Monday, April 11, 2011

Radical... and Needed!

That’s what I was going to say!… But I didn’t know how to say it, and David Platt said it far better and with richer experience that I ever could have in his book, Radical
This book was like the deep part of God crying out to the deep part of me. I realize that everyone that reads Radical will be an individual, with individual preferences and experiences, but this was definitely a God-timed read for me.
I needed this. I needed to know that its okay to question the way things have been traditionally viewed and done when it comes to compassion ministry, missions, and personal finances… And trust me, this book will challenge you in each of these areas and more. This book marks an opportunity for each of us to answer God’s call to go higher and do more.
We commonly refer to Christianity as a “walk with God,” but most of the time, we are content to walk nowhere and stay right where we are. This book will challenge and encourage you to take a step forward. Hopefully, it will challenge us all to take several steps forward, and embrace a New Testament, Biblical Christianity.
Radical is not about going to church, it is about being the church. It is about each of us doing the work of the ministry to the best of our ability. Radical is a call away from passivity in the Christian church, and I know that this was a message I definitely needed to hear.
I will admit that some of what David Platt said made me uncomfortable… it made me question my Christian life… and that is exactly what I needed. Radical did not make me feel good, and I’m glad it didn’t.
I read another review for this book that told people not to read this book if you were prone to feeling guilty. I want to ask, does this book make you feel guilty, or convicted? Guilt is a bad thing, but guilt is our decision. Guilt is how we process negative information,. Its not the fault of the information!
Conviction is a gift given to us by God. Without conviction, we would have never understood our need for Christ. Without conviction, we would have never sought salvation. Without conviction, we would never grow in God… We would never move forward in our “walk.” We need God-brought conviction, and Radical is full of this type of conviction.
As far as I’m concerned, every Christian should read this book. If it makes you uncomfortable, good! If it makes you question your Christian life, excellent!! I know that’s what it did to me, and I’m thankful that God gave me the gift of being able to move forward because I read this book.

Take a look for yourself by reading the first chapter: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601422217&view=excerpt

Or, watch a video about Radical (its long, but check it out): http://www.livestream.com/waterbrookmultnomah/video?clipId=pla_a5fa3067-0103-4e5c-93fd-f95218bc8ebb

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review