Book Review: Radical Together by David Platt

David Platt’s Radical Together is easily a great read for church leaders. This book challenges readers to rethink some things in the church. If you liked Radical, you will love Radical Together. If you loved Radical, then Radical Together will blow you away. At least that’s what it did for me as I soaked in each chapter.

As a leader at my church, my concern is to be a steward of what God has given me. I will be accountable for how I have served. I want to faithful to what God wants me to do. Radical Together does not have all the answers and it is not a huge church manual. In fact, it is a pretty short book. However, the book presents chapters that are stout with loads of truth. David Platt truly writes with humility and presents the truth from the Bible with huge blows to the way we “do church.” For example, here are a few things readers are challenged with:

- Rethinking the use of programs and activities.

- Being totally dependent on the Word of God.

- Knowing that God doesn’t need us.

- Engaging unreached people groups.

- Using ordinary people for ministry.

The best thing about Radical Together is that it helps readers to live the Radical life within the body of Christ. The life we are called to is not meant to be lived individually. No! We must do it together. David Platt helps church leaders, laymen/women, and members to see church life in a Radical way. Just like the first book, it’s not Radical, it’s biblical. Get your hands on this book and dive into it!

I received a copy of this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing group for this review.

For more information and related resources, click here. Also, check out Chapter 1 from the book.

Want to buy the book? Check out Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book, and WaterBrook Multnomah.

Final Chapters…Full Review to Come!

So far, I have shared bits of the chapters in David Platt’s book, Radical Together. I have finished the book and I will share some of the last three chapters. I won’t be sharing much because you need to get your hands on this book! Plus, I am about to post a full review of it.

The Genius of Wrong

This chapter of the book is about using the people of God to build the Church. “In Jesus’ simple command to ‘make disciples,’ he has invited every one of his followers to share the life of Christ with others in a sacrificial, intentional, global effort to multiply the gospel of Christ through others” (pg. 57). This chapter reminds me of the passage in Ephesians where Paul says, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” Ephesians 4:11-12.

Our Unmistakable Task

As Christians, we long for the return of Christ. Jesus told us in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony  to all nations, and then the end will come.” This chapter encourages believers to engage all the people groups of the world with the gospel as we look forward to Christ’s return. “We are living-and longing-for the end of the world” (pg. 99).

The God Who Exalts God

Basically, “We are selfless followers of a self-centered God” (pg. 104). In all of this, we are to constantly seek the glory of God. “We exist for the glory of God, and God exists for the glory of God” (pg. 120). God allows us to join up with him in his purposes. Not because he needs us, but because he loves us.

Word.

Humility and Conviction in Biblical Authority

 

Humility and Conviction in Biblical Authority.

Conversation between John Piper, D.A. Carson, and Tim Keller.

Hard Hit

I just ran across this article from Desiring God. It is a prayer of John Piper for the upcoming National Conference in September. Towards the end, I read this:

“Apathetic Christians, who spend most of their discretionary time in worldly entertainment, seldom pray, weep, or work for the reaching of the perishing peoples of the world. Do not coddle them. Confront them. Tell them to get a life. PG13 videos every other night leaves them spiritually powerless and empty. They need a cause big enough to live for. And die for.”

Does this hit hard? It does for me.

Read the whole article here.

The Gospel Misunderstood & God is Saying Something

I am still working through Radical Together. Every chapter I read brings thoughts about how I can serve in my church. I really appreciate David Platt’s honesty and insight into how we should “do” church. This book is definitely becoming a must read for church leaders.

I just wanted to share a few things from chapters 2 and 3, but I don’t want to give too much information. Get your hands on this book and dive into it! Also, I don’t want to say too much because I still need to write a full review. Anyways…here we go!

The Gospel Misunderstood is the title of the second chapter. Basically, it’s about, and I quote, “the gospel that saves us from work also saves us to work.” (pg. 28) This reminds me of one of my favorite passages in the Word. “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10, HCSB) Notice in these verses that “works” is used twice. Basically, salvation does not come by us doing good things or being a good person. Rather, salvation comes as a gift of God and then the result is that we can do good things that will ultimately bring God glory.

God is Saying Something is the name of the third chapter. This chapter is simply about relying on the Word of God. We have the Bible and it is God’s Word to us. Therefore, we always have something that God is saying to us. (pg. 40) For ministry, we must be dependent on the Bible. We cannot be occupied with the latest church trends, fashions, programs, etc. “The Word of God accomplishes the work of God.” (pg. 45) There we have it. Our ministry must have a foundation upon the Word of God. There we find the truth, power, tools, and plans needed for the work of God.

Word?

I am finishing up chapter 4 and it is tight!

The Tyranny of the Good

So I am slowly working my way through Radical Together. I want to be reading more but I am not finding myself as disciplined as I thought. However, I want to share some of the things in the book. Right now I am on Chapter 4, but I want to start sharing from the beginning.

The first chapter of the book could be the most liberating for a church. It’s called The Tyranny of the Good. Basically, we have and do a lot of things in the church such as buildings, staff, programs, activities, events, budgets, etc. These are good things that the Body of Christ uses to accomplish God’s purposes. However, we need to ask an important question. Are these good things the best way?

Sometimes churches may get into the ruts of doing things the way that they always have done it. Or, sometimes churches are more faithful to a particular program than God’s actual purpose. If this is the case, then we need a checkup! Our mandate is to make disciples. Period. So, what is the best way to use our time,  money, and energy to make disciples? This is the question that needs to be answered.

This may require sacrifices within a church. We may have to let go of things that we don’t want to. But, didn’t Jesus tell us to deny ourselves and take our crosses daily, Luke 9:23? Surely this command does not just apply to us individually, but corporately as well.

Every church is different. So, the way this applies to each and every church will be different. Also, know that this is more about sacrificing physical things and our ideals. This does not include our core beliefs. We must stay true to the Word and maintain our doctrinal convictions.

Just some things to think about. And this is only Chapter 1!

 

Two Books

I now have two new books to review. I am very excited about both of them.

The first book is David Platt’s new one, Radical Together. In the first book, Radical (See my last post), Platt challenges reader to live the life Jesus calls us to. A life that abandons the American Dream for a sacrificial, obedient, passionate life that pursues the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to the glory of God. To me, Radical is more directed at living this way individually. How do we live this life together as the people of God? It looks like Radical Together is going to help answer this question. So far I have only read chapter one and I can tell that this is a revolutionary book for the Church. I can’t wait finish it and tell you about it.

The second one is The Book that Made Your World by Vishal Mangalwadi.  At first, I was skeptical about this book when I was looking over it. I have never heard of this author and just wasn’t sure about the content of it. However, I quickly discovered that this could be one of the most important books that I could read. From what I understand so far, this is a book that tells an  Eastern standpoint of how the Bible has influence and shaped the Western World. I can tell that I will learn much about our history and society from this book. It’s a pretty long book, so it may take me while to post a review about it.

Till next time!

Book Review: Radical by David Platt

What is Jesus worth to you? Will your lifestyle answer this question for you? These are pretty big questions. The hopeful answer would be that Jesus is everything to me and that my life reflects it. This is the hopeful answer, but is it true? Do I live like that? Do I live like Jesus is everything to me? Do I, like the apostle Paul, consider all things as lost for the sake of knowing Jesus? (Philippians 3:8)

In his book, Radical, David Platt poses this question to the reader. His target audience: the typical American Christian. Why is this target audience? The answer is the pursuit of “The American Dream.” Why did David Platt write a book about this? One of the things I loved most about this book is that he writes from his own experience. He found himself living the American Dream while seeing that the lifestyle Jesus calls his followers to is radically different. Jesus calls his disciples obey his mission to make disciples of all nations. We are not called to live comfortable lives that focus on us. Rather, our focus is on Christ and the call is to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. David Platt takes readers on a journey from his own personal experience to the truth of Scripture about how we are to abandon our lives for the sake of the gospel. This book is a challenge to examine your life and it is a call to stop pursuing the American Dream for a life in pursuit of Christ.

Overall, this is a great book. One thing that needs to pointed out is the idea that living this way needs to be called radical. There are no categories in Christianity such as “Worldly Christians” or “Radical Christians.” I do not think Platt meant to write this way because he shows reader from Scripture that this is the way of life for believers in Christ. He writes, “Now we’re getting radical. Or maybe we’re getting biblical.” American Christians do not need to become radical, but biblical.

Reading this book was a challenge. I think that is what I liked most about it because I was forced to look at my own life. Questions like this come into my mind: What do I idolize in my life? What is my pursuit? What do I need to change? If you read the book, I hope that it challenges you in the same way.

I received a copy of this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing group for this review.

For more information and related resources, check out the website. You can also sign up to read Chapter 1 from the book: http://www.radicalthebook.com/

Want to buy the book? Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book

Book Review: The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons

“The Good News about the End of Christian America.” This is what readers see above the title of Gabe Lyon’s book, The Next Christians. I first thought this was a bold and intriguing statement. I was almost offended. The end of American Christianity is good news? I will not lie, I was skeptical about this book by just reading the cover and looking at the table of contents. On the surface, the book seems to be about changing Christianity. However, my skepticism turned into belief as I read. This book is not about changing our faith, but restoring it. Gabe Lyons shows readers the new way God is using his people to build the church today. He writes about the ways that Christians are beginning to engage the culture. The Next Christians are described as:

Provoked, Not Offended

Creators, Not Critics

Called, Not Employed

Grounded, Not Distracted

In Community, Not Alone

Countercultural, Not “Relevant”

There is a chapter for each of these characteristics in which Lyons explains what it means and gives examples of real people. As I was reading these chapters, excitement came over me. I was inspired and encouraged by the things that God’s people are doing around the world. It looks like a movement that will spread like never before. Gabe Lyons holds this movement as equal to the Protestant Reformation. Christianity will never change, but the modes and methods by which it is made manifest does. One thing that I loved about the book was the repetition to keep the Gospel central to how we do God’s work in the world. Lyons says that we must be telling people that they are God’s creation, made in his image and that Christ came to save us from sin so that we can join back with him in the restoration of all his creation. Now that I have finished the book, I am propelled to join up with God in what he is doing in our world. Hopefully this book will inspire you in the same way.

I received a copy of this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing group for this review.

Click here to read Chapter 1 from the book: http://ow.ly/4s052

Want to buy the book? Amazon or Barnes & Noble

You can check out more information about Gabe Lyons and others about how they are engaging the world: http://www.qideas.org/

First post of the new year!

It is now 2011 and I am looking forward to what God has in store. I now have my Bachelor’s degree and I am certified to teach, but for now I am unemployed. I will be doing some substitute teaching, but will not be able to do it full-time. I pray that I will be able to use some of my extra time wisely and be productive.

As I said in my first post, I will be reviewing books that I receive from WaterBrook Multnomah (http://waterbrookmultnomah.com). They send me one book at a time, for FREE, and I submit a review over it. I received my first book about 3 weeks ago. It is called “The Next Christians” by Gabe Lyons. The title itself is very interesting. The subtitle reads, “The Good News About the End of Christian America.” Wow, what a title! Gabe Lyons has observed the 21st century and has found some very interesting information about how the landscape of Christianity in the West is changing. So far, I think the book is great and I can’t wait to finish it.

If you are interested in doing book reviews for FREE books, check out the website: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/

I do not write very many posts, so my next one will probably be the review. Hope you had a great Christmas and New year. God Bless.