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    Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream
    Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream
    Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream
    Audiobook6 hours

    Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream

    Written by David Platt

    Narrated by David Platt

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment --a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChristianAudio.com
    Release dateJun 1, 2010
    ISBN9781596449398
    Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream

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    Reviews for Radical

    4.5/5

    477 ratings53 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I felt the author offered up a valid challenge to the lackadaisical self-centered form of Christianity that we perform in the US. The book made me think more about my commitment to Christ and being a disciple.
    • 5/5
      I loved it. Great, inspirational, and inward knowledge and depth. David Platt is a practical pastor who is being counter-cultural in his theology.
    • 5/5
      this book has completely shaken my priorities and my perspective in life & revealed to me how much I have to work on as a Christian. this book has been extremely convicting and I am thankful that the author did not skim over important truths, no matter how hard they are to hear. I needed this & I think everyone that can read should read this book. I am already thinking of ways to radically change my life and those around me. will definitely recommend to others and will probably re read several times.
    • 5/5
      Very Convicting book. It is a Must read for American Christians.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely amazing book. Took the challenge. Already seeing changes in the way my days are lived out, how I am raising my children, how I am talking to my husband, how I am sharing the gospel every chance I get... Every Christian should read this book!
    • 5/5
      Best book I’ve read in a while. So convicting, I would encourage everyone to read this!
    • 5/5
      Though not as life changing as the Bible, this book has impacted my life and transformed my way of thinking. Thank you for your honesty and willingness to serve, David Platt.
    • 5/5
      This book challenges the evangelical Christian and the Mennonite Christian lifestyle and thought process. Definitely a must read!!! Let’s go live like Jesus taught us to!!!
    • 5/5
      Excellent book. Would recommend pairing with Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. A convicting but encouraging call to rise above American Christianity’s version of the American Dream. A people like the ones described in Radical are what this world needs. Now to get to work...
    • 5/5
      Wow. I have no words to express how amazing this book was. It is a life altering book, read with caution because it will change your life.
    • 5/5
      This is an incredible book. It challenges me in my faith and expounds upon truth in eloquent ways.
    • 4/5
      This book is very similar to "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. I did like chapter 9 and Platt's challenge fora year. I would buy the book for chapter 9.
    • 5/5
      Radical view of what every Christian's life should look like. 100% recommend, it's a must read.
    • 5/5
      what a convicting book. what a biblical book! God deserves it all!!
    • 5/5
      If this book didn’t shake you Christianity to the core, I’m not sure what else would ? Maybe that you can experience yourself as a missioner! It has confirmed many things that I have been feeling and thinking of lately and has also stir something inside of me!!!wow, thank you God for our brother David
    • 5/5
      MUST READ BOOK IF YOU ARE WANTING TO TAKE YOUR WALK WITH CHRIST SERIOUSLY!
    • 5/5
      It's the orange book with the upside down face - the eye catching one that makes you wonder what's inside. The picture of the upside down house is exactly the idea of this book - it will turn your ideas, your world, your spiritual house upside down. Those beliefs that have been long ingrained in you since a child sitting on a pew will be tossed out the window. What you have held as the standard for Christianity will be turned on it's head. The standards you held will be lifted to a new level and that level brings a freedom that you will be excited to have.

      This is one of those books that as I read I find myself getting excited! This is a great book of motivation. David Platt challenges Christians to embrace their true freedom in Christ - One not regulated by church covenants or religious have too's.
      The reader is pushed toward understanding and pursuing God's standard and in that is true happiness. If you are ready to jump out of the stagnant luke warm water and into something hot and fresh, If you are ready to be consumed by Christ and fully surrender to His will - this is the book to read. Live radically, live fresh, live free - experience all Christ has for you.

      Thank you Multnomah/Waterbrook for this review copy.
    • 5/5
      This is a powerful book that pulls us out of our American context and confronts us with the question of what the gospel really demands of us. It is guaranteed to challenge you and probably scare you a little (in a good way). Definitely worth reading!
    • 5/5
      This is my favorite book!
    • 3/5
      For Christians, this book offers a lot to think about.
    • 3/5
      I give this relatively short book three stars. It is well-written and says great things, but I get frustrated with how books like this pretend to be saying something new when others have wrestled with the same ideas for centuries, and there are a host of classic books out there addressing the same topic. For whatever reason, David Brooks singled the book out for a column, increasing its readership. This book is now very popular among Southern Baptist churches, having spun off book studies, "Secret Church" movements, etc. even though there is nothing new here-- other than it having been written by a Southern Baptist and not someone from another denomination. There are plenty of contemperaneous works that Platt appears to draw from or have identical ideas. For example, Ron Sider wrote Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger (my review) in 1978. This book is probably considered subversive by many Southern Baptists but it's roughly half of Platt's book. Dallas Willard, A.W. Tozer, and others also wrote several works that make calls (and better arguments) for authentic worship and discipleship than Pratt does. Pratt does not mention these, so a young reader is left with the impression that he's discovered all these ideas on his own from the Bible. I get frustrated with how much praxaeology Southern Baptists rediscover in the 21st century, from Mark Dever's 9 Marks movement on church policy to Platt's Radical.

      Platt's exhortation is for Christians to live simpler lives, be more "radical" in their giving and going (to the unreached), and to reclaim the true meaning of discipleship from the modern emphasis on buildings and programs. To his credit, he does cite the work of Elisabeth Elliott and works by or about missionaries of centuries past.

      A couple positive takeaways from the book:

      Platt affirms people in their vocations, giving the example of a man operating his accounting firm for God's glory and being very influential both in discipling his co-workers and contributing to overseas work.

      He also makes the point that since we are all called to make disciples, discipleship necessitates teaching and modeling. Thus, we are all teachers, teaching is not necessarily a vocational calling to only a few. He encourages all of us to study and learn things as though we are going to teach them later, which is a good lesson to apply to all of life.

      A few weaknesses of the book:
      Namely the aforementioned lack of original thought. Another weakness is that while the book encourages being in a reproducing community it lacks ideas of the greater power of Christian community (that you can find in other books). Platt doesn't tie the idea of Church community very well in deciding how we spend our money and the types of things we buy, and how we handle ethical issues at work. Platt essentially leaves it up to the individual family to figure out if their house is too big or their giving not radical enough rather than among a community of believers in accountability with one another as we saw in Acts.

      I'm struck by the number of churches who are actively promoting or studying this book, but the changes in their attitude toward buildings and programs seem only changed at the margin-- if at all. Platt would set a high standard to whether a church should focus its resources on its weekly services or increasing its numbers or instead focus on discipleship and giving to the poor.

      In all, 3 stars out of 5. There are a host of other, more complete, books I'd recommend before this one.
    • 5/5
      This book has changed my life. Another book that everyone on this planet should read. Awesome book...
    • 2/5
      This book is OK. I like the ideas presented in it but I just don't like the endless anecdotal stories that seem to come from the author's life. This book could have been 1/3 the length and still conveyed the same message.
    • 5/5
      Every Christian should read this. The points may be hard to take, but they are points that need to be made!
    • 5/5
      I dare any Christian to read this. If you allow the wisdom of the author, coupled with what Christ taught, to penetrate your soul I guarantee you your world will be rocked from the complacency and apathy of the American version of Christianity. Jesus was indeed a radical. And radical is what we all should be. So radical should our lives be that we be willing to risk even our very lives for the sake of Christ. One of my favorite quotes from this book is, "To everyone wanting a safe, untroubled, comfortable life free from danger, stay away from Jesus"
    • 1/5
      I appreciate what he's trying to do, but his fundamentalism taints everything.
    • 4/5
      Challenging book! Really makes you think about what it means to TRULY follow Christ as commanded in Scripture... highly recommend it for others.
    • 5/5
      challenging that is all I can say - must read if you think you are a christian
    • 2/5
      Essentially, semi-Pelagianism on steroids, so if you define the purpose of Gospel as the divine reality meant to convict the church and spur it on to good work through guilt-inducing commands, this is your book. If you, however, believe Gal 5:1, avoid this book.Platt takes his much-needed and refreshing Evangelical social critique and instead of using it to inspire Christians to work for the common good (1 Cor 12:7), he uses it as a truly effective hammer of Law. Guilt reigns as the author details how the American church has lost sight of the Gospel and in some sense become an organization antithetical to the bloody cross. He rightly calls the church back to its roots: radical service to the poor and a mission to all nations. The author, however, seems unable to do so without making readers second-guess own their fruits and validity of their faith claims. Ultimately, without any room for a Christian brotherhood containing any who are broken in ways he is not, Platt fills his book with speculative exegesis that based on assumptions he brings to the table. The book works well for Christians who prioritize Matt 7:16-23 over Eph 2:8-9, giving the Arminian reader many more imperatives for their arsenal, and therefore, an even higher standard to 1) be convicted of, and 2) judge others by. No one in the book hears the plight of the poor and believes they’re truly free to ignore them. Instead, every example contains someone who wrestles with whether to be faithful or disobedient, ultimately motivated not by love but by obligation, obedience, and guilt. Sadly, the book does a disservice to the poor since Platt never calls people to help the poor for the sake of the poor. Rather, Platt's logic usually goes 1. There are many poor with desparate needs.2. Christians are called to help the poor.3. Are you helping the poor?4. Maybe your lack of helping the poor is a sign of your spiritual emptiness.Although I agree with Platt's conclusions, since he always presents service thusly, the reader motivated by his writing is often not motivated out of love but rather out of a sense of duty and a desire for evidence of the Spirit in their life. He always brings in the issue of personal piety to confuse people's motives, undercutting the even more central command to love.Finally, and ironically, his critique of the American Dream is lightweight. Sanitized for the American Christian, Platt never prods deep enough to ask questions that get to the real heart of consumerism, which is sad.
    • 5/5
      His 5 step plan is something every Christian should consider. There are some very thought provoking statements in this book. A lot regarding hoarding of your money and wher it should really be going. Love the last couple pages that talk about how someday you'll have to give an account of what you did with all the money you made and how you spent your time on earth.