Radical by David Platt

WOW! This was quite a read. 

Have you ever wondered, as you walk out your faith in Christ, if there is more? Is what I know of Christianity really what it is supposed to look like? Is this All-Consuming-Fire really consuming me? Or have I missed something? Have I been deceived by a counterfeit Christianity that is merely a shadow of Reality?


After reading this book, I can answer those questions.

There is MORE!


This book is not for anyone who is content with the price they are paying to follow Him. I have been that person. It has cost me very little to live out my faith to this point. I had a hint of what was in store for me if I read this book, simply by perusing the recommendations inside the front cover. One of them in particular was a little alarming:

"Sometimes people will commend a book by saying, 'You won't want to put it down.' I can't say that about this book. You'll want to put it down, many times."   Russell D. Moore, dean, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Platt makes the argument that the American Dream has insidiously watered down Christianity. A hybrid of the "Dream" and Christianity has changed our understanding of the life we are called to by our Lord to one defined by the affluent/comfortable/self-sufficient American and a Christianity that can easily fit into our schedules/goals/plans while we live out that Dream. 

". . . we are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with."

     "A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he receives all our affection.  A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream."

"But do you and I realize what we are doing at this point? We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with. And the danger now is that when we gather in our church buildings to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves."

That's just the first chapter!

Platt goes on to break down and explain the lies we have believed. Thankfully, he doesn't just leave us there. He walks the reader through the decisions, the choices we need to make to awaken from our stupor and step into the life we were called to live, the life we all truly hungry for without knowing it. The real life offered to us by our Savior is filled completely with Him and completely emptied of ourselves. 

There is more! So much more!! May our hunger for Him consume everything in our lives that would prevent our absolute surrender to His Plan and His Will.  

I just finished reading it yesterday and it's going to take me awhile to "chew on it." There is a One Year Challenge presented at the end of the book. In it, Platt challenges us to make five commitments:
1. Pray for the entire world 
2. Read through the entire Word
3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
4. Spend your time in another context
5. Commit your life to a multiplying community


For each of these five points, an explanation is provided and a plan outlined. How will we respond? How will this change me? How will it change our family? The worst thing that could happen is for nothing to happen, for my life to look the same after the book as it did before it.

I believe this book will bless anyone who wants to grow in their relationship with the Lord. It gets 5 out of 5 stars in my book!

This is my #2 out of 52. And it's a doozy!