A couple of weeks ago, I received a preview copy of Mark Batterson’s new book, Primal, as part of a blog tour to promote the book’s release on December 22nd.  I was pumped to get it because I knew if it was anything like Mark’s other books, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, and Wild Goose Chase, I wouldn’t be disappointed.  Well, I wasn’t disappointed, and I want to share with you why I think Primal should be the first book you read in 2010.

In Primal, Mark extends an invitation for his readers to go on A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity.  He says it “…begins with rediscovering and ends with reimagining what it means to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.”  You may recognize this as the Great Commandment.

The primal problem with Christianity today, according to Mark, is that Christians aren’t great when it comes to the Great Commandment.  In fact, most of the time we aren’t even good at it.  He emphasizes the fact that Jesus himself declared loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength to be the most important thing we can do, which means we should spend most of our time trying to understand it and live it!

I predict Primal will become more than just another successful Mark Batterson book.  I believe it has the potential to spark a movement among its readers that challenges us, as well as others, to re-evaluate everything in light of the Great Commandment.  The end result will be a group of people dedicated to loving God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength!