Monday, June 28, 2010

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson - Book Review


Mark Batterson has written a book that stirs the soul and has readers longing to face impossible odds in order to seize an opportunity and attempt something great for God.  This is a man's book.  Wives beware: your husbands will either be cliff-diving, moto-crossing, unashamedly ministering, or unabashedly discipling not long after completing this book.  Perhaps the last two in that list are preferable, but I make no guarantee.

All the fathers at Maranatha Bible Church received a copy of this book on Father's Day.  When first looking at it, I assumed it was a gimmicky devotional or motivational exercise to get Dad pumped up to lead his family.  It does that, but there is more meat on the lion's bones than appears.  The author uses the biblical account of Benaiah in 2 Samuel 23:20-21 to demonstrate how the Lord will place before us difficult, sometimes extreme, circumstances where we actually chase after the difficulty in order to overcome it.  This was a good read, stirring both heart and mind.

To be honest, the author pushed the theological envelope a little too much in places.  And I would have enjoyed knowing more about the preparatory work God did in the modern men Batterson used as examples.  Still, this is definitely worth the time spent—particularly the chapter on worshiping despite the circumstances.

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