Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
In America, the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness for Christians has turned into the pursuit of more and more stuff to entertain ourselves and make ourselves more and more comfortable. As American Christians, we have become so inwardly focused that David Platt, the pastor of Brookhaven Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, argues we are now worshipping a Jesus of our own creation; a Jesus that highly resembles us. In his book, “Radical,” Platt calls for a turning away from the materialism that has ensnared the American church and a return to the radical command of Jesus to use our individual lives and resources to impact the world. This book has challenged me to rethink my priorities at an even more difficult level: at the level of my financial expectations and my material wants. It has also encouraged me in my own writing as I, too, have found myself questioning the American Christians who are prone to grumble over petty things while her brothers and sisters in Christ around the world go daily without food, clothing, or shelter. I hope this book will encourage you as a reminder that your treasures are to be laid up in heaven not here on earth where they can rot, be destroyed, or stolen. And to take this admonition literally, trusting in the truth of Jesus’ words. Also, I hope you will be encouraged to notice your brother and sister in Christ, even those in your church, who need your help as members of the same family of God.