Yay, you're here. I'm Lisa Whittle, and welcome to the Jesus Over Everything interview show, affectionately known as Joe's Friday friend, where everyone I sit down and talk with is either an old or a new friend of mine. You might know him as a pastor or maybe as a New York Times bestselling author of one of your favorite books.

But did you know his church owns and operates the largest coffee house on Capitol Hill?

It's true. Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., and well known for his books like The Circlemaker, is on Joe today.

And I couldn't be more happy to welcome him to our home here.

He's written 18 books, and his latest is When the Day, seven daily habits to help you stress less and accomplish more.

Perfect to kick off our season of Simplify on Season 5 of Joe.

Listen now to my awesome conversation with my friend, Mark Batterson.

So let's see all the things.

We have a mutual friend in Esther Federkevich, which is fun.

And you also endorse my book. I Want God some years ago. Now, I know that's hard when you're an

author and you're asked to endorse a lot of books. You can't remember all that. But your

endorsements on the cover. And I Want God is one of my favorite books that I've ever

written. So thank you, Mark Batterson, for that. I don't think I've ever gotten to personally

thank you. So I appreciate it. Thank you. That's awfully meaningful. It's my joy and privilege.

I haven't been to D.C. since COVID hit. What is the city like right now and your coffee house, the DC Dream Center, all that?

What's happening currently in your world? Well, let's just say that in 2020, a lot more

buildings boarded up. Yeah. So, and that really has more to do with some of the racial tension, the political polarization,

and the fact that we're kind of right in the epicenter of politics.

But then you, you add in COVID.

And, you know, I pastor a church here in D.C.

We haven't physically gathered since March of 2020.

And so it is a very different world.

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