Wild Goose Chase

I'm a Mark Batterson fan. His book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day blew me away. It has become one of my favorite books of the last ten years or so (read my review of that book here).

Still, I was hesitant to read Wild Goose Chase. Maybe I was afraid of disappointment. Maybe the title didn't float my boat. Bottom line, i'm not sure why. But last week I overcame my hesitation and downloaded the ebook of Wild Goose Chase in the Kindle app on my iPad (and, yes, I'm trying to sound cool. Is it working?).

I was not disappointed. Wild Goose Chase engaged me from the very first line and held me until the last. It discusses six cages that tend to keep us from pursuing God-given passions and purpose: responsibility, routine, assumptions, guilt, failure, and fear. The book illustrates each of these cages with a Biblical character, and unfailingly moves the reader to burst through the bars and pursue not just his or her wildest dreams, but God's wildest dreams! Throughout, Batterson's passion and knack for inspiring with story and concept shines through.

Also, like his other books, Wild Goose Chase contains many lines and passages worth marking and remembering. Here are a few of my favorites:

I wonder if churches do to people what zoos do to animals.

Jesus didn't die on the cross to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous.

You cannot simultaneously live faith and be bored. Faith and boredom are antithetical.

As we age, many of us stop believing and start assuming.

Sometimes our plans have to fail in order for God's plans to succeed.

God often uses us at our point of greatest incompetence. That way He gets all the credit.

One of the greatest acts of worship is keeping a good attitude in a bad situation.

Those are just some of the lines I highlighted...in just the first two chapters! Perhaps you can see why I think Batterson may be the most quotable author out there. And Wild Goose Chase one of the most-readable and most-inspiring books out there.