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Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity
Our generation needs a reformation.
But a single person won’t lead it.
A single event won’t define it.
Our reformation will be a movement of reformers living creatively, compassionately, courageously for the cause of Christ.
This reformation will not be born of a new discovery. It will be the rediscovery of something old, something ancient.
Something primal.
—Mark Batter...more
But a single person won’t lead it.
A single event won’t define it.
Our reformation will be a movement of reformers living creatively, compassionately, courageously for the cause of Christ.
This reformation will not be born of a new discovery. It will be the rediscovery of something old, something ancient.
Something primal.
—Mark Batter...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
December 22nd 2009
by Multnomah Books
(first published December 9th 2009)
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Simplify..."Love the Lord with ALL your heart, mind, soul, and strength". How can someone simplify that verse from the Bible? Is that not simplified completely? You would think so. But maybe we are in such a fast pace world that we need to place this verse in slow mode, and re-read it. What does it mean to "love with ALL"? That's what Mark Batterson does with this book "Primal". He explains the "all" in a practical and ingenious way. Ingenious, because Mar...more
"Primal, A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity", by Mark Batterson, is a DVD based Bible Study which I found to be of great value. As it's title entails, as Christians look to where they are, they may find themselves searching for something more. Batterson does a wonderful job of narrating this DVD based study by breaking it down into section to look at and study. The sections which came to his mind came from Scripture. He chose Mark 12:28 - 30 "Love the Lord Your God with all...more
The title of this book reminds me of the book I read a few years back called the Barbarian Way (which I will add that I thoroughly enjoyed!), so I don’t think the concept is new. However, the presentation is EXCELLENT! Primal by Mark Batterson is a great call for the things we long to do as Christians, but rarely put our minds and hearts into it as much as we should, thus letting it sit in the background and eventually forgetting why we call ourselves Christians in the first place.
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From the first page, I was pulled into this book. I was completely engaged in the examples he gives on how to love to love God more fully. It was full of simple insight. Some main points that really hit home is not just acting like a Christian but reacting like a Christian. This was like a bell that went off in my head. I work at a Christian radio station, and there are times when some people can be a bit rude. I grin and bear it and try with all my heart to continually be kind. I did it, becaus...more
Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of National Community Church on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. He is also the author of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase. Primal, Batterson’s latest effort will be available in stores December 22, 2009. I received a copy early because I volunteered to review the book on my blog. So here goes. Mentioning Mark will be in reference to the author, Mark Batterson.
Primal is a book about the basic of basics. Jesus boiled our whole ...more
Primal is a book about the basic of basics. Jesus boiled our whole ...more
Subtitled “A quest for the lost soul of Christianity”, Primal is an interesting book. That's to say the least.
Batterson, while touring the catacombs, was brought to realize that the early Christians lived and worshiped differently than we do. He sought to find out from Scripture what that difference would be.
Batterson found that the thing that motivated the early Christians was the great commandment which tells us to love God with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength...more
I was challenged by Mark’s love for learning & passion for change. Some of my favorite quotes:
Christianity that is more educated but less powerful, more civilized but less compassionate more acceptable but less authentic
I wonder...if the accumulated layers of Christian traditions & institutions have unintentionally obscured what lies beneath
"Christianity has a perception problem...Christians are more known for what we’re against than what we’re for."
before confronti...more
Christianity that is more educated but less powerful, more civilized but less compassionate more acceptable but less authentic
I wonder...if the accumulated layers of Christian traditions & institutions have unintentionally obscured what lies beneath
"Christianity has a perception problem...Christians are more known for what we’re against than what we’re for."
before confronti...more
I actually liked this book better than his other two books (In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase). However, this book deals with the concept of loving God with our heart, soul, mind and strength. He takes the reader into a creative journey of discovering what it is that made the early Christians so vibrant, passionate, and active in their faith.
He points out that we need to look back in order to move forward. I truly hearing his thoughts about taking captive ...more
He points out that we need to look back in order to move forward. I truly hearing his thoughts about taking captive ...more
Primal by Mark Batterson is just the book to jump start your faith for the new year. Batterson is the pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C. and has made a name for himself as a powerful author in his previous books, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase. In Primal, Batterson wants readers to reconnect with the Lord the way early Christians did and express that love to the world. He emphasizes again and again the importance of readers' hearts breaking for those...more
Mark Batterson encourages us to return to the soul of Christianity, seen clearly in the greatest commandment. He proceeds to examine each facet of that commandment: heart (compassion), soul (wonder), mind (curiosity) and strength (energy). Batterson concludes the book by saying that while the Protestant Reformation was a reformation of creeds, so the next reformation will be a reformation of deeds; a good point which I have read elsewhere. Batterson is a pastor in Washington DC and he writes ...more
I definitely should have read Primal before reading Soulprint because doing it in reverse order took something out of Primal for me...or there was just not enough of something in Primal for me and I got all that I needed out of Soulprint...now I'm rambling. Anyway, I think Primal is a great reflection of the basis of practical, livable principles of Christianity that so few churches talk about now. That said, it wasn't every meaty, in that I didn't really have any great revelations the way I did...more
I can normally tell how much I like a book depending on how much I underline things in it. I underlined a lot in this book. Tons of biblical food for thought. Batterson wants to discover the lost soul of Christianity. He says it begins with rediscovering what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Great start! And many of the chapters fit into that theme but many seemed to be "stuck" in the book that didn't quite fit. They were still excellent but inco...more
- I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. –
You can find the first chapter available for preview here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/47206285/Prima...
If I were to ask you to break down Christianity into the simplest form you could, to simplify the message as much as possible, how would you respond?
Mark Batterson’s answer to this question is to remind us of what many call The Great Commandment:
Mark 12:30
New I...more
You can find the first chapter available for preview here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/47206285/Prima...
If I were to ask you to break down Christianity into the simplest form you could, to simplify the message as much as possible, how would you respond?
Mark Batterson’s answer to this question is to remind us of what many call The Great Commandment:
Mark 12:30
New I...more
I finished reading Primal a few days ago, but I've been waiting to write a review because I've been chewing on the content.
Before I even finished the book, I declared Primal as the best book that I have read in 2010. It is clear that Mark Batterson has a heart for God and a passion for change. He wants to see Christians acting more like Christ, and more so reacting like Christ.
Batterson challenges the reader to go on a personal quest to examine compassion, wonder, curio...more
Before I even finished the book, I declared Primal as the best book that I have read in 2010. It is clear that Mark Batterson has a heart for God and a passion for change. He wants to see Christians acting more like Christ, and more so reacting like Christ.
Batterson challenges the reader to go on a personal quest to examine compassion, wonder, curio...more
Great illustrations. Much of the same subject matter as "Radical" and/or "Crazy Love." Batterson writes with an easy style and the book in quite readable -- I finished it over the course of a weekend. As a whole it is a good challenge and a new perspective on the Great Commandment to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and body. Compassion, Wonder, Curiosity and Strength are the author's terms and he develops at length what these qualities look like in the life of a ...more
Full review at http://bookwi.se/primal-a-quest-for-the-...
Short review: I think that this is a good book for helping us to re-discover the emotional and spiritual attraction that Christianity held for us at the beginning. I thought it would be more about the church and less about us as individual Christians. I feel this is the greatest weakness. Primal (early Christians were not individualistic) and a focus on the "Primal" feelings and motivations of early Christians would...more
Short review: I think that this is a good book for helping us to re-discover the emotional and spiritual attraction that Christianity held for us at the beginning. I thought it would be more about the church and less about us as individual Christians. I feel this is the greatest weakness. Primal (early Christians were not individualistic) and a focus on the "Primal" feelings and motivations of early Christians would...more
I'm biased, because I get to hear the sermons that accompany the book and see how the ideas form. I recently listened to a bunch of sermon podcasts from before our time at NCC and could hear some of the raw ideas that come out in this book, primarily being great at the great commandment. I think that In a Pit... was probably my favorite book of his so far because it lead to a personal spiritual breakthrough, but I like this one a lot as well.
Another thought-provoking read from Pastor Mark Betterson. This is his best book yet in my opinion, not because his writing style has changed but because it contains the most original thoughts that inspired paradigm shifts for me that I didn't get in his sermons. Kudos to Pastor Mark for not preaching every single thing he wrote here. Makes it worth the read. Easy to put down for a while and come back to also.
This book talked about what Christianity is all about. The importance of remembering the basis for our faith and what it really means to live as a Christian was emphasized. The author covers many topics such as giving, being a servant, loving others, and giving of ourselves. This book was very inspiring and encouraging to read. It brings you back to the foundations of your faith.
Currently nearing the end of this book - more markings by me than any previous book that I recall. This writing really calls us to reexamine the greatest commandment and our response to it. Love this book!
Great book! May be the very first book I have read that does an excellent job covering all aspects of Christian living - ie to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
A really great book. It just hit me at all the right places right now - all the things I've been thinking about. It was my first Batterson book, and it won't be my last.
I just love everything I read from Mark Batterson. I especially loved his treatment of being a lifelong learner, and how that glorifies God.
Very thought provoking and not something I could read mindlessly before bed. I enjoyed this book and felt a renewed sense of faith after reading it.
I absolutely loved this book!
Read my review at http://jeffrandleman.net/2010/10/07/prim...
Read my review at http://jeffrandleman.net/2010/10/07/prim...
Jordan Blythe
is currently reading it
Currently in the process of reading this amazingly powerful and eye-opening book. Great stuff.
Pam Howell
added it
I thought this book was insightful & challenging. Mark is an easy author to read.
Mark Batterson does not offer anything new here (I've probably heard most of it before in various books and sermons), but that is his point: we don't need something new, we need to rediscover something old. What does it mean to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and all of our strength? Mark Batterson returns to this question and reminds us of the things that we should know. Depending where you are on your journey, some might find new insights about loving God from...more
Caitlin selvidge
is currently reading it
Just as good as Wild Goose Chase
SO good! I didn't think he could top In A Pit & Wild Goose Chase, but Primal was absolutely incredible.
It always takes me a long time to read Mark's books because they're full of so many incredible truths that I want to let sink it...I've been reading this for weeks- maybe even months...but it was such a wonderful journey...he's truly one of the great voices of this generation. God is doing incredible, incredible things, and revealing ridiculously important truths through Mark ...more
It always takes me a long time to read Mark's books because they're full of so many incredible truths that I want to let sink it...I've been reading this for weeks- maybe even months...but it was such a wonderful journey...he's truly one of the great voices of this generation. God is doing incredible, incredible things, and revealing ridiculously important truths through Mark ...more
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