Several people in our church are reading David Platt's book Radical and discussing the material in their home groups. I have received mixed reviews from these readers and I am very curious to see if Platt's missional wordview can achieve a working relevance in the lives of everyday followers of Christ.
I have read the book and found it to be scripturally strong, thought provoking, and a source of motivation to rethink global missions. Platt characterizes American Christianity as having created a form of following Jesus that is difficult to trace back to the New Testament. David is calling Christians to abandon the skewed paradigms of American Christianity in exchange for a pursuit of Christ's worldview and ministry. His book attempts to cause readers to wrestle with Jesus' radical teachings and what it truly means to abandon oneself for the cause of the gospel.
You and I can choose to continue with business as usual in the Christian life and in the church as a whole, enjoying success based on the standards defined by the culture around us. Or we can take an honest look at the Jesus of the Bible and dare to ask what the consequences might be if we really believed him and really obeyed him.
If Jesus is who he said he is, and if his promises are as rewarding as the Bible claims they are, then we may discover that satisfaction in our lives and success in the church are not found in what our culture deems most important, but in radical abandonment to Jesus. -- David Platt
I would like to offer some supportive comments to keep in mind if you choose to use this book as part of your personal study:
#1. Don't get sidetracked trying to analyze the irony of a mega-church pastor calling for such radical behavior. He states that he is on a personal journey so I must try and get into the process with him instead of dismissing his argument as mere rhetoric or hypocrisy.
#2. Every Christian does not have to go to China. Many people will celebrate this book as a manual towards "higher" Christian pursuits for those who do "radical" things (1 Cor 13). Or, younger Christians may feel defeated as they neither have the desire or calling to travel to foreign mission fields. I would caution modern believers in the same way Paul cautioned the Corinthians as they sought to exercise spiritual gifts. Whatever our form of expression missional obedience takes, it must be a work of the Holy Spirit. We are all called to be missionaries, but traveling to China under the lordship of the Spirit is no greater than serving locally under the lordship of the Spirit. (Cor.12:4-6).
#3. Start acting missionally in a small group. You need the support and guidance of other believers. Give yourselves permission to act on whatever God puts in front of you. Celebrate together when God asks you to do something "crazy".
#4. Don't be too threatened by David Platt. He is on our side. He is trying to push you towards good things.
#5. If you are a Christian, you have a missional responsibility to extend the gospel all people. This is best accomplished through the actions of the collective body. (large group or small group functioning as the body of Christ -- the church)
#6. God might call you to go to China. :)
#7. God might put the vision for radical change in your life before you can do anything about it.
The book has the general emphasis of similar works such as: The Cost of Discipleshipby Dietrich Bonhoffer, The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer, and Crazy Love by Francis Chan.
