Discussion Questions

Chapter 1: Chase the Lion

1. Mark writes, “You are one idea, one risk, one decision away from a totally different life.… It’ll

probably be the toughest decision you ever make, the scariest risk you ever take. But if your dream

doesn’t scare you, it’s too small” (page 2). What is the first idea that comes to your mind when you

think about following a dream?

2. When have you run from something you’re afraid of? When have you chased after the

wrong thing?

3. In what ways has a fear of making mistakes influenced your choices in life?

4. Who could join you in chasing the lion in your life?

5. What does it mean for you to “play offense” with your life (page 4)?

Chapter 2: A Dream Within a Dream

1. Do you see yourself as a dreamer? Why or why not?

2. What unbelief or false sense of impossibility do you need to repent of?

3. Why is it important for your dream to be beyond your ability?

4. Who has been a prophet in your life? Think back to early childhood as well as recent years.

5. What does it mean to “criticize by creating” (page 16)? When have you seen this happen?

Chapter Three: The Ripple Effect

1. What is an “inciting incident” in your life (page 21)?

2. When has an act of kindness changed your life? What were the ripple effects of that act?

3. When has an act of courage changed your life? What were the ripple effects of that act?

4. Spend some time taking inventory of God’s faithfulness in your life (see page 28). Write down

or share with your small group times of God’s blessing and generosity to you.

Chapter 4: The Door to the Future

1. Mark writes, “Dreams are highly contagious!” (page 30). If you don’t have a dream right now, who

is a dreamer you could spend time with?

2. “Many people die long before their heart stops beating. We start dying the day we stop dreaming.

And ironically, we start living the day we discover a dream worth dying for” (page 30). Would you

say our culture supports this idea? Why or why not?

3. What are some of your favorite Scripture passages? In what ways are they becoming the script of

your life (see pages 31–32)?

4. Mark quotes Graham Greene: “There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens

and lets the future in” (page 33). What moment in childhood, even if small, would you point to

as a time that let in your future dream?

5. Who could you compliment today, recognizing that the ripple effects of one compliment can

change the course of someone’s life? Who could you “brag about” behind his or her back?

Chapter 5: The Game of Inches

1. When has an apparent mistake or accident changed your life for the good?

2. What closed doors in your life do you now thank God for?

3. Why would God use small conversations and moments to stir His dreams in us?

4. Would you say you are in your dream job now? Why or why not? Either way, in what ways is your

current job helping to shape and fulfill your dreams?

5. Describe a “two-inch event” in your life, one in which you almost missed out on something big

God had for you, even if you didn’t realize it until later (page 39).

Chapter 6: The Decisive Moment

1. Describe a time when you were tempted to let what you couldn’t do keep you from doing what

you could.

2. In what ways do churches get stuck in “doing church” or “doing missions” in the same way past

generations have done them?

3. As you consider the dream you want to chase, in what ways [used just above] do you need to

choose your battles wisely (see page 59)?

4. What’s the difference between operating in “a spirit of fear” and operating in “a spirit of focus”

(page 62)?

5. As you consider chasing your lion, what do you need to start doing today for that to happen?

What do you need to stop doing?

Chapter 7: Frozen

1. How do you respond to the idea of needing practice and discipline to achieve your dream?

2. How do a “prayer ethic” and a “work ethic” go together (page 66)?

3. Mark writes about how our culture is focused on “fifteen minutes of fame” rather than a “long

obedience in the same direction” (page 69). In what ways do you think that attitude has affected

the pursuit of your dreams?

4. What life goals do you have that will take a lifetime to accomplish? What goals do you have that

can’t be accomplished in a lifetime?

5. Why is celebrating what God has done so important? Why is it more important than focusing on

ways we have failed?

6. Has God released you from a previous dream you’ve had? Are you still holding on to that dream,

or have you let it go?

Chapter 8: Field of Dreams

1. When has a change in your routine or a change in setting drawn you closer to God?

2. If you could go back to one place where God has done something significant in your life, where

would you go? Why does place make such a difference in our lives?

3. Mark writes, “Only when the dream is dead and buried can it be resurrected for God’s glory”

(page 81). When have you seen this to be true in your own life or in someone else’s life?

4. When have you doubted God by doubting yourself?

5. Why do you think we sometimes have to take the first step before God reveals the second step?

Chapter 9: On This Spot

1. Would you say you are actively pursuing your dream today or are you in a holding pattern?

Whatever stage of your dream you are in right now, how can you prove your integrity there?

2. Why is it important to share your struggles and losses as well as your victories?

3. How does having an eternal perspective influence the daily actions you take to chase your lion?

4. Why is it important to realize that the dream isn’t about you but about God? In what ways does

God help you see that?

Chapter 10: The Lion’s Den

1. Why might God call you to go into a situation without promising you success?

2. How would you define success in your life?

3. Why is God’s will dangerous?

4. In what ways do Christians sometimes promote the idea that success means wealth, health,

and prosperity? What does Scripture have to say about that perspective?

5. When are you most likely to equate earthly success with eternal success?

Chapter 11: Fight Club

1. Mark mentions fighting the devil with “words of faith” and “songs of praise” (page 110).

How could you do this in your own life right now? What other ways can you fight the devil’s

attacks today?

2. What practical difference does it make to see yourself as “more than a conqueror” rather than as

a victim (page 112)?

3. What does it mean that God is fighting for you?

4. Mark writes, “Until the pain of staying the same becomes more acute than the pain of change,

nothing happens” (page 114). Would you say the pain of staying the same or the pain of change

seems more dangerous to you in your life today?

5. What’s the most foolish thing about your dream (see page 115)?

Chapter 12: Run to the Roar

1. What’s the difference between faith and recklessness?

2. Mark says that lion chasers “don’t seek safety; they seek situations that scare them to life”

(page 125). When have you been scared to life?

3. Would you say you’re more afraid of missing opportunities or making mistakes? Why?

4. What are some biblical examples of doing something crazy for the sake of God?

5. Mark says, “You’ll never be ready” (page 127). Have you ever used your lack of readiness as

an excuse?

Chapter 13: Snowy Day

1. How might God “recycle” suffering, failure, and disappointment in your life for His purposes

(page 130)? How have you seen Him do this in the past?

2. What excuses have you made for not chasing your dream that you need to confess?

3. What do you need to start? Consider Mark’s suggestion on page 133: write down your start date,

which hour in the day you are going to give to God, and your deadline.

4. Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? Why or why not?

5. What is something in your life you could get 80 percent done rather than waiting for when you

could do it 100 percent correctly?

Chapter 14: Five-Pound Dream

1. How is your dream dependent on others’ dreams? How are others’ dreams dependent on yours?

2. How do you usually respond to criticism?

3. When have you experienced opposition to a dream you’ve had?

4. Does your dream require a financial commitment right now? What would stepping out in faith,

financially, look like?

5. What checkpoints could you have to determine whether you are being faithful or dumb in taking

a financial risk for the sake of your dream?

Chapter 15: Double Destiny

1. Why do you think God rarely reveals a complete dream and the means to accomplish it all

at once?

2. Mark writes, “Everything in your past is preparation for something in your future” (page 149).

How do you respond to the idea that God is wasting nothing in your life?

3. What is something in your childhood that God is using today for good—a skill, a teacher’s

encouragement, a loss, a school assignment, a friendship?

4. What’s the difference between a job and a calling?

Chapter 16: Chain Reaction

1. What do you know about previous generations in your family—their beliefs, their countries of

origin, their jobs? Has a spiritual faith been passed down to you, or are you (as far as you know)

a first-generation believer?

2. What’s a little thing you could do in your life right now as if it is a big thing, knowing that “God

will do big things like they’re little things” (page 156)?

3. What spiritual legacy do you most want to leave to future generations?

4. Think of someone in your life who has influenced you in a positive way. How can you repay that

person by influencing someone else in a similar way?

5. Who in your life are you helping to set up for success?

Chapter 17: The Rabbit Room

1. Who could you share your dream with this week?

2. Do you find it easy or difficult to ask for help? Why?

3. Who in your life makes you feel small because his or her dreams are so big? Does that inspire you

or discourage you?

4. Mark writes, “The true test of greatness isn’t measured by your accomplishments. The true test

of greatness is measured by the accomplishments of those you surround yourself with, those who

come after you” (page 171). How does this truth influence your actions, words, and dreams?

5. Do you believe you are called to serve your own dream or someone else’s dream right now?

How and why?

Chapter 18: Counternarratives

1. In what ways does culture encourage you to aim low with your life? In what ways does the church

in America sometimes encourage you to aim low?

2. Why do dreams for the sake of others tend to attract more supporters? Why do they last longer

than self-centered dreams?

3. Do you believe fulfilling a dream should be personally satisfying? Why or why not?

4. Are you waiting on God to pursue your dream, or is God is waiting on you? How do you know?

5. Are you willing to pursue a calling even if you don’t know whether it will make a difference?

Why or why not?

Chapter 19: The Thirteenth Virtue

1. How does pride get in the way of dreams?

2. When have you seen someone serve before he or she became a leader?

3. Who could you serve under or learn from as you pursue your dream?

4. How would you define ministry? Do you believe you could be a minister in a secular job as much

as in a church or nonprofit ministry position? Why or why not?

Chapter 20: A Hundred Years from Now

1. Marks says thinking only in terms of one generation is selfish (see page 190). Why do you

agree or disagree?

2. In what practical ways could you honor previous generations by learning from them?

3. Mark writes, “God does what God does in spite of us, not just because of us” (page 194).

How do we “step out of the way” of God’s work even as we pursue God’s calling?

4. What’s the difference between self-confidence and holy confidence?

5. How has Chase the Lion changed your view of your dreams? How will you live differently because

of this change in perspective?