Blog Tour: Wild Goose Chase

I recently had the opportunity to read Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. I have to admit, I'm of two minds as to how to review this book -- so I'll try to sum up the varied thoughts I had while I read through, even thought I should perhaps simply say: read it for yourself, and if you're of the mind to, let me know what you thought.

I was already annoyed by page 7. See, at the bottom of page 7, Batterson says, "The Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard believed that boredom is the root of all evil. I second the notion. Boredom isn't just boring; boredom is wrong. You cannot simultaneously live by faith and be bored. Faith and boredom are antithetical."

Reading this I had to stop and double check that this wasn't written by my 6th grade teacher who loved above all things to tell her advanced students who finished their work before others and went looking for more things to do that "Bored people are boring people." Batterson's statement takes the above and, rather than simply calling into question whether or not you're someone people will ever want to be friends with, he goes further and lets you know that your faith is a sham. He redeems the statement somewhat throughout the rest of the chapter, but I dislike the "teaching method" of making a broad, sweepingly offensive statement and then slowly backing off and qualifying it. Honestly, had he left out that paragraph, the rest of what he was trying to say - that many Christians appear bored with their faith and that that is not a good state of affairs - would have been more potent.

So what is the cure for spiritual boredom? Spiritual adventure, of course. More fully, this is a full out pursuit of the Holy Spirit (the Celtic term for the Holy Spirit was Wild Goose -- thus the title of the book). Batterson then takes us through the various "cages" that keep us from living this life of spiritual adventure (Responsibility, Routine, Assumptions, Guilt, Failure, and Fear.)

Each of these cages rates a chapter - and there is some good content within each...there is also some content that needs to be taken carefully and prayerfully. For example, in talking about getting away from the cage of responsibility, Batterson derides those who would count the cost carefully before taking a leap - even if that leap is something that ultimately they do decide is the leading of the Holy Spirit - because of "irresponsible responsibility" -- things like making mortgage payments and making sure that the kids are fed. And while certainly, if God tells you to do something, to make a radical change that seems to the rest of the world to be crazy, then you should do it. But I believe you should also live in that realm of irresponsible responsibility until you know that it really is God leading you. Batterson, I fear, would consider me well and truly caged. And so I shrink inside wondering who will be the next person to justify their actions by tossing this book in the air and declaring their freedom from the cage of responsibility when all the while they're not chasing the Holy Spirit, they're using Him as an excuse to get out of responsibilities (rather than what Batterson rightly points out is also common -- using responsibilities as an excuse to get out of what the Holy Spirit is asking you to do.)

Honestly? I don't know if I'd have as big a problem with it if the subtle undertone of this chapter (and frankly the whole book) wasn't that if you are living a quiet, normal life - but you are living that quiet, normal life wholly sold out for Christ and living and breathing Him and doing everything, from cleaning toilets to paying the electric bill and everything quiet and normal in between for His glory you're still not doing enough and your faith isn't real - certainly you're not in tune with the Holy Spirit. Batterson has no room for normal, average Christians - he seems to only have room for the spiritual adrenaline junkie.

This, to me, suggests that we're to believe that Christianity is a leap from one mountaintop to the next and that no Christian should ever hurt, suffer from depression, or fail to live their dream - because if they do, then it's not because sometimes Christians suffer, it's because that Christian's faith was lacking.

That said, there are some interesting thoughts scattered throughout the pages that are worth mulling. It's an easy read and Batterson has a friendly, conversational style to his writing that makes the pages fly by. If you do pick it up, I'd encourage you to take the time to stop and really mull over what you're reading as you go.

I have an extra copy that I'd be happy to send your way -- if you're interested, shoot me an email (sleepybeth, gmail, you know the rest). If I get multiple emails by Friday (the 29th) I'll have Tim pick a random number to choose the winner.