If you haven't heard of Mark Batterson by now, I'm not sure what to tell you. I guess I'll start with this: go to a library, bookstore, somewhere! and find one of his books. He is one of my all-time favorite writers. I first read his Circle Maker books and they turned my life kind of upside down, got my passion for missions stirred up again, and were really impactful. And then I found this book. All In. The tagline is "You are one decision away from a totally different life." And that's the truth. This book could really change things up for you. It'd be hard not to see huge change after reading this one.
Basically, the premise is a simple and utterly familiar one to anyone who has read much of the Bible. It's about what it means to follow Jesus. I mean to really FOLLOW Jesus. What does that take? It takes everything you've got. Batterson is strong on this: It's all or nothing, he says, and makes you believe it.
We have had enough of lukewarm Christians in this world. That doesn't do anything for the kingdom of God. It doesn't inspire. It doesn't heal. People are hurting, they are sick, they are scared and they want something. They want answers. They want a guide. They want help that works. They want something that will stick to their bones, make them feel, take away the numbness, drive away the apathy.
And we've got it. We've got what they want, we've got what they need. But it takes more than just sitting in a church pew every Sunday, pulling out a Bible for the sermon after we blow the dust off the covers. Mark Batterson says it better:
"The complete surrender of your life to the cause of Christ isn't radical. It's normal. It's time to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. It's time to go all in and all out for the All in All."
This book, which I read in one day because I couldn't put it down, is about going all the way, not holding back, not holding out, not holding in. Jesus gave everything for us and Mark Batterson is using his incredible gift as a wordsmith to give us a call: Give it all, give everything, give it up, do it, be it, whatever it takes.
Because whatever it takes is what it's going to take to change this world.
Basically, the premise is a simple and utterly familiar one to anyone who has read much of the Bible. It's about what it means to follow Jesus. I mean to really FOLLOW Jesus. What does that take? It takes everything you've got. Batterson is strong on this: It's all or nothing, he says, and makes you believe it.
We have had enough of lukewarm Christians in this world. That doesn't do anything for the kingdom of God. It doesn't inspire. It doesn't heal. People are hurting, they are sick, they are scared and they want something. They want answers. They want a guide. They want help that works. They want something that will stick to their bones, make them feel, take away the numbness, drive away the apathy.
And we've got it. We've got what they want, we've got what they need. But it takes more than just sitting in a church pew every Sunday, pulling out a Bible for the sermon after we blow the dust off the covers. Mark Batterson says it better:
"The complete surrender of your life to the cause of Christ isn't radical. It's normal. It's time to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. It's time to go all in and all out for the All in All."
This book, which I read in one day because I couldn't put it down, is about going all the way, not holding back, not holding out, not holding in. Jesus gave everything for us and Mark Batterson is using his incredible gift as a wordsmith to give us a call: Give it all, give everything, give it up, do it, be it, whatever it takes.
Because whatever it takes is what it's going to take to change this world.
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