Chase the Lion by Mark Batterson

The subtitle of this book is “If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It’s Too Small.” Interesting premise, but I’m not sure I agree with the statement. However, I did enjoy the book and found it both helpful and encouraging. God can give us any size dreams. Every dream we have isn’t going to be so big it frightens us or so big it’s destined to change the world. It may change our world and the impact may be small, but it’s still a dream that God has enabled us to achieve.

Batterson uses stories from history, stories from modern day, and a lot of his own stories to discuss the various points about God giving us big dreams. These dreams, Batterson insists, are not just for us, but for our descendants as well. Dreams are inside of dreams. And possibly our dream is a continuation of someone else’s dream. And that someone else may not even be someone we knew. And our dream could be a set up for someone else’s dream down the line. Again, someone we may not even know.

The book is about following God’s vision for us. His plan for us. And in Batterson’s experience, those visions and his dreams are the same. I’d even say Batterson is using dream as a synonym for God’s calling. And if we want to take it down that route, then I understand his points better. If I substitute dream for calling, I can see how these are orchestrated by God, both before us and after us. I think as you read this book, you might find it helpful to look at it that way.

The Biblical basis and examples Batterson cite are from 2 Samuel 23. He discusses David’s mighty men, starting with Benaiah, who chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day (a phrase you’ll read many times) and killed it. This chapter is a recount of the extraordinary deeds of David’s mighty men. Again, I struggled with equating dreams that I have with these mighty deeds. But again, if I change dreams to calling or to what God can and will enable me to do, then I can see the analogy.

I’m not trying to be overly critical but I also can see the danger of someone reading this and coming away thinking they are inferior or small because they don’t seem to have any grand dreams to do world-changing things. I don’t believe all of us are called to change the world. There are some, and possibly Batterson has been one of them. Hence the plethora of personal stories he relates on how he got to where he is. With that said, there is a lot of good material in this book. It can relate to all of us. And it is encouraging for those of us chasing a dream that at times seems out of reach and for those of us struggling with knowing or following what we believe to be a calling from God.

It’s the second of Batterson’s books I’ve read. The Circle Maker resonated more with me and is one book every Christian should read. But this book is close behind it, and well worth the read.

I’ll rank it ahead of Originals and I rated it a 5 out of 5 stars. My critique is more to set up expectations for those who read this review and then decide to read the book.

Non-Fiction

1. Chase the Lion by Mark Batterson
2. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

Commission earned