Primal by Mark Batterson

Link for Primal

The premise of Primal is that we should strip away religiosity and worship in a pure basic way by showing compassion, be in awe of God, and love God with your all. There are several nice examples of how one person can make a difference by making small contributions. The author describes experiences that he has had in his work with missions, even a coffee shop purchased by his church with all of the profits going to missions.

The first part of the book was about compassion which the author translates into giving money sacrificially to help the poor and starving in third world countries. This is a noble goal, but corrupt governments of those countries stand in the way. The author also encourages the reader to join the Junky Car Club website and describes his own membership in the club so he can live frugally and give more. Unfortunately, he also talks about his “First” African safari, boating to Blue Grotto on Capri Island off the coast of Italy, condo vacations in Colorado, helicopter trips over Grand Canyon, and living on Capitol Hill. Of course every Christian should give sacrificially and will be blessed by it, but in today’s economy too many people are struggling to support their own families. They have already given up vacations and fancy cars. 

I was totally enthralled at the beginning of the book, but in my opinion, the book did not deliver what it promised.

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.