Random House Publishers (RandomHouse.com) sent me a free copy of Mark Batterson's newest book, Primal, in exchange for a book review on my blog.  So here it is...

On the back cover, the book promises to be about having a faith that has been stripped down, simple, raw and pure. Primal Christianity. So far so good.  Definately peaked my interest.  And chapter one continued the climb for me. 

Batterson begins the book by talking about his trip to Rome where he visited the catacombs. As he describes his descent down the 2,000 steps leading to the damp, dismal home of our spiritual ancestors, you could feel the intensity he must have experienced.  Batterson says, "But when you're standing in an ancient catacomb, the comforts you enjoy make you uncomfortable.  The things you complain about are convicting.  And some of the sacrifices you've made for the cause of Christ might not even qualify..."

All right, he had me at uncomfortable.  And then Batterson defines what Primal Christianity is by the Primal Commandment:  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Amen, Amen, Amen!  I was sold and couldn't wait to dive into the remaining nine chapters...until I started reading chapter two.  This is where my interest started to wane.  For the rest of the book, Batterson attempts to explain how to live out the First Commandment by telling one story after the next about his life and the lives of others. Not that some of the stories weren't interesting and thought provoking, because they were. But I think I was hoping for a deeper study on the Great Commandment, and I caught myself getting impatient for the book to be over.

Primal, by Mark Batterson, was a mile wide and an inch deep. But since it left me wanting more, I have determined to do an in depth study of the First Commandment and turn it into a sermon series. So "hats off" to Mark Batterson for bringing a renewed fervor to live out the Great Commandment the same way that Bruce Wilkinson gave us an ardor to expand our borders.