Radical Plodding

There has been something of a debate between 2 popular author/speakers in the Reformed world over the nature of the "faithful" Christian life.

David Platt has a radical message about giving ourselves to God's global purposes, spending less on ourselves, and doing the hard thing.
Kevin DeYoung has called us to a patient life of plodding along the path of love for the local church.

The "debate" is publicly contained in a review that DeYoung wrote of Platt's book, Radical. You can read the review and Platt's response here.

I have tremendous respect for both Platt and DeYoung. God has used them both to help me in my pursuit to be faithful to Him. They are both examples of the kind of pastor and man I long to be. And, I don't think their message is all that different. Given the opportunity to sit under each of their ministries, I don't think their disagreement is very deep. I think they both contribute to a picture of what it means to live pleasing to God. Let me try to explain.


Here is the particular paragraph in DeYoung's review that I am addressing:
"I don’t worry for David’s theology, but I worry that some young Christians reading his book might walk away wondering if a life spent working as a loan officer, tithing to their church, praying for their kids, learning to love Christ more, and serving in the Sunday school could possibly be pleasing to God. We need to find a way to attack the American dream while still allowing for differing vocations and that sort of ordinary Christian life that can plod along for fifty years. I imagine David wants this same thing. I’m just not sure this came through consistently in the book."



First of all, Platt never says that the kind of life described by DeYoung is displeasing to God. This is totally an assumption that DeYoung is concerned may come across to someone reading Radical. Platt is simply calling this figurative loan officer to care about and get involved in missions and ministry to the poor. He never says every Christian has to be a missionary (just that all Christians should be involved in and concerned with missions whatever their vocation). He never says every Christian has to give everything they own to feed the poor (just that Jesus may indeed call some of us to do so).


As I read the Bible as a whole, here is what I see: We are indeed to live radically for Christ. I'm concerned that DeYoung does not adequately deal with the clear Biblical teaching to be willing to give up everything to follow Christ. But, we are not just called to do radical things and leave it at that. We are called to live consistently radical lives, plodding along in faithfulness and growth in what God has called us to do.


So, here is the question I think we have to ask ourselves: Is the trajectory of my life radical in devotion to the cause of Jesus? Am I using my life, my resources, my energies in the worship of God and the spread of His fame?
-If not, then no matter what we do, we will waste our lives.
-If yes, then we need to persevere and press on and plod along in faithfulness in that devotion (whether a loan officer or a foreign missionary).

Plodding along, by itself, is not pleasing to God.
Doing something radical, by itself, is not pleasing to God.

The life that pleases God is the life of radical plodding for the glory of God.

Radical Available at WTS

WTS books now has David Platt's Radical. Everyone reading this blog needs to get this book. I give a lot of book recommendations. This is not a recommendation. Its an expression of my care for you.

I'll be giving a copy of Radical away later this week.

T4G Breakouts Now Online

You can find the T4G breakouts here. Be sure to listen to David Platt's session.

A Review of Radical

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt is a must-read book.

WARNING: This is a challenging book that will turn your world upside down (actually, right side up).
PAY ATTENTION: This is a helpful book that will increase your joy in Jesus.

David Platt calls us to follow the Jesus of the Bible. He warns us against thinking we are worshipping Jesus while really we are worshipping ourselves. He shows us that Jesus is far superior to all the things we clutch onto in this life. He calls us to abandon the Christian spin on the American dream.

Here are a few of the claims Platt makes in Radical:
-Real success is found in radical sacrifice.
-Ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves but in making much of God.
-The purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live.
-Meaning is found in community, not in individualism.
-Joy is found in generosity, not materialism.
-Truth is found in Christ, not universalism.

Chapter 3 is golden. Platt pleads with us to stop relying on ourselves and realize our utter need for the power of the Spirit. Most of what we do in our churches could be done without the power of the Spirit. Would we even recognize if the Spirit abandoned us? He calls us to recognize the power of the Spirit and depend on that same power for everything we do.

One of the main points that Platt emphasizes is Jesus’ call to preach the gospel to all nations. He disarms all of our common excuses for not being involved in missions and gives example after example of people who have abandoned the American dream to follow God’s heart. Missions is not something a few people do. We have been given so much by God so that we can be a blessing to the peoples of this earth.

In chapter 6, David Platt challenges the abundant wealth of the American church. He calls our wealth a “blind spot” in our generation. How can we keep so much for ourselves when so many are starving and dying of preventable diseases? We don’t earn salvation by giving to the poor but we prove our salvation by our care for the poor.

Platt ends this book by challenging us to embrace the “radical experiment,” a one year test drive of living totally for Christ. Specifically, there are 5 challenges of the radical experiment: (1) pray for the entire world, (2) read through the entire Word, (3) sacrifice your money for a specific purpose, (4) spend your time in another context, and (5) commit your life to a multiplying community.

I really appreciate Platt’s emphasis on living out these principles in the context of the local church.

Here’s a flavor of what you will find in Radical:

“Both of us will soon stand before God to give an account for our stewardship of the time, the resources, the gifts, and ultimately the gospel he has entrusted to us. When that day comes, I am convinced we will not wish we had given more of ourselves to living the American dream. We will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of this world. Instead we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people, and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship” (pp. 216-217).

You can buy Radical directly from the publisher here (Multnomah provided a copy for me to review).
Or, you can buy it at 34% off here.