the lion chaser’s manifesto

In the last few days a pastor in D.C. has been mentioned twice in two completely different contexts! His name is Mark Batterson and he is pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. and he wrote a book that I’m told that I MUST read, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars. Well, in the midst of a couple of hours of support calls (please pray for these as I’ve not got much concrete stuff set up yet) I found his blog and found something entitled The Lion Chaser’s Manifesto. It was extremely encouraging to me as I am in the midst of something bigger than me, that if God doesn’t show up in will fail! So here it is! I pray it moves you too!

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion!