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Book Review- Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt

There are a few books in my library that I have easily accessible so that I can be sure to reread them when possible. Radical by David Platt is now added to that pile.  It is a refreshing book that helps the reader grasp a Kingdom perspective on what they possess.  The writing doesn't come across as browbeating or demeaning rather it takes a good look at what Jesus intended through his teaching and what taking up our cross and following Him really means.  Platt draws from Scripture and cross-cultural ministry to help the western church understand where we are missing the point.

One key conclusion that Platt makes in this book that in order to take back our faith from the American dream,

"The key is realizing - and believing- that this world is not your home.  If you and I ever hope to free our lives from worldly desires, worldly thinking, worldly pleasers, worldly dreams, worldly ideals, worldly values, worldly ambitions, and worldly acclaim, then we must focus our lives on another world."

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

 

Read Chapter 1 of this book.

Watch the video

"The Monster at the End of this Book"

Greta and I enjoy reading to our three kids.  One book that I am glad that we have is the book "The Monster at the End of this Book".   I remember having this book read to me as a kid by my parents and I remember the dramatic turning of the pages as we got closer to the end of the book.  I enjoy building up the excitement for our kids (nothing like getting them worked up and then tucking them into their beds).  I can't think of a great lesson or takeaway from this book.  It's just a fun book!  If you don't have it, you should - kids or no kids.

 

Obsessed People

I got the following list from chapter eight of Francis Chan's Book, Crazy Love.  Which one is the most convicting for you?:

 

• People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure.  Obsessed people love those who hate them and who can never love them back.


• People who are obsessed with Jesus aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else.  Obsessed people care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.

• People who are obsessed with Jesus live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another.  Obsessed people believe that Jesus talked about money and the poor so often because it was really important to Him (1 John 2:4-6; Matt. 16:24-26)

• Obsessed people are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status quo.  A person who is obsessed with Jesus will do things that don’t make sense in terms of success or wealth on this earth.  As Martin Luther put it, “There are two days on my calendar: this day and that day” (Luke 14:25-35; Matt. 7:13-23; 8:18-22; Rev. 3:1-6)


• A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the sin of pride is always a battle.  Obsessed people know that you can never be “humble enough,” and so they seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known. (Matt. 5:16)


• People who are obsessed with Jesus do not consider service a burden.  Obsessed people take joy in loving God by loving His people (Matt. 13:44; John 15:8)


• People who are obsessed with God are known as givers, not takers.  Obsessed people genuinely think that others matter as much as they do, and they are particularly aware of those who are poor around the world (James 2:14-26)


• A person who is obsessed thinks about heaven frequently.  Obsessed people orient the lives around eternity; they are not fixed only on what is here in front of them.


• A person who is obsessed is characterized by committed, settled, passionate love for God, above and before every other being.


• People who are obsessed are raw with God; they do not attempt to mask the ugliness of their sins or their failures.  Obsessed people don’t put it on for God; He is their safe place, where they can be at peace.


• People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with Him.  They are nourished by God’s Word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain then for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternative messages.


• A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character than comfort.  Obsessed people know that true joy doesn’t depend on circumstances or environment; it is a gift that must be chosen and cultivated, a gift that ultimately comes from God (James 1:2-4).


• A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the best thing he can do is be faithful to his Savior in every aspect of his life, continually saying “Thank You!” to God.  An obsessed person knows there can never be intimacy if he is always trying to pay God back or work hard enough to be worthy.  He reveals in his role as child and friend of God.

Unmixed, Mixed and Remixed

A few weeks ago I heard a sermon delivered by Pastor Clark Crebar, Young Adults Pastor at Grace Church.  I recommend that you listen for yourself.  It gives an excellent exposition of how we are to pray for one another.  There were a number of great things about his sermon.  One thing that he said, that wasn't at all the main point was when he defined the word 'pure'.  In simple form he said that the original word means to be 'unmixed'.  Ever since this sermon, I have been thinking about what being 'unmixed' means for me personally and how I look at ministry.

There are a number of ways that unmixed could be applied to life.  Or, maybe I should say that there a number of ways that I find myself mixed.  My diet, iTunes collection, television watching, family leadership, the weed content of my yard (when its alive), my preference for PC's or Macs...  When I take a hard took at my physical, emotional, spiritual, mental and social balance, I see things being mixed.

I think a great tension that I deal with is how to teach and model to students how to be unmixed in some situations and mixed in others.  There are areas where students (and adults for that matter) should strive to be unmixed with the things of this world (sexual immorality, idolatry, gossip, slander...).  And then I feel that there are areas where we should be mixed or to borrow Eugene Peterson's word 'remixed'.  In order to be salt and light, it is of ultimate importance for us to engage in the people and culture of this world.  I think that youthworkers need to teach and model the tension between areas of life that need to be unmixed and areas where a mixture is necessary.  We tend to go to far one way or the other!  This gets us into the whole "being in the world but not of it" discussion.  Jesus' words shed some light:

14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. - John 17:14,15 (NIV)

I currently find myself reading two books talking about this very thing.  The first is Pop Goes the Church: Should the Church Engage Pop Culture and The Fine Line: Reinvisioning the Gap Between Christ and Culture. I haven't finished either book, and I plan on having a 'part 2' to this posting once I do.