Brian From talks with New York Times bestselling author and Washington, D.C. pastor Mark Batterson, a Naperville native, about his new book, Not My Circus: Living with Courage, Conviction, and Compassion in a World of Chaos. Mark explains the title’s double meaning: the familiar proverb about healthy boundaries, and Paul’s call in Romans 12:2 not to be conformed to a world whose largest building, Rome’s Circus Maximus, shaped what people cheered and feared. He describes the cultural “three-ring circus” of shaming, blaming, and faming that traces back to Genesis 3, and argues that grace and truth must go together. Grace without truth is “weak sauce,” truth without grace is “hot sauce,” and together they’re the “secret sauce.” For recovering people pleasers, Mark offers the fear of the Lord as the cure for the fear of man. Drawing on 30 years of pastoring on Capitol Hill, he reminds listeners heading into the midterms that politics matter but are never ultimate, because administrations come and go while God’s kingdom endures.

Brian From talks with New York Times bestselling author and Washington, D.C. pastor Mark Batterson, a Naperville native, about his new book, Not My Circus: Living with Courage, Conviction, and Compassion in a World of Chaos. Mark explains the title&rsquo;s double meaning: the familiar proverb about healthy boundaries, and Paul&rsquo;s call in Romans 12:2 not to be conformed to a world whose largest building, Rome&rsquo;s Circus Maximus, shaped what people cheered and feared. He describes the cultural &ldquo;three-ring circus&rdquo; of shaming, blaming, and faming that traces back to Genesis 3, and argues that grace and truth must go together. Grace without truth is &ldquo;weak sauce,&rdquo; truth without grace is &ldquo;hot sauce,&rdquo; and together they&rsquo;re the &ldquo;secret sauce.&rdquo; For recovering people pleasers, Mark offers the fear of the Lord as the cure for the fear of man. Drawing on 30 years of pastoring on Capitol Hill, he reminds listeners heading into the midterms that politics matter but are never ultimate, because administrations come and go while God&rsquo;s kingdom endures.

The idea of “the common good” has a rich history within the Christian church. It’s the notion that, as we pursue Jesus in our lives and in the lives of others, we are fulfilling God’s purposes for His creation. This pursuit can be messy. It means rolling up our sleeves and creating space for hard conversations about real issues that impact our lives. Things like parenting, marriage, finances, politics, art, and culture. On The Common Good, Brian From creates space to have these conversations, to sit with the big questions that we all have, to sometimes disagree, but to always look for the chance to create common good, by following after Jesus. Brian welcome listeners to join them in these conversations, to bring their own questions, hopes, and struggles, and to ultimately share in a journey to see God’s design for all of us fulfilled.

The idea of &ldquo;the common good&rdquo; has a rich history within the Christian church. It&rsquo;s the notion that, as we pursue Jesus in our lives and in the lives of others, we are fulfilling God&rsquo;s purposes for His creation. This pursuit can be messy. It means rolling up our sleeves and creating space for hard conversations about real issues that impact our lives. Things like parenting, marriage, finances, politics, art, and culture. On The Common Good, Brian From creates space to have these conversations, to sit with the big questions that we all have, to sometimes disagree, but to always look for the chance to create common good, by following after Jesus. Brian welcome listeners to join them in these conversations, to bring their own questions, hopes, and struggles, and to ultimately share in a journey to see God&rsquo;s design for all of us fulfilled.