Mark Batterson spoke about a crazy guy from 2 Samuel 22 named Benaiah, one of David’s might fighting men. As it turns out, Benaiah chased a lion down a pit on a snowy day and killed the lion. The temptation is to read this story too quickly and to gloss over the incredible thought of actually chasing a lion rather than running from a lion. This might man, Benaiah, didn’t run from his fears; he pursued them! Our lives are made up of defining moments, and those defining moments come when we choose to either run away from our fears or when we choose to embrace them and chase them.
Mark gave three suggestions for chasing lions:
- Do something scary
- Do something crazy
- Do something risky
Here are a couple of memorable quotes from his session:
- Life your life in a way that is worth telling stories about
- You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right
- Pray ridiculous prayers
Mark also made the comment that Jesus didn’t hang out regularly in synagogues. Instead, he went to the town wells, which were really places of gathering for common people. In our culture, a huge place of gathering is a coffeehouse, which is essentially the modern-day “well.”
My personal thoughts:
It’s ironic that I just had a phone conversation before this session with someone who said she was going to be a “chicken” and avoid the challenging but probably right thing to do in a situation. The sad part is that I affirmed her in doing it! That’s not leadership; that’s cowardice. I’ll be making another phone call after this next session. J I believe that Mark is right: too often we are afraid to chase the lions. We need to step out of our comfort zones and follow the dreams that God gives us. We have to be careful not to presume what God wants; it requires prayer and commitment to listening to Him. But when God gives us direction, we can’t sit on it! We have to move forward and embrace the challenge, recognizing that God loves vision that is bigger than ourselves. I’m not promoting stupidity, but I am suggesting that I/we quit playing armchair church and begin making a difference for His Kingdom is a BIG way. Several weeks ago I read a blog by Perry Noble, and he recounted a conversation he had over lunch with a friend back in the late 90’s. The friend asked Perry something to the effect of, “What would you do if you knew that God would help you succeed?” Perry was challenged, and so was I when I began thinking about that. What would our church look like if we chased the lion and knew that God would help us succeed?
In a pit with a lion… (2 Samuel 22-23)
Back in October I wrote a blog entry in response to my time at the Catalyst Conference and a workshop session led by Mark Batterson of National Community Church. As I came back to the passage Mark shared today in the reading from 2 Samuel, I was remind…