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Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity
 
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Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity (Hardcover)

~ Mark Batterson (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (199 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Mark weaves us through the Great Commandment with insights that are both winsome and wise, piquing both curiosity and conviction. He calls us to a discipleship free of the trappings of shriveled self-concern, drawing us to give ourselves, with abandon, to others as we heed Jesus’ call to love God above all. This book will fuel clarity of call and persevering strength for those who will journey in obedience to the Gospel—in its wholeness of justice, mercy, and faithfulness—for a lifetime.”
GARY HAUGEN, president and CEO of International Justice Mission and author of Good News About Injustice, Terrify No More, and Just Courage
 
“Too many of us are doing life at an unsustainable pace and losing sight of our first love. In his new book, Primal, Mark Batterson invites you to rediscover the reality of Christ and His passions. This book will challenge you, push you, and stretch you. You will walk away righteously aggravated, but catapulted into action.”
CRAIG GROESCHEL, senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv
 
“Mark, I’m with you. It’s time for believers to be more. Let’s hear the voice of God and be that holy, passionate fire that we are called to be. It’s the primal way.”
SHAUN ALEXANDER, 2005 NFL MVP, acclaimed speaker, and author of award-winning book Touch Down Alexander

Product Description

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 Batterson, Primal
 
What would your Christianity look like if it was stripped down to the simplest, rawest, purest faith possible? You would have more, not less. You would have the beginning of a new reformation—in your generation, your church, your own soul. You would have primal Christianity.
 
This book is an invitation to become part of a reformation movement. It is an invitation to rediscover the compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy that turned the world upside down two thousand years ago. It is an invitation to be astonished again.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Multnomah Books; 1 edition (December 22, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1601421311
  • ISBN-13: 978-1601421319
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (199 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,681 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Mark Batterson
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199 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (199 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Following Christ with Compassion, Wonder, Curiosity, and Energy, January 20, 2010
When asked by a Jewish legal expert to name the most important commandment in the Mosaic Law, Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30, cf. Deut. 6:4, 5). Nothing in life is important as amo Dei, the love of God, which is referred to as the Great Commandment. Unfortunately, what Jesus said to the Ephesian church could be said to many Christians today: "You have forsaken your first love" (Rev. 2:4).

Mark Batterson's new book, Primal, is an insightful guide to recovering your first love. If you are a spiritual seeker or a new Christian, this book will outline a simple but powerful vision of what following Christ is supposed to be. If you are a longtime Christian, it will refresh your faith. And if you are a pastor, it will help minister to both categories of parishioners.

Mark is the pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC, as well as a personal friend. If I recommend the book, it is because I can first recommend the man. Mark is a creative thinker and a gifted communicator. The church he leads meets at multiple theaters throughout the Washington DC area, not because he can't find a place for a more permanent building, but because that's where the people are. NCC also owns and operates Ebenezer's, an award-winning coffee house and performance space near Union Station. All profits from Ebenezer's sales go to missions.

Primal is all about living out the Great Commandment and centers on four key practices: "compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy," which correspond to "heart, mind, soul, and strength" in Mark 12:30. If you're anything like me, you probably don't think naturally of Christianity in those terms--especially not as it's practiced by American Christians. We are not always a compassionate, wonder-filled, curious, or energetic crowd. But once you're done reading this book, you won't be satisfied with going back to your old routines.

One of Mark's great strengths is to explain old biblical truths in fresh ways and with new word pictures. This is a thoroughly biblical book, but it avoids tired clichés and conventional thinking. I've read a lot of books on Christian living. Mark wrote a lot of things in this book that exposed deficiencies in my own thinking and practice of the faith without making me feel hopeless or helpless in the process.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

* "Christianity has a perception problem. At the heart of the problem is the simple fact that Christians are more known for what we're against than what we're for" (p. 6).
* "The American church needs a heart check. Or maybe I should say, a bank check. It seems to me that we have spiritualized the American Dream of materialized the gospel. Take your pick. And any attempt to monetize a relationship with God cheapens the gospel" (p. 32).
* "When we lose our sense of wonder, what we really lose is our soul. Our lack of wonder is really a lack of love" (p. 51).
* "You are among the company of translators [of the Bible]. For better or for worse, your life is your unique translation. Just like the Septuagint or King James Version, your life translates Scripture into a language that those around you can read. God doesn't just want to speak to you through Scripture; He wants to speak through you. He wants to write His-story through your life. And Scripture is the script" (p. 85).
* "The church ought to be the most curious place on the planet. We ought to be a safe place where people can ask dangerous questions, but all too often we're guilty of answering questions that no one is even asking" (p. 97).
* "Lack of faith is not a failure of logic. It's a failure of imagination. Lack of faith is the inability or unwillingness to entertain thoughts of a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine" (p. 112).
* "As Christ followers, we need to take a why not approach to life. It dares to dream. It's bent toward action. And it's not looking for excuses not to do something" (p. 139).
* "I have a theory: most church problems don't come from the abundance of sin but rather from a lack of vision. I'm not suggesting that there aren't sin problems or that those sin problems aren't serious. But in too many instances, there isn't enough vision to keep churches busy. Our vision isn't big enough to demand all our energies, so we manufacture petty problems to keep us busy" (p. 148).
* "Let me ask you a question: It might be the question. Which do you love more: your dream or God? Do you love God for what He can do for you? Or do you love Him for who He is? In its purest, mot primal form, loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is loving God for God. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else" (p. 165).

I could go on and on, but I hope you get the drift. Mark has great insights and asks some tough questions whose answers are revealing.

Read Primal! And start practicing the compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy that should characterize all followers of Christ!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars His best yet, December 23, 2009
By D. Pierce (Rayville, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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I have just finished reading Primal, Mark Batterson's latest book. While I certainly enjoyed Mark's first two books Primal spoke to me much more deeply. It helped me recall and refresh the passion God placed in my heart ten years ago as He led us to begin Extreme Missionary Adventures.

In Primal Mark dissects the Great Commandment given to us by our Lord, "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength". As he examines each of the four components he shows us how two thousand years of Christian traditions and institutions have obscured the basic, primal core of Christianity. He helps us to see through the clutter of our faith and brings us back to what is truly important.

Primal was a great, heart-stirring read. I highly recommend that you make it the first book you read in 2010.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best work yet, December 23, 2009
By Steven Cole (Manteca, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I am trying to contain myself as I write this review. I know that no one book is a "cure-all" for the reader, but I absolutely loved this book. I recommend it highly and will be giving it away to people as I get the chance.

The premise of the book is based on Mark 12:30, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Batterson takes the 4 aspects of the verse, "heart, soul, mind, and strength," and creates opportunities for the reader to do serious soul searching. There are pages in the book where I circled whole sections and simply wrote "Holy Crap" next to it! I didn't know what else to say...

My biggest "Holy Crap" moment came toward the end of the book. Mark does a great job throughout the book spurring you on to dream big dreams, connect with God, and allow His power be the force that drives the dreams we all have. So I am all into the dreaming thing. I even have a few dreams I have had for a while that are getting fresh coats of paint as I am reading through the book...but then page 165 happens...here is what it says:

"Let me ask you a question. It might be the question. Which do you love more: your dream or God? Do you love God for what He can do for you? Or do you love Him for who He is? In its purest, most primal form, Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is loving God for God. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else."

Don't know why I didn't see that coming, but it slapped me in the face....If you are looking for a great book to start of 2010 with, I recommend this one highly. It will inspire you to dream big, but more importantly, it will encourage you to maintain perspective. That is well worth the price of the book!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic
Batterson gives a great perspective on authentic faith. Challenging for everyone from the pulpit to the classroom.
Published 10 days ago by James Varnell

2.0 out of 5 stars Primal by Mark Batterson
Mark Batterson's latest book, "Primal" (Multnomah, 2009), seeks to bring believers back to the point where they were one with God, to a simpler essence of faith before complicated... Read more
Published 12 days ago by Lauren Yarger

4.0 out of 5 stars makes you think
I was impressed by Batterson's proposition that creativity is a dimension of spiritual maturity. God is a creator. To become more like Him is to become more creative. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. B

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are a religious person... this book will hurt!
This is not just a book.
It's more like a Christianity manual that was forgotten but now has been found inside Mark Batterson's heart. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sergio Alejandro Estrada

5.0 out of 5 stars Let the Reformation Begin
In the 1500's, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the doors of Castle Church in Whittenburg, Germany, which launched a revolution in the Christian world as it pertained to... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Anthony S. Ingram

5.0 out of 5 stars Will Not Disappoint
I love the books that Mark Batterson writes. He is a brilliant author that will captivate your attention and imagination. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jeremiah Stingl

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book Worth Giving Away
In Primal, Mark Batterson strips away layers of "Christianeze" and takes us to the soul of Christianity. Read more
Published 1 month ago by De'Etta

3.0 out of 5 stars It Just Falls Flat
Primal - A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by author Mark Batterson, asks the question, "What would your Christianity look like if it was stripped down to the simplest,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Laura Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars Primal Blog Tour
Mark is one of my favorite authors. I have read both In and Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase and Primal lives up to all expectations. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Michael Foster

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for the New Year
Mark Batterson thinks a whole different level from me. That's why I enjoy reading his books. He doesn't make himself sound smart - but his curiosity about nature and the way... Read more
Published 2 months ago by ireid

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