When I first heard about Radical Together, I first thought it might have been about a couple living a Radical life for the glory of God. That is not what the book is about at all. This book is about how the church should be radical for Jesus by being what the church was intended to be.
This book has six chapters that deals with these central ideas for the gospel to make an impact on a church that its proper response is to be radical:
1. One of the worst enemies of Christians can be good things in the church.
2. The gospel that saves us from work saves us to work
3. The Word does the work.
4. Building the right church depends on using all the wrong people
5. We are living-and longing-for the end of the world
6. We are selfless followers of a self-centered God
In the first chapter, the good things in the church can be religious activities that causes us to go beyond the walls of the church. How many activities do we have that take place in the church building? There is nothing wrong to have them, but if there is no service outside the building than we can be wrapped up in ourselves.
Chapter two deals with the gospel that does not save us by works but saves us to work. Taken from the book of James, one result of the gospel is to do good works. It is just like this saying I once heard, "We are not saved by our works, but we are saved for works" which is based on Ephesians 2:8-10.
The next chapter is on Scripture. A church must have the Bible central in their lives in order to live a radical life for the glory of God. When a preacher comes to preach the word, they must preach it so people who are lost can come to Jesus, and people who are Christians can be transformed and live a life for the glory of God.
The fourth chapter talks about using the wrong people to accomplish the mission of the church. It does not mean to use people who are immoral, it means use people who do not fit into what society defines as success. To equip people and use them to share the gospel and live gospel-centered lives in our world. The church is where people are used, not activities, buildings, or performances. If you read the book of Acts, God always used people to communicate the gospel to everyone.
Chapter five says that the church should work for the end of the world. So it means we are working to see earthquakes, famines, and wars to happen. That is not what Platt was implying. The work for the end of the world to get the gospel to all nations. The word nations in the Bible does not refer to countries such as Canada, England, or Israel, but people groups. Working to see the end of the world is see Matthew 24:14 fulfilled which says the gospel will be proclaimed to all nations and the end will come.
The final chapter is about us being selfless followers of a self-centered God, which seems odd at first because many people think God is not self-centered. The Bible tells us to proclaim his works, his power, and his glory. Scripture also tells us that God will not share his glory with no one else, which means God will not share the spotlight with another created being. Platt goes on to say, "We exist for the glory of God, and God exists for the glory of God. The ultimate key to joining together in radical obedience to Christ is found in fostering a humble view of ourselves and a high view of God in the church" (pg 120). The church must give all glory to God because God performs tasks that will make all people honor Him.
This book will challenge pastors as they look at their church activities in thinking what are we doing for the glory of God. Are we doing enough to get the gospel out to people who do not know Jesus? Are we being a lighthouse for our community? Do we do too much religious activity and not enough evangelism? Are we growing spiritually that produces results? All of these questions must be asked by every church as we consider being the church that God intended. I encourage every church leader to read this book.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
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