Book Review

Primal: A quest for the lost soul of Christianity
By Mark Batterson
Multnomah c2010

Reviewed by Diane Busch

I was a huge fan of Mark Batterson's first 2 books "In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day" and "Wild Goose Chase".  This third book did not disappoint.  I enjoyed the first chapter and his references to Rome, as I am going there in a few months.

Mark reminds us to focus our lives on the most important thing--loving God.  We shouldn't spend our time on earth being great at things that don't matter or that don't have heavenly value.  We must succeed at what matters most--the great commandment.

Mark also teaches that the Bible was not meant to be read reactively; it was meant to be prayed proactively.  We should pray the words of Scripture.  We should pray in alignment with God.

Our obedience to God is our own unique translation of the Bible. When we read the Bible do we skip quickly over the parts we do not want to obey?  Maybe we should make our "to-do" lists from our daily Bible reading.

Doing the will of God is energizing.
Everything - God = Nothing
Nothing + God = Everything

At the end of the book, Mark invites us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and longer lasting.  He invites us to be a part of the next reformation--a primal movement that traces its origins back to ancient catacombs where our ancestors were martyred because they loved God more than they loved their life.