In Radical Together, David Platt follows up on his book Radical by focusing on how followers of Jesus need to rethink the purpose of the church.
Throughout the book, David continually challenges the age-old paradigms of “church,” and he calls on Christians to return to a more biblical approach to living out their faith. Some of my favorite wake-up calls come in these quotes:
“So we decided to stop planning, creating and managing outreach programs and to start unleashing people to maximize the ministry opportunities God had already planned and created for them.”
“Be careful not to let programs in the church keep you from engaging people in the world with the Gospel.”
“Discussions in the church more often revolve around what we want than what [God] wills. Almost unknowingly, the church becomes a means of self-entertainment and a monument to self-sufficiency.”
And he also addresses pastors specifically in the way they lead their churches. One quote from David really caused me to pause—
“The Bible is not in a church leader’s hands so he or she can give people answers to every question they have and guidance for every situation they face. Instead, the Bible is in a church leader’s hands to transform people into the image of Christ and to get people in touch with the Holy Spirit of God, who will not only give them counsel for every situation they face but will also walk with them through those situations. And when church leaders use God’s Word for this purpose, then church members develop a healthy dependence on God’s Spirit and a healthy admiration of God’s glory.”
Although Radical Together was really written as a sequel to Radical, I didn’t read the first book. With that being said, I didn’t feel like I was only getting part of the story, as Radical Together clearly stands alone.
If you are tired of same-old-same-old church, Radical Together just might be the wake-up call that you need.
I am a Multnomah book reviewer.
Craig T. Owens 