Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God
is David Platt's follow up to
Radical is well worth the little bit of time that is needed to read it. The best part is the discussion guide in the back. There was nothing new in the text that one didn't find in
Radical.
Overview
Overall I think that it is well written. It is accessible for any Christian at any point in their walk with God. I think that it's strength lies in the stories and illustrations.
The danger of this text is that of legalism. Platt does a good job of trying to combat this temptation. However, I think that this book in the hands of a young believer could lead to some assumptions about the Christian faith that are not necessarily true. There can also be the temptation to the development of a two-tiered Christianity. Those who live "radical" and those who "don't". Again, I think that Platt tries to hedge this but, as with any writing that calls one to action this is a potential danger.
Detailed Review
The first chapter is worth the price of the book. It is entitled "Tyranny of the Good". Platt challenges the assumptions of the church by asking what is "best" as opposed to what is "good". This kind of questioning led his community of faith to abandon many "sacred cows" and focus their time and energy on the taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. I love the subtitle to this chapter, "One of the worst enemies of Christians can be good things in the church." This is so very true. Chapter one is the high point of the text and really the only fresh material that wasn't already covered in his previous text,
Radical.
Chapter 2 seeks to undo some of the confusion surrounding
Radical, that is, whether or not there is a two-tiered Christianity. Platt argues for a "saved from work, saved to work" perspective which is helpful. Though his argument gets a bit muddled in the middle with too many stories. He starts strong and finishes strong but gets a bit sideways. I think that he would would have been left to argue for the position that salvation comes by God's sovereign grace and that this necessarily means that he must be Lord and not simply fire insurance. It seems that Platt was trying to get to this point without opening the "Lordship Salvation" debate.
Chapter 3 highlights the centrality of God's word and is wonderful. Chapter 4 focuses on how God uses broken people to bring about his mission. Chapter 6 reads like an abridged version of Desiring God and as a result is very encouraging.
Yes, I skipped chapter 5 intentionally because it requires a few comments. This is where Platt argues for a global mission. I appreciated his call to reach the world. Reading it, I felt like I was reading
Come Help Change the World by Dr. Bill Bright. However, in the midst of this chapter Platt takes a shot at the missional church movement. He does so gently, but I think that his understanding of missional is wrong-headed. He actually goes on to argue
for the missional perspective while trying to argue
against it. He sees missional as supremely local. This is not a proper understanding. Missional church is one that takes seriously the command to reach Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the world. This means that the missional church is seeking to take the gospel locally, regionally, and globally. This is the very thing that Platt argues for!
Conclusion
I would highly recommend this book for a small group or discipleship group discussion. While it is not perfect, it does force us to ask some very difficult questions of ourselves.
Note: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
by Andy Stanley seeks to make the marvelous and overwhelming concept of God's grace accesible to the every day, average Christian. Stanley traces the theme of God's grace through out the entirety of Scripture. He begins with Genesis and ends with the Great Commission. Stanley writes with a gentle, every man's approach. There is nothing heady or difficult. One need not worry about finding themselves in the deep end of the pool in this book.
The book broken into 13 chapters all ending in "by Grace". I think the best chapters are the introduction, Chapter 1: In the Beginning, Grace; and Chapter 13: Commissioned for Grace. The beginning and end are very well done. I think that Stanley's approach regarding Genesis 1-3 is very helpful and provides good insight into what is happening in the Garden of Eden. The final chapter is helpful because the church is called to live out its grace mission.
However, I think that in the middle chapters Stanley is filling space. There is not much being said. There is nothing very "new", in the sense that, you can find it written elsewhere. I found myself getting bored and wondering why this book was written when there are other books on the same topic that have been done much better.
Please hear me, there is nothing inherently wrong with this text. It is biblical and orthodox. It's just that other writers like Stott, Packer, Tozer, Edwards, Keller, and Piper have written books that are more engaging, more insightful, and just as accessible.
Would I recommend the book? Sure.
But, I won't read it again. Why? Because it is just too thin. It doesn't grab the imagination or the heart. It doesn't challenge me on every page. It's ho-hum.
