David Platt’s book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, published by Multnomah in 2010, is a call to a radical abandonment of the perceived safety and comforts of the American culture in order to advance the kingdom of God. The theme of Platt’s work may be that a self-reliant consumerist approach to the Gospel in America needs turned back to a God-reliant missional approach to the Gospel. The following provides a brief summary, critique, and personal application of Platt’s work.
SUMMARY
Platt begins Radical by casting a vision for a decentralized approach to discipleship backed by a strengthened commitment to forsaking self in order to follow Christ. The author then describes the depravity of humanity and its desperate need for God and emphasizes the importance of relying on the power of God rather than fabricated human methods for furthering the Gospel. Next, the author calls the reader to engage in God’s global purpose by individually engaging in the lives of others. Platt then addresses the unhealthy control that wealth has on the American psyche followed by a short treatise against universalism. Finally, the benefits of radical abandonment take center stage prior to the author formulating a blueprint to exuviate the American dream in one year.
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
Platt first addresses the risks associate with the modern American attractional church culture by juxtaposing its consumerist mindset against a biblical perspective of abandonment of self (Platt 2010, 1-7). More specifically, in opposition to catering to consumers in an attempt to increase followership, Jesus actually raised the bar and created barriers of entry (7-12). The author asserts that Western Christianity rationalizes away the radical call of detachment from the world at the risk of experiencing God (12-18). Platt finalizes chapter one by inspiring the reader to risk it all for the sake of the Gospel by believing and obeying Jesus to fulfill our purpose and “discover that our meaning is found in community and our life is found in giving ourselves for the sake of others” (18-21). Although the youthful exuberance of the author’s comments are quite compelling, the assertion that community provides a path to meaning potentially risks the accusation that Platt is advancing a modified form of liberation theology.
The author next provides narrative from personal experience, both domestically and abroad, to encourage a deeper commitment to Scripture (23-28). Platt then extends the conversation into an important discussion regarding the depravity of man and man’s sinful nature (28-36). Interestingly, Platt senses the need to imply that God not only hates sin, but also hates sinners (29). However, Ephesians 1:4 states that God chose believers prior to the beginning of the world and a proper exegetical study of the New Testament Greek word for choose, ejklevgomai, and its comparable Hebrew word in the LXX never suggest “the object or the person not chosen [was] spurned or regarded with dislike” (Hoehner 2002, 185-187). Regardless, Platt’s argument highlights an important point…that an authentic relationship with God goes beyond a one time “repeat after me” prayer (37). The author concludes the chapter with a smidgen of irony by inviting the readers into a fist time decision or potential rededication to Christ and one can only assume Platt is implying that the reader should pray (41).
Once the issues of man’s depravity and the necessity of an authentic relationship with Christ are settled, Platt then warns of the risks associated with living a Christian life through the eyes of American individualism (44-50). In particular, the author exhorts the reader to rely on God’s power, not human effort to further the kingdom (50-60). Ironically, Platt admits being part of the problem by creating a “whole host of means and methods…for doing church that require little if any power from God” (48-49).
Next, Platt suggests that God created humanity for the dual global purpose of enjoying a relationship with Him and spreading His glory throughout the world (61-69). The author recognizes a disconnection between grace and glory by many believers (69-72). Platt believes that Christians tend to take the grace, but not give the glory (70-71). The author recognizes this theology potentially sets God up as a needy and selfish Deity, but considers the hypothesis justified due to God’s greatness (71). If not careful, the potential risk associated with Platt’s perspective is a quid pro quo relationship with God whereby God provides the grace and humanity provides the glory. However, God does not need humanity, humanity needs God, and God empowers both grace and the obedience that leads to His glory (Ephesians 2:9; Romans 15:15-16 [NASB]). Platt continues by asserting that God’s purpose is global for every Christian, not just those called (72-75). Furthermore, Platt considers the argument that local needs should take precedence as a “smoke screen” and supplies statistics to support the assertion that global challenges are greater than local ones (75-78).
Once Platt solidifies the argument for a global perspective, he attempts to provide a solution. In opposition to manufactured programs and seminars that focus on the masses, the author suggests every believer follow Christ’s examples to focus on the few (85-93). Specifically, Platt suggests that individuals immerse themselves into the culture of the lost, build relationships, baptize, and teach, and accordingly, measure success not on how many believers “come” to a building, but by how many “go” to the lost (93-106). Here the reader clearly observes the author combining the evangelical theology of the previous chapters with a missional focus that supports the primary purpose of the book.
After Platt casts a strong vision for mobilizing evangelical missional activity, it appears the author attempts to overcome two potential obstacles – prosperity and universalism. First, the author addresses American wealth by comparing poverty to the blind spot of slavery, but qualifies that wealth is not inherently evil (107-113). Platt then explains that New Testament theology neither connects financial prosperity with obedience nor commands the construction of buildings for gatherings (115-119). Next, the author explores the temptations and risks of wealth and encourages giving as much as possible to those in need (119-140). It seems centuries of traditions around church buildings and finances would impede most institutionalized churches from Platt’s vision of decentralized missional activity, but the author is certainly at his best when motivating and inspiring the reader to a global vision. The second potential obstacle identified by Platt pertains to universalism, which if true, would certainly curtail the author’s vision. Platt’s utilization of Scripture is strongest in this chapter as he systematically undermines universalism with seven truth statements (143-157). The author then concludes the polemic by casting a missional vision of going into all the world (157-160).
Reflecting back on the radical detachment from chapter one, Platt discusses the risks associated with living a missional life for Christ (161-169). The author then argues that the benefits of God’s sovereignty, love, and presence provide believers’ ultimate safety, security, and satisfaction (171-175). Platt finalizes the message with a few inspirational stories of Christian leaders who “did not love their lives” (175).
In the final chapter, Platt encourages the reader to commit to a one-year radical experiment (184-186). Accordingly, the author provides a five-step plan to direct the experiment. First, pray for the world (186-190). Second, read the entire Bible (190-193). Third, give sacrificially to a specific need (193-196). Fourth, immerse oneself into a new culture (196-204). Fifth, engage in a “multiplying community” (204-212). Platt then provides a few disclaimers regarding the American dream prior to extending one last call to missional living (212-217).
CRITIQUE
The primary strength of Platt’s book is certainly the motivational and inspirational vision for missional living with the purpose of moving Christians from passive to active, from pews to streets, and from self to others. Additional strengths include the message of detachment from the influence of the world, the identification of weaknesses associated with the attractional growth model of the institutional church, the sound polemic against universalism, and the exploration of the paradoxes surrounding the idea that losing life means gaining it.
The weaknesses include theological ambiguity, potential hypocrisy, and a not-so-radical plan. First, Platt appropriately suggests that salvation goes beyond a “repeat after me” prayer. Accordingly, the author questions the salvation of church attenders and states that salvation “consists of a deep wrestling in our souls with the sinfulness” (39). The author attempts to answer the implicit question of how much wrestling is necessary by stating, “We want him so much that we abandon everything else” (39). Platt is certainly not supporting a works based theology, but the overtones of lordship salvation may leave the reader wondering if salvation is even possible. Furthermore, Platt hints at a form of liberation theology when referring to providing for the poor: “As we meet needs on earth, we are proclaiming the Gospel” (135). However, many non-Christian organizations provide for the poor, and such activity does not necessarily constitute a proclamation of the Gospel. Finally, although the author provides important instruction regarding detaching one’s identity from the world, Platt provides little explicit focus on attaching a believer’s identity to Christ. In sum, the fusion of grace, lordship salvation, and liberation theology is not necessarily heretical, but creates theological obscurity.
The second weakness pertains to the potential accusation of hypocrisy of an author who acknowledges the risks associated with the organized church’s attractional model while simultaneously admitting to the activities he denounces. Specifically, Platt is a mega church pastor and charismatic communicator in a multi-million dollar facility providing programming for the crowds while holding seminars and speaking at conferences across the nation with God’s power being, in the author’s words, “at best an add-on to our strategies” (50).
Third, Platt concludes by providing the “radical” plan of praying more, reading the Bible more, giving more, performing more missional work, and being more involved in the church community. Although certainly nothing wrong with any of the items on the list, the concepts seem anything but radical to the messaging of the traditional institutionalized church of the twentieth and early twenty-first century. In fact, modern Roman Catholicism would likely purport the same plan save reading the Bible outside of mass.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
During the past fifteen years, I have felt a call to ministry, but not a call to the institutional church. The call to ministry, albeit directionally ambiguous, along with fifteen years of church consulting, is the primary reason I decided to further my education with the Liberty University’s seminary. I am one class away from finishing my degree and the following summarizes how God is honing the direction of my call to ministry in light of Platt’s work.
David Platt’s book highlighted in significant ways the importance of discipleship, evangelism, and missional activity within an environment of decentralized “multiplying communities” (85-106). Although Platt’s vision is clear, the deployment seems cryptic and confusing. Similarly, the emerging church has highlighted the importance of missional activity in significant ways since the mid 1990’s, but with significant risks. In the book, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications, D. A. Carson identifies a number of these risks, which include “the tendency toward reductionism, its condemnation of confessional Christianity, [and] some theological shallowness and intellectual incoherence” (Carson 2005, 57). Accordingly, though Platt’s deployment strategy is disjointed, the endeavor at combining evangelical theology with missional activity while not undermining confessional Christianity is admirable. However, a deployment of Platt’s vision is crucial and provides the content for the remainder of my personal application.
The deployment strategy consists of the formation of Decentralized Evangelical Missional Communities (DEMC) called Freedom Communities (see Appendix for DEMC illustration). The formation of DEMC’s center around three processes that include identity in Christ, servant leadership development, and decentralized communities. First, at its core is the Gospel message declaring at regeneration that believers are in Christ, and Christ is in believers. In other words, believers identify self with Christ, not the world (Ephesians 1:13, 2:4-5, 3:6).
Second, the development of the DEMCs depends on individualized training in servant leadership. The leadership training will be for the purpose of planting DEMCs utilizing a thirty-day video training program with weekly one-on-one mentoring lasting a minimum of ninety days. The video training will focus on how to lead a DEMC in light of its three purposes: discipleship, evangelism, and mission. First, the discipleship training will focus on the concept of “empathic discovery.” Empathic discovery is a form of discipleship based on the book, FREEDOM: How Grace Transforms Your Life Now (2010), which is a relationally focused discipleship process that utilizes five chronological steps: (1) empathy, (2) assessing willingness, (3) inquiry, (4) Scripture, and (5) sharing the identity solution. Second, evangelism training will focus on the concept of “intentional inquiry.” Intentional inquiry is a form of evangelism that utilizes five steps similar to relational discipleship: (1) empathy, (2) asking permission, (3) Scripture, (4) inquiry, and (5) sharing the Gospel. Third, mission training will focus on the concept of “dangerous serving.” Dangerous serving is moving out of one’s comfort zone and into the culture, whether across the street or across the globe. The mission training is similar to discipleship and evangelism. By using the steps of empathy, inquiry, permission, and Scripture the servant leader can join God where He is working in the lives of the DEMC, as opposed to furthering a personal agenda, which allows the leader to share the mission of the community with the community. The training not only supports an individualized biblical approach to the development of servant leaders, but also competently engages a postmodern mindset through inquiry and discovery rather than argumentation and evidence (Luke 22:24-27).
Third, the DEMCs will consist of communities of no more than fifteen people. The individuals will meet within their culture in houses, café’s, parks, schools, offices etc. The communities will actually “be” the church by engaging in discipleship, evangelism, and mission. The leaders will encourage attendance of Sunday morning services, regardless of where the participants attend, for the purpose of celebration and hearing God’s Word. Although further explanation is necessary, the constraints of space limit any further analysis to a short breakdown of timing. The creation of the leadership training will be in the summer of 2013 and the deployment of Freedom Communities will follow in the fall of 2013.
CONCLUSION
Platt’s book provides a strong argument against a consumerist Christian mindset and for a God-reliant missional Christianity. The author effectively motivates the reader living within a Western culture toward missional living. Although theological ambiguity, potential hypocrisy, and a not-so-radical plan distract, Platt’s book was worth reading for its strong motivational impact alone. Furthermore, the thought provoking nature of Platt’s work provided the additional benefit of relevant ministry integration.
APPENDIX
Decentralized Evangelical Missional Communities (DEMC) Illustration*
* The above diagram represents a conceptualization of Decentralized Evangelical Missional Communities that intend to keep the current institutions of confessional Christianity intact. Illustration created by Derek Wilder for Lives Transforming Group, Inc.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Carson, D. A. Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005.
- Hoehner, Harold W. Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002.
- Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2010.
- Wilder, Derek E. FREEDOM: How Grace Transforms Your Life Now. Anderson, IN: Lives Transforming, 2010.
