Mark Batterson Interview

I recently had the opportunity to read through Mark Batterson's latest book. It is entitled In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day.

I've always appreciated people who seek to push people beyond what they can do in their own strength. People who seek to not only bring the best out of people, but God's best out of people. Batterson's latest book does exactly that.

In this interview I ask Mark about himself, and more about what's behind his recently released book.

Smulo: Inquiring minds want to know: Who is Mark Batterson?

Batterson: Not much myth or mystery really.  I’m a dad who loves his kids.  A husband who loves his wife.  And a pastor who loves his church. 

Most of my time is spent serving as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC.  But I feel as called to write as I do to pastor.  So I’m not sure if I’m a pastor/author or an author/pastor. 

Smulo: The big idea for your book comes from an Old Testament passage about a dude and a lion. Tell us more.

Batterson: It’s got to be one of the coolest and most courageous stories in the Bible.  Normal people run away from lions, but not Benaiah.  II Samuel 23:20 says he chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killed it.  For most of us, that set of circumstances would spell DEATH, but for Benaiah they spelled OPPORTUNITY.  Most of us try to steer clear of wild lions, but you’ve got to admit: I killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day looks awfully good on your resume if you’re applying for a bodyguard position with the king of Israel.  Not only does Benaiah land the job as King David’s bodyguard, he goes on to become Commander-in-Chief of Israel’s army under Solomon.  But his genealogy of success traces all the way back to a choice he made to chase a lion!   

Smulo: You have said that the greatest opportunities in your life involved the scariest lions. But that the absence of risks is the greatest risk of all. What do you mean by this?

Batterson: I honestly believe that the greatest opportunities often look like big, hairy, audacious problems.  The greatest opportunities scare the heaven out of us.  But if we have the courage to chase the lion instead of running away it will prove to be a turning point in our life.  I share a lot of my personal stories in the book, as well as the stories of lion chasers I know.  And my hope is that they would inspire Christians to quit playing it safe! 

One of the studies I cite in the book found that action regrets outweigh inaction regrets in the short-term.  But over the long-haul, inaction regrets outweigh action regrets 84% to 16%.  In other words, our greatest regrets in life won’t be the mistakes we made.  Our greatest regrets will be the lions we didn’t chase!   

Smulo: I was challenged by your discussion about sins of commission compared to sins of omission. In your assessment, we’ve been far too focused on sins of commission, even though you think God is more concerned about sins of omission. Why do you think sins of omission are so serious?

Batterson: Read the parable of the talents.  What does God call wicked?  The squandering of talents!  I’m absolutely convinced that nothing grieves the heart of God more than God-given potential that remains untapped or God-ordained opportunities that remain unseized.  We’re way too focused on not doing anything wrong, but righteousness is more than running away from evil.  Righteousness is doing things right. 

My prayer is that God would raise up a generation of lion chasers who aren’t content with doing nothing wrong.  Lion chasers dare to dream dreams that are destined to fail unless God intervenes. There is an old aphorism: no guts no glory.  I think we rob God of the glory that rightfully belongs to him when we don’t have the guts to step out in faith. 

Smulo: In regard to spiritual growth you wrote, “Maybe we’ve measured spiritual maturity the wrong way. Maybe following Christ isn’t supposed to be as safe or as civilized as we’ve been led to believe. Maybe Christ was more dangerous and uncivilized than our Sunday-school flannel-graphs portrayed.” If this is the case, what does spiritual maturity look like for you?

Batterson: Spiritual maturity is doing the best you can with what you have where you are.  It’s a moment-by-moment sensitivity to the spirit of God so that when you cross paths with a lion you see it the way God sees it and your reaction isn’t natural, it’s supernatural. 

C.S. Lewis said that courage is the chief of all virtues.  I believe that.  And that is the heart of a lion chaser.  They refuse to run away from uncertainty or adversity or risk. 

Spiritual maturity isn’t the reduction of risk.  It is learning to risk more and more until you’re willing to risk everything for the sake of Christ. 

Smulo: In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day sets forth a “go get em” “sky diving” “lion killer” kind of faith. Are you sure this doesn’t say more about certain kinds of personality types than biblical faith?

Batterson: Great question.  I quote Oswald Chambers all the time: “Let God be as original with others as he was with you.”  One of the things I mention is that some of the lion chasing skills will come easier than others.  And part of that depends on personality.  But all of us are called to embrace uncertainty; face fear; take risks; overcome adversity; and seize opportunities.  I don’t care how much of a thinker or introvert someone is on the Myers-Briggs inventory; there is a lion chaser in each of us.  Deep down inside, I think all of us dream of doing something crazy and courageous for God.

Smulo: I really relate to your desire to push people to step out in faith wherever God wants them to go. But what do you say to those who have stepped out and chased their lion and had one too many paws claw them? They’re bruised and bloodied and disillusioned. How do they step out again and face a lion?

Batterson: I’ve got scars all over my body from injuries.  For example, I’ve got two reconstructed knees, but I didn’t let that keep me from playing basketball.  One of the greatest dangers we face is letting scars scare us.  We ought to celebrate scars!  They painful at the time, but they become tokens of courage! 

It is so easy to become tentative when you’ve been bruised or bloodied by a lion.  It is so easy to become Pavlovian.  And what happens is this: we stop living out of imagination and start living out of memory.

I hope In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day inspires people to dream again!  I think most of us are one lion chase away from our greatest dreams becoming reality.  But we need to hang in there.  We need to try again.  We have to keep seizing those mustard seed opportunities. 

Smulo: Mark, thank you very much for taking time to share more about your book with us.

Batterson: You’re very welcome. I hope the book is a blessing. 

Comments

[Bryan Riley]

Sounds like a bood I need to get. Thanks for sharing!

[blind beggar]

Great interview John. "I think most of us are one lion chase away from our greatest dreams becoming reality." What a great statement!

[John Smulo]

Bryan,

I definitely think you'd find this helpful with thinking through stuff.

[John Smulo]

Rick,

I liked that statement too, good to be reminded of the need to push a head out of our comfort zones.

[Los]

Awesome Interview

[John Smulo]

Los,

Thanks for the feedback.

[Dawn C]

Thank you - I found myself sighing aloud as I found the words secretly written on my heart - here...in print. Thank you for sharing this interview!!!!!

[John Smulo]

Dawn,

Thanks for your feedback, and for linking to the interview, glad you found it meaningful.