Last blog I mentioned the book Radical, written by David Platt, and shortly after that I found a very balanced review of the book written by his friend Kevin DeYoung and then Dr. Platt’s response to it, both of which are very good. Radical is a book that I hope will “shake up” believers in America. I have been around church, specifically Baptist Churches pretty much all of my life and can remember the movements (good ones and bad ones) that have yielded excitement – they have ranged early on from Bill Gothard, to more recently, Jabez and being Purpose Driven… and about twenty others through the years. By in large Baptist seem to be great “groupies”! The truth is, I hope Radical does more than just give the groupies something new to follow – it is worth serious thought and contemplation. But, as I mentioned in my previous blog, theologically one must be Gospel centered and understand the importance of the Church (as alluded to by DeYoung in his review) to be Radical for Christ without just being radically emotional about a movement sweeping the evangelical community. Also, I hope it causes all believers to put things in eternal perspective – to focus in on that we are not permanent residents of this world. But in order for it to cause a genuine shift rather than the next “groupie” movement, it is going to have to be true believers with a hunger for biblical evangelism and growth within a local Bride that “get it” - the emotion and inspiration of the book must find balance in the heart of a believer grounded in Scripture for it to be sustained – otherwise, we are just going to see the groupies move on when the emotion wears out. The problem is not Radical or David Platt, for I have listened to him preach the Word of God and there is no question as to his dedication to truth and doctrinal clarity. The problem lies within those whose only view of the Gospel is weak at best and the ones who may be faithful attendees at the Church, but do not passionately love or understand her purpose… and sadly this covers many people in our churches across America.
Both DeYoung’s review and Platt’s response shows great wisdom, humility and love for truth. I have provided a link for them below and they are well worth the read…
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2010/05/25/getting-to-the-root-of-radical/
