Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small

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There is a brand of religiosity that seems satisfied with breaking even— don’t do this, don’t do that, and you’ll be okay. Mark Batterson is the author of more than a dozen books including the ECPA Christian Book award-winning Whisper, USA Today bestseller Chase the Lion and The New York Times best-seller The Circle Maker. So hiring decisions become the most important decisions you make because they have an exponential effect. I am a passionate follower of Jesus Christ, with an equally passionate belief that every woman who chooses to follow Jesus, has been destined for greatness in His Kingdom. In a nutshell, this book is about how to embrace the “dream” or “destiny” God has placed in your heart and step into your full potential as a Christ-follower.

Jim’s wife Elizabeth tells of a time when Jim went to a football game and dreamed about stadiums of people cheering for Jesus. What dreams am I dreaming that will make a difference in my children and my children’s children and a hundred years from now? Likewise, I believe that many Christians need to tear down the lifeless shell of what they perceive to be Christianity so that they can discover the true joy and abundant life that Jesus offers. In “The Insanely Practical Guide to Create, Communicate, and Capture Vision,” Stephen Blandino equips you with an extraordinarily practical process to see, share, seize, and safeguard the vision.In the end, the vitality of your faith is not measured by the glamor of your life, but by the God who holds it in his hands.

I think that message distracts from the heart of every day faithfulness, of living as though God has a purpose to your every day routine. The other thing Batterson mentioned in here that has resonated with me is having a verse for your life.

My Take: This book is a follow-up to a book I’ve wanted to read for some time, In A Lion’s Pit on a Snowy Day, and reading this book has amplified that desire tenfold. The premise is solid, and I agree with Batterson that our tendency as Christian’s is to live a safe life, where we can manage without much intervention from God but this book quickly turned into something else. Building blocks of truths from the Bible that combine to construct more complex subsequent principles. Chase the Lion is a book written by Mark Batterson and based on the inspiration of one of David’s warriors named Beniah. In Chase the Lion, Batterson provides practical insight from the stories of David’s mighty men and also brings the reader through many modern stories of lion chasers who boldly advanced past their fears and mistakes into their destiny.

Though the premise is solid (and something I’m genuinely intrigued by), Chasing the Lion ended up being more self promotion than inspiration. I encourage everyone to read this book - step out of your comfort zone, take action on your dreams and be lion chasers. In Chase the Lion, Pastor Mark Batterson will inspire and teach you to grab opportunity by the mane, go after your God-sized dreams, and chase the lion. In other words, it’s about employing tips and tricks, tactics and tools, to squeeze more productivity out of every minute.

Based upon 2 Samuel 23, Chase the Lion tells the true story of an ancient warrior named Benaiah who chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day–and then killed it. He wasn't afraid of offending Pharisees; touching lepers; washing feet; defending prostitutes; or befriending tax collectors. This is the first time listening to this author and will most likely get one of his other books and compare the information given. Sin embargo, difiero en una sola cosa del autor y es la postura frente a los sueños pequeños, pues Dios se glorifica aún en esos sueños ordinarios.

Chase the Lion not only helped me take a fresh look at my life’s purpose, but it also gave me the renewed energy to dream big and work hard. Napoleon Bonaparte made a distinction between two kinds of courage— regular courage and two-o’clock-in-the-morning courage. At the end of our lives, our greatest regrets will be the God-ordained opportunities we left on the table, the God-given passions we didn't pursue, and the God-sized dreams we didn't go after because we let fear dictate our decisions. In every dream journey, there comes a moment when you have to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.

The other 17 chapters didn’t disappoint, and this was easily a book that will leave a mark on my life. This week I was talking to a new friend who recently transitioned from leadership in a local church to leadership in a global organization. This book was a revelation to me because I come from a small town with a ‘just enough’ or a ‘not enough’ mentality. For those who don’t have a dream yet, Batterson says, “The best way to discover your dream is to help others accomplish theirs!