You ever meet someone who’s just a nice guy?
Such was the case for me at the Catalyst conference this past year. Standing in the concession line during one of 
the breaks, never knowing a stranger, I asked the guy in front of me if he was author extraordinaire Mark Batterson.
Sure enough the guy who held a box of popcorn in his hands was the same dude who uses animal names in the titles of his books like: In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase. More than that, he’s a leader I totally respect. One of those courageous folks – a guy who’s church in the DC area (National Community Church) is comprised of 70% dechurched or unchurched people. Under Mark Batterson’s leadership NCC is 1 church in 5 locations.
What I like best about Batterson isn’t his popcorn or his legacy as a leader, it is his down-to-earth, “can’t buy it” humility. Needless to say, I’m a fan. Listen in to my interview as I asked him about his successes, failures, and challenges as a leader:
- How did you get from here to there? It all goes back to a cow pasture in Alexandria, Minnesota. Isn’t that how every story begins? Seriously, I have a picture of a cow pasture hanging behind my desk because that is where I felt God calling me to ministry. I had no idea what or how or where. But that was my first burning bush.
Over the years I’ve learned that “sometimes it takes a shipwreck to get you where God wants you to go.” It was a shipwrecked church plant while I was in Cemetery, I mean Seminary, that forced us to consider other options. Long story short, we packed up all of our belongings into a fifteen foot Uhaul and drove from Chicago to DC. Can’t imagine being any place else. My wife and three kids live on Capitol Hill and we’ve had the privilege of serving National Community Church for more than a decade now!- Please identify one of your leadership weaknesses that’s been exposed while
the Pastor at National Community Church? One? I have a hard time saying “no.” I have a hard time confronting issues. I think I’m a people-pleaser by nature. And I’m also a perfectionist. Oh yeah, I have a hard time answering requests for “one” weakness. Put that all together and I’m as messed up as the next guy.
- How have you closed that leadership gap? I’m still closing the gap, but having boundaries has helped on several of those weaknesses. For example, I only give National Community Church one night per week because I need to coach my kid’s teams and help them with homework. Obviously, that wasn’t the case during the church plant phase. But over time you need to find the right balance between family and ministry and that means putting family first. I have our Stewardship Team limit the number of boards I can serve on and the number of speaking days I can travel. Those boundaries help me say “no.” I also take all of my vacation because I owe it myself and my church and my family. Do I still get out of whack at times? Absolutely! But then I reestablish boundaries.
- I applaud your vision for National Community Church. What is your “God size” vision for it? I think it was Bill Gates who said we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in two years and underestimate what we can accomplish in ten years. I’m taking the long-view. I want to pastor one church for life and that allows me to dream God-sized dreams. First and foremost, I envision us giving millions of dollars to missions every year. That is our driving force. We want to grow more so we can give more. We’ll give about half a million to missions this year along with ten missions trips to ten countries, but enough is never enough when it comes to giving. And we believe God will continue to bless if we continue to give. Beyond that, I envision us influencing five digits on a weekly basis and having twenty-five locations in the DC area and possibly in other parts of the country or even across the big pond. Finally, I see a franchise of coffeehouses giving every penny of profit to missions while creating postmodern wells where people can encounter Christ (and get a good cup of coffee).
- Give us the Big Idea behind your breakthrough book Wild Goose Chase and
why you wrote it? The Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit An Geadh-Glas or The Wild Goose. I love that characterization. You cannot track or tame a wild goose. There is a element of danger and an air of predictability. In a nutshell, if you take the Holy Spirit out of the equation of my life it spells boring. If you add him into the equation, all bets are off. You never know where you’ll go, what you’ll do, or who you’ll meet. Wild Goose Chase is a book that invites people into the unequaled adventure of living a Spirit-led life.
So as a reader, what’s your take-away from Mark’s interview? Where is the Spirit leading you? On a Wild Goose Chase?
