I recently finished the book ‘Radical’ by David Platt. This is a book I wish the church in America would read. If you go to Grace Chapel, many of the things brought up in the book won’t be anything new or shocking. In fact, while reading through this book I thought the content and arguments were great, but either I was personally doing them or Grace Chapel as a church is already doing those things.

Here is an excerpt from the book that really has made me ask questions and reflect about not only myself but the church as well. “Do we really believe He is worth abandoning everything for? Do you and I really believe that Jesus is so good, so satisfying, and so rewarding that we will leave all we have and all we own and all we are in order to find our fullness in Him? Do you and I believe Him enough to obey Him and follow Him wherever He leads, even when the crowds in our culture and maybe in our churches turn the other way?”

From here, Platt gets rolling. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the question asking. This book made me think, it made me ask questions of myself and the way I am living. Is having a church service with a bunch of flashy lights really what the church should be about? When Paul wrote his letters to the church, he was telling them to live in such a way that was so radical and so different from the people in their culture. If Paul were to write a letter to the American church, what would he say? What things would he want us not to do? Would there be certain movies he would not want us to watch? TV shows? Lifestyle choices?

Some of the statements in the book could side track readers, but the purpose and the heart of the book shouldn’t. In no way do I feel that Platt is trying to frustrate believers; he is just trying to get people to think beyond themselves, their wants and desires.

Platt calls to the church to ask questions, to live differently. The church has a lot to learn, grow in and continue to learn from. I look forward to the day when the church lives in such a way that is so radical from culture and so different that people will want to be apart of it.