The Well

"Why are so many still thirsty?"

That's the subtitle to the book, The Well, written by Mark Hall, Pastor and Lead Singer of Casting Crowns.

Mark is a true storyteller and a teacher with a heart for ministry.  He's lead singer and songwriter for the Grammy Award-winning band Casting Crowns, whose albums have sold over five million copies.  mark has been in ministry for twenty years and is youth pastor at Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in south Atlanta.  Mark admits he would be overwhelmed by life's demands were it not for his wife, Melanie, who also serves as Casting Crowns' road manager.  Even on tour, Mark and Melanie homeschool their four children, John Michael, Reagan, Zoe, and Hope.

Some interesting facts about Mark from the group's website:

What was the first Christian album that you bought or where given?
Mylon Lefevre Trains up in the Sky
What was the most influential person in your life during your High School years?
My Parents: My biggest fans. always encouraged me in whatever i was doing and believed in me when no one else did.
What is the best advice someone has given you about working with youth groups?
Guard your time with God. Ministry only happens when we walk with Jesus. Otherwise it's just human effort and it will dry you out.
If you weren’t in Casting Crowns, what would you be doing now?
I would be an astronaut.

Mark's Testimony:

In The Well, Mark beautifully expounds on the passage of scripture found in John 4:1-45, known to most of us as the story of "the woman at the well".  Over the ten chapters of the book, Mark bears heavily on scripture as well as personal stories to look at many aspects of Jesus' encounter with this Samaritan woman.  He speaks boldly to the thirst in all of us; the thirst for something to satisfy and he unashamedly gives the thirsty ones, you and me, the Source of and endless supply of Living Water:

"We long for Jesus because he has placed that longing in us, and we see what he does in other people's lives.  But our human nature makes us see him as useful to us instead of Lord over us.  WE see him as the fixer and the sprinkler of blessings.  We want him to come join us and bless what we're doing when what he longs to do is transform our hearts and minds.  When we draw on anything or anyone other than Jesus for contentment, hope, security, peace, and life, we trade the only true Well for a meaningless hole.  We're all looking for something new, a new strategy or book that will give us the two new steps to peace with God and happiness on earth.  But there is only one way to arrive at Brand-New, and only one way to stay there.  First, we must repent of our sins and come to God through the grace of Jesus Christ.  Then we must spend time with him to become more like him...Jesus insists on talking about living water rather than our well water.  He insists on being a singular source.  He insists on being the Well.  Is Jesus the Well for you?" (chapter1, pg. 55-56)

The book includes a discussion guide that corresponds with each chapter making this an easy to use resource for Sunday School or small group Bible study, but would be useful for one on one discipleship as well.

You can order the book at Amazon.com by going HERE.

Blessings,
Jennifer