Thoughts on life, leadership and the movement called the church by Brian C. Hughes, Senior Pastor

by Brian C. Hughes, Senior Pastor

Saturday, February 4, 2012

The Circle Maker

I recently read a fantastic book that I want to recommend to you.  It's The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.  You may recall that Batterson also wrote Wild Goose Chase, which has a profound impact on PCC a couple of years ago.  (It was the book about the cages).

The Circle Maker is a very practical book about prayer. I think for many of us, prayer is a mystery.  After reading this book, I would still make that statement, but Batterson really helps clear the fog.  The PCC bookstore has a few copies, if you want to pick one up Sunday.  And we'll be doing a series called The Circle Maker starting June 3, which will finish with Mark Batterson himself speaking at PCC on June 24!

One of the things Batterson has really learned to do well is make a point with a memorable phrase or soundbite.  My book is marked-up everywhere with these and I thought I'd share a few of them here:

"Well-developed faith results in well-defined prayers, and well-defined prayers result in a well-lived life."

"Potential is God's gift to us; what we do with it is our gift back to God."

"Change of pace + change of place = change of perspective."

"One litmus test of spiritual maturity is whether your dreams are getting bigger or smaller...There is certainly nothing wrong with an occasional stroll down memory lane, but God wants you to keep dreaming until the day you die...Our date of death is not the date etched on our tombstone. The day we stop dreaming is the day we start dying...Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn't just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God; it's a mechanism whereby God accomplishes great things in us."

I could have listed a hundred good quotes here, but you get the point.  Now get the book.  Read it.  You'll be glad you did.

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