You’ve seen books like this before. Shane Claiborne has written about it in The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. More recently Francis Chan wrote about it in Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God. These books and now David Platt in Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream all point out that something is amiss in much of the way people who bear the name “Christian” live their lives. Revolution is needed. Crazy love is needed. Radical faith is needed. And I agree.
But Platt’s Radical is more of the same. There is the usual litany of Christian heroes who went all out for God: William Carey, Elisabeth Elliot, George Mueller, John Wesley, David Brainerd, among others. And there are also mini biographies of the author’s own congregants and acquaintances who lived radically. This all shows us what we already knew: that people do manage to live radical lives for Jesus. This we know. The problem, however, is that we’re complacent, disobedient, and seduction-prone followers of Jesus, and some of us know that this ought not be. Others, don’t mind or care; thus, complacency. But, what Platt would hope to accomplish with his book is a radicalizing of the reader’s faith that would push him past complacency and into active, unwavering, sacrificial obedience to Jesus. And while I don’t think Platt quite gets us there, I think he nudges us in the right direction.
If you actually worked it out, you’d probably find that roughly half the book is made up of personal anecdote and well-known Christian tales of heroic faith. This isn’t all bad as there’s a lot of inspiration to be found in these stories. But if you’ve done much reading or spent much time in Christian circles, I bet you’ll be familiar with many of the tales, which at least for me, this familiarity diminishes their power. Again, the problem isn’t that we don’t already know that people live radically. We’ve heard the stories. The problem is that we have a battle within us to do it ourselves, if we’re at least cognizant of Jesus’ demand on our lives. The problem is we’re just not sure if living radically is for us. For me. Platt is helpful on this point. He shows that if we claim to be Jesus’ followers, radical living is for us. It’s what we signed up for and exactly what Jesus demands. It’s time we read about Jesus in the Scriptures instead of crafting our own that fits well with the American dream. Platt’s convinced that “we as Christ followers in American churches have embraced values and ideas that are not only unbiblical but that actually contradict the gospel we claim to believe” (p. 3).
In all the personal stories Platt shares, I’m struck by the sheer number of mission trips this man has taken. It sounds like the man has been to every continent. The back of the book touts this gospel-centered wanderlust to bolster his credentials, but I’m not so awed. I don’t know the details of his trips, but painting them positive with “a passion for the nations” while calling for radical living that eschews extravagance and calls for sacrificial living/giving strikes me as as bit backwards. One need only consult the incredibly enlightening When Helping Hurts to see that short-term mission trips aren’t all they’re packaged to be.
Perhaps the most helpful portion of the book is the concluding chapter in which Platt outlines a plan for radicalizing your faith to leave behind the gospel-opposed cravings of the American dream. There are five parts to the yearlong “radical experiment.” Pray for the entire world. Read your Bible through. Sacrifice money for a specific purpose. Spend time in another context. And commit to a multiplying community. These steps are great and I really think anyone who gives this experiment a go will be blessed. I mean how could you not expect to be a more radical follower of Christ by praying with a global scope, saturating yourself in his word, sacrificing (not just giving), spending time where you normally wouldn’t and planting yourself in a church where disciples are made? You will grow and be blessed. Also, the best part about these steps is that they are exactly what we are commanded to do anyways. Platt isn’t telling us anything new. It may be a new idea to you–an experiment–but Platt recognizes that this is just how we who claim to be Christ’s followers are to live. Radically.
Should you read this book? Well, have you read the two I mentioned above or others like them? If so, I’d say no. Don’t be dazzled by the endorsements. You already know what to do. So, do it. Try out Platt’s radical experiment and do it. But, if this all seems new to you (radical faith in Jesus that is), then you should give this a read. It won’t take long and Platt really makes sure you realize that God and his gospel are central to the Christian life.
Update
I think there is some valuable criticism of the individualism the book propounds in this review.
