Radical by David Platt

I just completed reading a book by David Platt entitled Radical. It is subtitled Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream. In it, he describes how the typical American Christian has strayed from the life that Jesus portrayed in the Bible.

Overall, I felt David Platt gave a fairly accurate description of the average church goer in America. This book is a call to a deeper relationship with God. He encourages readers to be actively involved in prayer, reading God's Word, participating in church, as well as reaching out to the needs around them, both local and global.

There were many good things that David Platt expressed. Some would view him as an extremist in his ideas. This allows the possibility of his words being misconstrued, and perhaps do more damage than good, particularly if some approach his ideas too legalistically.

In some ways the ending of the book was the most poignant for me, for several reasons. Although Platt pointed out troubles with the 'American Dream', he also stated that he is "grateful to God for the freedom and resources [H]e has given us in the United States." Platt goes on to encourage the reader to use the "freedoms, resources, and opportunities God has entrusted to us for his purpose in the world...."

I was especially touched by Platt's encouragement of a college student to remain in school and finish her degree. He was also an advocate of having the reader use their profession, or area of expertise, to reach out to the needs around them. "Consider what happens when the church is not only sending traditional missionaries around the world but also businessmen and businesswomen, teachers and students, doctors and politicians, engineers and technicians who are living out the gospel in contexts where a traditional missionary could never go."

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

To purchase this book:
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601422217