometimes a closed door is the very thing that gets us where God wants us to go. I've come to think of closed doors as divine detours. And while our failed plans can be incredibly discouraging and disorienting, God often uses the things that seem to be taking us off our course to keep us on His course." (122)

"I want to get from point A to point B in the shortest amount of time and by the easiest route possible. But I've come to realize that getting where God wants me to go isn't nearly as important as becoming who God wants me to be in the process. And God seems to be far less concerned with where I'm going than with who I'm becoming." (137)

"We let our fears dictate our decisions. We are so afraid of making the wrong decision that we make no decision. And what we fail to realize is that indecision is a decision. Nothing ventured, nothing gained" (144)

"We need people who are more afraid of missing opportunities than making mistakes. People who are more afraid of lifelong regrets than temporary failure. People who dare to dream the unthinkable and attempt the impossible" (145)

"We live out of fear instead of faith. And that lack of faith results in a lack of guts." (147)

"You've got to take the initiative. You've got to climb the cliff. You've got to lick a fight" (158)

"There comes a time when enough is enough. You get tired of playing not to lose. You get tired of maintaining the status quo. You get tired of making decisions based on personal comfort. And that is when you need to stand up, step in, or step out." (155)

"Play offense with your life-You know why most of us aren't playing offense with our lives? It's simple. We don't have any goals. I know that not everyone has a goal setting personality…(but) lack of goals is lack of faith. The Bible says 'Faith is being sure of what we hope for'...but most of us are more sure of what we're afraid of than what we hope for. You know why most of us never accomplish what we want? Because we don't know what we want. We want to be successful. Yet we've never taken the time to define what success would look like occupationally, relationally, or spiritually. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (159)

"We need to dream God-sized dreams. And it's not because we need to make a name for ourselves - selfish goals always result in shallow victories. We need to dream God sized dreams because they are the only thing that will drive us to our knees and keep us living in absolute dependence upon God the way we were designed to." (160)

To be perfectly honest…I have read books that are more polished, more perfected, more pretty, and maybe more professional. But I chose to read this book because I’ve learned to love the heart of the man behind the blog. And when you begin to know the heart of an author you are more open to what they have to say. And I am so glad that I did…because both the message and the motive for the message are impeccable.

Between my blog reading, a mutual friend, and a few short email conversations I feel like I already know Mark Batterson. And this book is an accurate reflection of both his personal life and his ministry life…and quite honestly I don’t believe you can ever really separate the two. You are who you are. And while so many people try to compartmentalize their life they soon find that it really isn’t possible. Either you are a minister or you’re not. Either you are willing to chase the Goose or you aren’t. Either life is a daring adventure or it is nothing. (Helen Keller)

Do I recommend the book…absolutely. But I recommend it with the understanding that it really is worthless unless you are willing to step out. Unless you are willing to stop living a life of faith in your own abilities and find out what it really means to have faith in God and to live a life of adventure. Unless…you are willing to Chase the Goose.

Book Available at:

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