Mark Batterson, Pastor and Author, on Flipping the Blessing (Ep. 102)

Jul 15, 2024

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Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC, and a New York Times best-selling author. Mark grew up in the Midwest in a home that fostered faith and faithfulness in giving. His generosity journey started at a young age with some significant acts of faith, and some of those decisions have rippled through the rest of his life in ministry. National Community Church is overflowing with stories of generosity and radical steps of faith that have enabled them to support a wide array of other ministries and churches.

Mark highlights the importance of celebrating generosity and pushing the envelope to increase levels of giving, both personally and as a church community. He shares personal stories of the impact of small acts of generosity, encourages flipping blessings for others, and emphasizes living with holy anticipation. Mark discusses managing blessings wisely and finding joy and purpose through generosity. Major topics include:

Mark’s personal and faith background
How a failed church plant prepared him for 28 years of pastoring in DC
The role generosity has played in his personal life and in the church
Fostering a church culture of generosity
The need for business-as-mission to fund Kingdom causes
The amazing story of Ebenezers CoffeeHouse, a business-as-mission coffee house on Capitol Hill
Learning to “Flip the Blessing”

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

“We make a few major decisions and we spend the rest of our life managing those decisions.”
“In our hearts, we plan our course, but God orders our footsteps.”
“If you do little things like they’re big things, God will do big things like they’re little things.”
“I’m a big fan of long obedience in the same direction.”
“If you stay humble and stay hungry, there is nothing God can’t do in and through you.”
“If you aren’t faithful with the little things, you won’t be faithful with the big things.”
“God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and He owns the hills, so we have this mindset that It’s all from God and it’s all for God.”
“Every business is owned by somebody who has a worldview or a faith matrix of some sort. So for us, we’re going to allow our faith to inform how we show hospitality, how we create a business model.”
“As long as we’re caring for the poor and giving to missions, I’m never worried about our bottom line. If you’re doing what is near and dear to the heart of God, I think God’s got your back.”
“We’re going to inch our way to greater and greater levels of generosity.”
“It’s kind of fun living life in a place where you save and you give and you give and you save and you save and you give, but you do it in a way that’s generous. And I think the Lord has a way of honoring that.”
“God doesn’t raise our income to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of giving.”
“Your generosity is someone else’s miracle.”
“Flip the blessing.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Psalm 50:10 | God Owns It All

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.

Jeremiah 29 | Bless the City

7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Matthew 10:16 | Pure and Wise

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

2 Corinthians 9:16 | The Cheerful Giver

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

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