Review: Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson

This past spring, Haylie and I had the opportunity to lead a small group Bible study entitled Chase the Goose, based on Mark Batterson's book Wild Goose Chase. In preparation for the study, I had started reading the book; as much of my reading often does, the book sat unfinished on my shelf for many months. When I decided to start this blog, it seemed like a great opportunity to finish several of these books, including Wild Goose Chase.

Batterson provides a stirring call to chase the Wild Goose, the name Celtic Christians used for the Holy Spirit. Often, our pursuit is hindered by the burden of responsibility or the weight of guilt, misled by false assumptions or shaken by fears. Sometimes we get lulled into a routine that leaves no space for God, and sometimes we are haunted by past failures or the potential to fail. Batterson challenges readers to break out of these cages that keep us from pursuing God and reclaim the adventure God has called us toward in our Christian life.

This book was particularly challenging for me, because I have found myself falling prey to each of these various traps at different times in my life. It's hard for someone in the ministry, someone who has made God's work his life's work, to admit that his own life is all too frequently lived out in cages of responsibility or failure or routine or fear. The pursuit of God has too often become a pursuit of stability, a pursuit of financial security, or a pursuit of relational peace; while none of these goals are evil in and of themselves, they are worlds apart from a quest after the Wild Goose. Batterson reminded me that we are called to follow God, and He will work in us and through us to do great things. May you live a life in pursuit of An Geadh-Glas, the Holy Spirit!

Location:Johnson City, TN