The Lion Chaser's Manifesto

Sorry for the silence over the last several days. I've been quite sick and I'm still not feeling great.

This weekend we started our Summer Reading sermon series and yesterday the book we highlighted was Mark Batterson's In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day. I was feeling so bad Saturday night that I decided to download the video of Batterson giving an "In a Pit..." sermon and play it Sunday morning. When Sunday morning came around I was feeling slightly better and decided to go ahead and deliver my sermon (doped up on NyQuil and supported by a barstool). God is good!

At the end of my message I read Batterson's Lion Chaser's Manifesto. I love this and thought I'd reprint it here for everyone. (The lion reference comes from 2 Samuel 23:20-23.)


THE LION CHASER'S MANIFESTO

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion!