Product Description

Your greatest regret at the end of your life will be the lions you didn't chase. You will look back longingly on risks not taken, opportunities not seized, and dreams not pursued. Stop running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture, a blessed and audacious act that left no regrets: “Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it” (2 Samuel 23:20 -21). Unleash the lion chaser within!

What if

the life you really want,

and

the future

God wants for you,

is hiding

right

now

in your biggest

problem,

your worst

failure…

your greatest

fear

?

Story Behind the Book

“Our best days often start out as our worst days. And our greatest opportunities are often disguised as our biggest problems. You can land in a pit with a lion on a snowy day, and it will seem like the end of the road. But God is in the recycling business. He recycles past experiences and uses them to prepare us for future opportunities. That is the story of my life. And that is the story of your life. Look in the rearview mirror long enough and you’ll see that God has purposely positioned you everywhere you’ve been—even when it seemed you’d taken a wrong turn.” —Mark Batterson

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8680 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-16
• Released on: 2006-10-16
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church ( www.theaterchurch.com ) in Washington DC . Targeting emerging generations, 73 percent of NCCers are single twentysomethings that live or work on Capitol Hill. Currently one church with three locations, the vision of NCC is to meet in movie theaters @ metro stops throughout the DC area. The theaterchurch.com podcast is one of the fastest-growing church podcasts in America . Mark is also a daily blogger @ www.markbatterson.com . Mark lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and three children.

Customer Reviews

Great book - better than others of this genre!
Don't let the humorous title fool you, this book is anything but funny. Sure, Batterson is humorous, witty and in his own words zany; but his subject is no laughing matter. Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in D.C. is calling God's people to battle, to overcome their fears, limitations and inhibitions, and to strive for Christ in a way that may actually seem ludicrous to a lost and dying world - with passion and intensity! I was thinking of the similarities of this book with two others I've recently read - McManus' The Barbarian Way and the Harris brother's Do Hard Things. I like Batterson's approach much better than McManus who seems to say that Christianity must be uncivilized to be effective - but, I think of Wilberforce and his approach to ending slavery in England - it was England itself that was uncivilized and barbaric, Wilberforce fought to end slavery by restoring virtue and goodness...but reforming manners. Batterson, while he uses similar imagery of a warrior fighting for the cause of Christ, doesn't isolate himself on the isolated island of barbarianism. Do Hard Things is another powerful book that is very similar to Batterson's book, just targeted for a younger audience of teenagers.

Much better than The Three Success Secrets of Shamgar, Batterson stays within the biblical text to make his points and draws on other biblical references throughout the book to drive home this point. If you liked Piper's Don't Waste Your Life, or White's Serious Times, anything written by Schaeffer or Colson or Guinness or the movie Amazing Grace - you'll really appreciate this book as well. The idea isn't original, but his examples are new and different. I hope this book is as popular with men as Eldredge's Wild at Heart - this one is even better!

Changed My Life
The funny thing is, I could sit here for hours and still come up with more ways this book has changed (and is changing) my life. If you actually do what this book challenges you to do, face your fears, see problems as opportunities, etc. your life will become 100% less boring. I believe God used this book to challenge me in an awesome way. Let me tell you, life is more exciting when you stop thinking about all the things you shouldn't be doing and start focusing on the possibilities with a God like the the One we serve. Stop living in a box. BUY THIS BOOK.

boring, overly repetitive
This book wasn't terrible. It brought up good points. But.. it was lifeless. Boring. It didn't convict me, didn't stir up emotions in me.. nothing. In fact, it felt like the other just repeated the same line over and over again. Heres a better book on the topic: Starving Jesus by Craig Gross. Now that book will convict you, I promise.

One issue: The author is apparently friends with Brian McLaren. I don't know if you are familiar with him, but in a nutshell, he's a wolf in sheeps clothing and a false teacher. So thats something thats a concern.