By David Platt
2010 Multnomah Press
Reviewed by Bob Webber, CBWC’s Director of Ministries
Are parts of the gospel optional? Is the Christian faith about assent or obedience? David Platt deftly explores these questions and others as he explores the difference between true biblical faith and a faith overshadowed by the “American dream.” His book is called Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream.
David Platt encourages us to exchange convenient beliefs for radical discipleship. He is young and pastor of a mega- church: He is in his early thirties and the pastor of Brook Hills a 4000 member church in Birmingham Alabama. The combination is helpful. His youth makes the language fresh and accessible to a younger audience, and his ministerial credentials (two undergraduate degrees and three advanced degrees including Doctor of Philosophy from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) help make him a credible and wise guide to scriptures.
This is an excellent book for personal reading or a group study. The website that accompanies the book has a great deal of additional materials that are excellent as well.
Be forewarned. If you take Platt’s call, indeed Jesus call on your life as Master seriously, you may find yourself becoming Radical by the end of the book. And it’s not because there is anything new or unorthodox here. It’s what we’ve known all along in a poignant and motivating package.
“We do not have time to waste our lives living out a Christian spin on the American Dream,” says Platt in a web resource that explains why he wrote the book.
You can check out the book and some of its ideas at www.radicalthebook.com