Batterson's "Wild Goose Chase"

The wait for Mark's Batterson's second book is over. His writing shows a mind well-studied and well-traveled. He is just as at ease with scientific jargon as he is with the Biblical text - which he treats with the utmost respect. The book is an easy read for the popular American imagination. It has some relevance for church planters and planting teams caged in by fears of the unknown.

There is little on Celtic Spirituality - it is not that sort of book. Yet very like the Celts is his way of observing both nature and scripture. Some of the principles he shares certainly seem consistent with the adventurousness of Patrick, Columba, Aidan, David, Cuthbert, and Columbanus.

Batterson springboards from a commonly held, but unproven assertion: that Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit the Wild Goose. It is a claim for which no textual evidence can be adduced. The metaphor of the Spirit = Wild Goose can only be traced to 1940; "an geadh-glas" (Greylag) later still (see: "Did Celts Call the Holy Spirit "Wild Goose"?).

That does not diminish in the least either the power of the image or where Mark takes the reader.

Had "Wild Goose Chase" been focused more on what we can know of Celtic Christian practices, I would have recommended a few more cages for Mark's sharp mind to open for us.

THE CAGE OF INDIVIDUALISM
Scottish Gaelic prayers preserved in the 19th century Camina Gadelica and the Irish prayers compiled by Douglas Hyde, can be intensely individualistic. Many prayers are for individuals to use to call on God to provide protection and encirclement in the home and hearth, the kitchen and milking barn.

Yet there is also a strong emphasis on the need for togetherness in pursing the grand mission of God. Through the "Wild Goose Chase", are some stories of people working together to accomplish God's goals. Yet the readers would be forgiven if they came to the conclusion that a "wild goose chase" is an individualistic affair. Perhaps this is a by-product of the author telling us many of his own personal experiences of being led.

It is also true that English perpetuates this individualism even when the author is trying to speak to a community. "You" may be either singular or plural. Celtic Christians reading and faithfully copying the Latin of the biblical text, knew that the vast majority of "you"s in the New Testament are plural, in southern, "ya'll" or yoonz" in Pittsburghese.

Brendan famously sailed with a dozen of his followers to parts unknown. Same with Columba though his entourage was seven times the size of Brendan's. Same with Aidan - though he and his twelve probably walked. Columbanus set off for Europe with a dozen monks.

A wild goose chase to be genuinely Celtic must be a corporate / group activity. Rarely would Celtic Christians make a bold move apart from their community. The Holy Spirit dwells both in the individual and the church. The Celtic evangelizing of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England and much of Europe depended upon monastic communities to return to - and they are inherently communitarian. In fact, Celtic monks waited upon the permission of their abbot before setting off on mission or pilgrimage.

Conferring with those you love and those whom love you and to whom you are accountable is a step on the Christian path that is missed at one's peril. We need each other. So I would have preferred to hear more in "Wild Goose Chase" on how the people of National Community Church collectively are making an impact.

THE CAGE OF CHAOS
"Wild Goose Chase" does offer several correctives for the unrestrained and dangerously impulsive adventurer to consider. As Mark says, "There is smart courage and dumb courage."

I still would like to read more from Mark on the value of gaining a spiritual rhythm. Batterson's commendable goal is to challenge us to get out of our deadly mind-numbing routines. The ancient Celtic Church offers much wisdom in learning how to balance adventure with the regularity of life as written into God's creation. It is in fact that rhythm that allows for the ad lib. Good jazz riffs off a rhythm and chordal sequence the musicians know - even if the untrained listener can't discern it.

During one concert, my sitar instructor played in 7/ 8 time while the tabla player played in 10 / 8. At one point the tabla player stopped and said, "I don't think you in the audience appreciate enough what we just did. He is in 7 - I am playing 10 - and we have perfected it." He had to explain it all to us slowly. Then they started again. I watched the audience transfixed as one Sikh across the room counted out the 7 and another of us counted in 10. We all loved it. To the untrained ear - it may have seemed chaotic - but once you know the key to the rhythm- wow!

Discerning your own unique spiritual ebbs and flows is a vital discipline. The God with whom you relate made the day to follow the evening, summer to follow spring, and winter to follow fall. Your heart beats with a steady rhythm - it may speed up or slow down depending on your stress levels but if it skips a beat - you'll be spending long hours with the cardiologist. Even Wild Geese migrate seasonally - with dependable regularity.

"If you want to know the Creator, learn of His creation" (Columbanus). Find your spiritual rhythm - and only then ad lib!

THE CAGE OF MEGA-SUCCESS
Finally, Mark's stories are most inspiring when they are most self-effacing. His eagerness to serve the needs of the poor and other DC dwellers is commendable.

Yet part of the reason he and the book are popular is because he and his church are deemed a success. That is because it grew from a membership of 19 to 250 in just four years. His church continues to expand to multiple locations and has added an award willing coffeehouse component. Of course, we want to learn from such people.

Celtic Christians tended, in contrast, to create smaller village-oriented communities. It is one reason why it was so long before Ireland had major cities. Some research indicates that the optimum size for developing Kingdom of God consciousness and discipleship is somewhere around 90-120 - the size of the average North American congregation.

Some great gains in transforming specific neighbourhoods or populations for the gospel are being made in the UK using smaller "clusters": mid-sized missional communities of between 20-70 people. Such Clusters, as subsets of the larger church, are small enough to share a common vision and yet big enough to do something about it. Now that is genuinely Celtic.

On the other hand, most faith communities in the UK, either Celtic or English, till sometime after the Norman conquest, tended to be focused around monasteries. From those "colonies of heaven" would emanate leadership, worship, teaching, spiritual direction and pastoral care. If that is how the National Community Church's head office operates, then more power to them.

The hospitality of Brigit in Ireland, Columba in Iona, Aidan in Lindisfarne and Hilda in Whitby is legendary. They would have identified with Mark's church's coffeehouses.

CONCLUSION
By all means buy it, but I am not inclined at the moment to use it at the Rez!

I'll be going on from Batterson's good book to George Hunter's "The Celtic Way of Evangelism!" (reviewed above).