In today’s fast-pace, always on-the-go culture, the search for something more simplistic in life is appealing. Life is busy. If I could find an extra hour to squeeze out of each day, I would love to know how. And it’s in that busyness of life, that if I’m not careful, the one thing that becomes sacrificed is my daily pursuit of God.

Pastor Mark Batterson, of National Community Church in Washington DC, addresses the way we pursue and spend time with the Lord in his latest book, Primal. Primal is a call to return to the basics of Christianity; for us to seek to be great at the Great Commandment. Batterson believes that many have fallen into the trap where they look at their relationship with God through logic alone, which leads to a limited view of God based on their understanding. Instead he challenges us to forget trying to figure God out and to “return to the things we did at first” (Revelation 2:5).

Primal breaks the Great Commandment down into four parts: compassion, wonder, curiosity, and power. If we are going to “Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength,” as Jesus tells us to, we need to stop putting God in the boxes we create and begin living in a way that allows us to love God through his understanding of love, not ours.

This book is an easy read, however very thought provoking. It addresses a multitude of topics regarding life and how we live it, including a number of real-life stories. Batterson lays out his thoughts about living primal in a manner that allows you to grasp his ideas.

As the year comes to a close, this book is timely. I know there are questions and pieces of it that I still need to process, but I look forward to seeing what possible ways I can begin to apply this book’s ideas to challenge me as 2010 begins. For anyone looking for a good book to remind you about loving God in the daily grind, Primal is definitely worth your time.

“Real Church”. What is it? How is it defined? Is it possible? Can we find it?

In the opening pages of author Larry Crabb’s latest book, Real Church, he describes a real church as one which does the following:

“…will teach spiritual theology, that stirs a hunger for spiritual formation that surfaces the need for spiritual community that then marshals its resources for spiritual mission.”

This description seems like a very solid premise to build a church on, therefore I was excited about diving into this book. I, myself, am seeking guidance from God as I prepare to embark on a new journey in church-planting, so the title interested me to see more of what Crabb was speaking about.

Truthfully, I found the first half of the book to be a bit slow, as Crabb spent a lot of time outlining his experiences in how churches have been failing to live out the vision that he describes above. His assessments seemed legit – most of which stems from our addictions to ourselves; he clearly points out why there are so many churches struggling in our culture.

However, half way through the book Crabb picks up the pace as he begins to discuss the marks of a “real church.” I found myself consistently agreeing with him as he presents his ideas. The church Crabb describes is one that realizes we’re all sinners, dealing with addictions to something who need Christ, and gathers to seek God’s Truth through intimate community. It feels as if sometimes we tackle that goal from the wrong direction – we seek community first, and then realize we are sinners last, limiting the power and grace that God gives and wants to use within His body, the church.

Real Church is worth the read by those who are struggling with the idea of getting up every weekend for church. This book will challenge you to first look inward to see if barriers are preventing you from experiencing church, as well as help you identify marks to look for in churches who are practicing Real Church.