Shannon Greer

I am so excited to be part of Mark Batterson’s book review blog tour for Wild Goose Chase. I read In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day a couple months ago and it turned my world upside down. I’m watching the mailbox everyday for my two copies of Wild Goose Chase to arrive. As part of the blog tour I get one copy to read/review and another copy to give away. So if you’d like a copy of the book, let me know by leaving a comment below. You can also buy the book at the Wild Goose Chase website or you can always go here. Here’s what I know about the book so far:

Summary

Most of us have no idea where we’re going most of the time. Perfect.
“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life.

I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” –from the introduction.

About Mark Batterson

Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of Washington, DC’s National Community Church, widely recognized as one of America’s most innovative churches. NCC meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the city, as well as in a church-owned coffee house near Union Station. More than seventy percent of NCC’ers are single twentysomethings who live or work on Capitol Hill. Mark is the author of the best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and a widely read blogger (www.markbatterson.com). He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and their three children.

I’ll post my review as soon as I get it and read it.

So Sunday night I sleepily write about the reality of God’s goodness, and I say “I feel like I’m learning it for the first time all over again - God is good.” Monday morning I load the family up in our happy little minivan (hlm) to head to the beach for the day with my folks who are visiting, and the hlm is sick, I barely get it five miles from our house, to our church parking lot, and it dies.  Turns out its the alternator.  So nearly six hours later, thanks to my dad, my brother-in-law and a guy at church who was able to get me a deal, I got a new alternator and my hlm running again.

That night we finally get to spend some time with my folks down in Orange Beach, and at dinner one of my back teeth breaks right in half.

Yesterday morning I get ready to head in the office and my car, doesn’t want to start the battery is dead.  So I jump it off of our “now feeling much better” hlm, and off I go.  The day is full of phone calls 3 hour meetings, and at 5 I head out to my car only to find it is really really really dead.  Apparently the battery again.

I give you this laundry list of “woes” not to get pity or to complain, only to make a point.  Through these last two days I am learning that God is good, in the good times.  And in the bad times?  Well I’m learning that God is still good.

So maybe you’re going through it right now too.  Maybe you’re reading this and saying “are you kidding me?” Maybe your problems make mine look microscopic.  But no matter, how big or how small our problems, we just have to know that GOD IS STILL GOOD!!!

We had an amazing time of worship tonight at our worship experience that we call Agape.  Gateway Worship were our guest artists and they did a great job in leading us in worship.  One song that we sang was very very simple.  It’s chorus simply stated “You are good.”  As we were singing the song I stopped and thought about what I was singing.  I have heard so many times that “God is good.”  And I have to admit that statement seems like an understatement.

But as I stood there, thinking about God being good, I realized that He is the originator of all that is good.  I don’t know this but I would be inclined to believe that the two words “good” and “God”  are somehow related.  At any rate I began to think about Him being good, and suddenly I was reminded all over again how of the very simple fact that God is good.  Hes not mad, mean, grumpy, grouchy, or impossible to love, He is the epitome of everything that is good.  So tonight I go to bed pondering the simple fact that God is good, and in a strange sort of way I feel like I’m learning it for the first time all over again - God is good.

What does that statement mean to you?

If I could recommend one book for any Christian to read, Erwin McManus’s Barbarian Way, would be at the top of the list.  I can’t even begin to tell you all the reasons why, but instead I’ll just highlight a few more things he says in Chapter 3 that rocked my perspective on my faith walk:

o    People who are fully alive look out of their minds to those who simply exist.
o    The more your identity is rooted in God’s value for you, the less you are controlled and limited by what others think of you. (I LOVE THE TRUTH OF THAT STATEMENT)
o    Barbarians move with God wherever He chooses to go.  The civilized Christian has a routine; the barbarian disciple has a mission.
o    Civilized Christians love tradition.  The barbarian spirit loves challenges
o    The civilized are satisfied with ritual, Barbarians live and thrive in the mystical.
o    For civilized people, religion provides stability and certainty; for the barbarian, a life in God is one of risk and mystery.
o    If you are a follower of Christ and you have allowed yourself to be domesticated, you have lost the power of who you are and who God intends for you to be. (OUCH!!!!)
o    Many have grown up in church and have been effectively Christianized but have never genuinely met Christ.
o    To be filled with the Spirit of God is to be filled with dreams and visions that are too compelling to ignore.
o    What we fear is what we’re subject to; our fears define our master

So where would you fall on the spectrum of a Civilized Christian or a Barbarian Christ Follower?

Here are a few points that really stood out to me in chapter 2 of the Barbarian Way, by Erwin McManus

o Refined Christianity says: Jesus died and rose from the dead so that you can live a life of endless comfort, security, and indulgence.
o Refined Christianity says: If you simply confess that you’re a sinner and believe in Jesus, you’ll be saved from the torment of eternal hellfire, and go to heaven when you die.
o Call of Jesus is a call to live in this world as citizens of an entirely different kingdom.
o The barbarian way is about love expressed through sacrifice and servanthood.
o To walk in the character of Christ is always the right choice, regardless of outcome or consequence.
o Instead of concluding it is best to be wherever God wants us to be, we have decided that wherever it is best for us to be is where God wants us.
o God would never choose safety for us at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count, not so you could count the days of your life.
o The benefits of our faith have become more precious and more valuable to us than the Benefactor of our faith

So what do you think? Any of these statements really speak to you? Do you agree with him? Disagree

About a month ago, Parker, our very enthusiastic and um. . . very male Westie ran away. This was typically nothing new, he would dig out from our back yard and then he’d generally come back, except for this particular day. We’ve posted signs, called the pound, asked the neighbors, and so far nothing. We are choosing to believe he’s been adopted and someone is taking very good care of him.

Yesterday, a Bassett Hound came to our front door, and our girls fell in love with her. it was a sad moment when her owner came by and picked her up. This evening our neighbor showed up at our door, with “Penny” and her AKC papers and asked if we wanted her. So as of this evening we have a new family member. Please let me introduce you to “Molly” Greer formerly known as Penny.

About a month ago, I read a book that literally rocked my perspective on my faith.  Erwin McManus’s book, “The Barbarian Way” paints a picture of the Christian faith that truly seemed to awaken something deep inside of me that has truly inspired me to live my life of faith in a new and more authentic way.  We’re actually leading a small group next month that will be reading this powerful book together.  Its a short read, which makes it certainly possible to read again and again.  Here are a few points from the first chapter that resonated with me:

o    Jesus closing instructions to his disciples can be summarized in one word, “Go”
o    The invitation of Jesus is a revolutionary call to fight for the heart of humanity.  We are called to an unconventional war using only the weapons of FAITH HOPE AND LOVE
o    Perhaps the tragedy of our time is that such an overwhelming number of us who declare Jesus as Lord have become domesticated, and civilized.
o    Barbarians love to live and live to love
o    Jesus did not suffer and die so that we could build for ourselves havens, but so that we might expand the Kingdom of His love.
o    Christianity has become docile, domesticated, civilized.  We have forgotten that there is a kingdom of darkness stealing the hopes and dreams and souls of a humanity without God

Have you read Barbarian Way?  What were your impressions?

I’ve never been to a chiropractor before, never really had the need. But what I understand is that one of the main functions of a chiropractor is the realignment of a person’s back. Supposedly, when a person experiences a realignment, their improved sense of wellness is truly noticeable.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been seeing the life of a Christ follower from a completely different perspective. And I’ve started recognizing that the difference between the life of a committed Christ follower and my life aren’t exactly aligned. I need a realignment.

So. . . this morning I began my process of realignment, I’ll tell you more about what that looks like later. But before I do, I’m curious to know a few things from you:

Ever felt like you needed a spiritual realignment?

What did you do about it?

Kristia and I fell in love dancing. Actually, I think I probably started falling in love with her the first time I saw her dance. I can’t really describe the beauty that surrounds her as she twirls and glides across a stage. I remember asking her one time how she choreographs a dance and she told me that she could see a dancer in her head and she would follow her lead. Like the little ballerina that twirls in the top of a jewelry box.

Its been over ten years since I saw Kristia dance the first time, and a lot of water has passed under the bridge: three kids, a move across the world, then moving between three states, a part time job, a stay at home mom, all of these circumstances over the last ten years seem to have pushed the ballerina inside of her, completely out of the way.

But she’s back, the little ballerina is coming to life again, and its beautiful. Its so exciting. Next month Kristia will start a new job teaching dance at a great studio in town. She will be able to take advanced classes as will our girls. I can’t wait to see my wife fulfilled again in her passion.

But the coolest thing is that I see that little dancer inside of my three girls, I can’t wait to see what their little dancers will do. I’m sure the performances will be spectacular.

In Jeremiah 1, God asks Jeremiah this question.

For nearly a month now, God has been adjusting how I  see the church.  Like many Christians, there have been days that I’ve looked at the Church and just shook my head in disgust at the sight of abuses, superficial words, empty promises, and politically motivated actions.  There have been times that I’ve felt pity for the Church, at the sight of people trying to get it right, but still seeming to just mess things up; good intentions to help other people can sometimes backfire so easily if there isn’t a plan and a vision.

But lately, I’ve begun to see a picture of the Church, that literally sends my heart racing with excitement.  Its a picture of a community of believers who truly care about their neighbors enough to respond to their needs, not just feel sorry for them.  I see a movement of people who’ve said “enough” to church as usual, and are moving into places to help the Church do what the Church was called to do; love God and love others.  I see a body of people who no longer say to the person who’s hurting or in need, “call my office and make an appointment,” but instead “Let me help you right here and right now.”  I see a family of faith who will not just believe God to send the miracle but make themselves available to be part of the miracle.  I see a church that isn’t identified by its stain glass windows and ivory towers, but a church that dusty, and dirty, from helping the helpless, feeding the hungry, parenting the orphan, comforting the widow, surrounding the lonely.

I see something, that may not quite exist yet, but man we’re moving in that direction, we’re getting there, and I see me helping to make it happen.  My destiny? My calling?  My purpose in life?  I see it now, I understand it more and more every day.  With God’s help, I will change the face of the church, one life at a time.  Its not arrogance, its not melodramatic, its determination.  I cannot wait any longer for someone else to do it, it might never get done.

That’s what I see.

Interested in joining me?