Radical, Chapter 9: The Radical Experiment

Have you ever attempted major life change?  How long did your intentions last?  How did you feel after reaching (or abandoning) your goal?

We are creatures of habit and comfort.  Any real improvement requires commitment and consistent application (daily for far longer than "21 days").  My cousin, who works as a physical trainer, says that January through March are the "busy" months in the fitness world.  Most people set out to reach physical goals with gusto, but often lose interest or become distracted only weeks (or days) into the process. 

As Christians, our intentionality towards spiritual growth often similarly fizzles. What would it take to achieve a Christ-honoring overhaul of our lives? In Radical, Platt makes the following claims:

"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 the culture in which we live. Meaning is found in community, not individualism; joy is found in generosity, not materialism; and truth is found in Christ, not universalism. Ultimately, Jesus is a reward worth risking everything to know, experience, and enjoy."

We cannot assess the accuracy of such assertions without putting in the effort required to obtain the promised results. The Radical Experiment is a year-long commitment to the following goals: 

1. I will pray for the entire world.
2. I will read through the entire Word.
3. I will sacrifice my money for a specific purpose.
4. I will spend time in another context (short-term or long-term missions).
5. I will commit my life to a multiplying community.

With God's help, would you commit to a year of transformation?  What better time to start than on the day that divided history in half?

If you want to join the experiment, write out your specific intentions for each of the objectives in the comments section below.  We can hold each other accountable, and celebrate the beauty of what God can accomplish in our surrendered lives!  Here's to an amazing year. 

Radical, Chapter 8: Living When Dying Is Gain

Women generally like to be likable.  Overall, we invest a fair amount of time appealing to others on physical (hair, makeup, clothes), emotional (upbeat, encouraging, positive), and intellectual (entertaining, witty, informed) levels.

Women generally also like to feel safe.  We prefer situations in which we are financially and relationally secure.

In light of these two pursuits, passages like the following rarely become themes for women's conferences.

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (II Timothy 3:12)

Not exactly a top contender for next year's theme verse, right? 

But as Christians, we believe all Scripture is breathed by God (in fact, the passage above ends with the same admonition) -- for our good.  The truth does not become less real or less true if we ignore it.  As Paul's words above promise, those who live godly lives will be persecuted.  We can invert this logical statement to conclude that if we live our lives entirely free of persecution (from birth to death) we have not lived godly lives.  

Think about that for a minute. The ramifications are enormous.  

Ask yourself, "Have I ever been persecuted for my faith?"  If the answer is no, perhaps it is because I have spent too much time pursuing the approval of others and my own security rather than the Kingdom of God. 

Platt writes, "To everyone wanting a safe, untroubled, comfortable life free from danger, stay away from Jesus.  The danger in our lives will always increase in proportion to the depth of our relationship with Christ.  Maybe this is why we sit back and settle for a casual relationship with Christ and routine religion in the church."

These are heavy words.  I will leave you with only one question:
Do you want a safe, untroubled, comfortable life?   

Radical, Chapter 7: There is No Plan B

Did you know that it is physically impossible to die from holding your breathe? (You know how kids sometimes use it as a bargaining tool? Not that I did; growing up half-blooded Italian, my arguing skills were honed ;) But the reason behind it is that our natural instinct of survival will literally not allow us to die by willingly withholding our body oxygen. Built within us is an automatic and powerful instinct of self-preservation.


I know this personally because that instinct keeps flaring up as we get deeper into David Platt's chapters. And please allow me to clarify, it's not my innate physical preservation I'm fiercely protecting (because, let's face it, God couldn't call us anywhere He didn't intend to accompany us) but it's the preservation of those "luxuries" referred to time and time again in this book--and life. I don't want to give them up.


Let me tell you, Platt is a very effective evangelist because his unswerving presentation of the Truth (that our culture so often glazes over and justifies to the point of emasculating its call on our lives) keeps prodding my heart. Each page I read makes me want to jump up, out the door and jump on a plane to serve those millions of Bedouins in Algeria! But right alongside that urgency is my list. My agenda. MY Plan B.


While our God does not--as Platt emphasizes in this chapter--have a Plan B, you can be sure that I do. I think it's inherently female (or an irrevocable trait of moms and teachers everywhere). We have our plan en route to our American Dream and the culture we live in inspires us to think it's crazy to work toward any other end. Our own hearts long for elements of it. But as Paul's words to the Romans highlighted in this chapter, our hearts are deceitful above all else. And holding onto my Plan B (and C and D...) are my own sinful attempts to eliminate my need for faith. For God. And live an entirely unfulfilled life.


This chapter began by illustrating the pop culture idea of universalism, which points to the fact that as we are all equal, our ideas are also equal; which simplifies faith to a matter of taste rather than of truth. This is the heart of most timid Christians' excuses against GOING and evangelizing, "Well, who am I to say that MY ideas are right and they're wrong? Can I call person's beliefs wrong? They HAVE a faith so... you know, that's good..."
Really?
We have to keep coming back to the cross. Because I think we lose sight of the incredible gift salvation is. The gift that millions of people are entirely unaware of. The gift that is NOT merely the luxury we treat it as. To be kept safe, hidden, preserved... in order to avoid ruffling any feathers.


Platt plainly outlined seven truths that mirror the truths Paul delivered to the Romans about the people who don't know Jesus:
1. All people have a knowledge of God
2. All people reject God
3. All people are guilty before God
4. All people are condemned for rejecting God
5. God has made a way to salvation for the lost
6. People cannot come to God apart from faith in Christ
7. Christ commands the church to make the gospel known to all peoples


Another point addressed was this idea of justice. Can a just and loving God truly deny people entry to heaven just because they never had an opportunity to hear about Him? This idea is itself phrased within a framework of American thinking. (It's popular to blame God for problems because it's easier than recognizing the part we had in causing it.)  Christ's heart is for them to know His. And that is why He has been--and is--calling, sending His people to reach the unreached.
Girls, that's us.
We are the church, the plan, the means God intended purposely to deliver the gospel to the world. To reach the unreached. There is no Plan B.


Some questions to consider...


1. This chapter reminded me of the song Matthew West has out now called, "Do Something" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_RjndG0IX8). Do you think it's an accurate depiction of our call as Christians in the world today?

2. We tend to default to our lists of excuses for why we're NOT doing the things Platt challenges us to throughout this book (which, let's face it, are really just blatant references to the call God placed on our lives in His Word). I think it's important to dissect our primary excuses because they reveal the idols our hearts are clinging to. Can you identify the key excuses you keep bringing up in response to the conviction you feel as we're reading this book? What do you think God might be trying to teach you through it?


3."The will of God is for you and me to give our lives urgently and recklessly to making the gospel and glory of God known among all peoples, particularly those who have never even heard of Jesus."
There it is. God's will for your life and mine.
If you're like me, you've said countless times that you're "waiting for God to reveal His plan/will for my life." I'm so guilty of this. I've blamed God for feeling stuck in a season of perpetual waiting. But am I the one who's been waiting--or God? He delivered His call upon my life thousands of years ago. Is it possible I'm only now taking it for what it's worth? What about you?

Radical, Chapter Six: How much is enough?

This was my favorite chapter so far in the book.  By far.  It was a really uncomfortable read.  It's not easy to be challenged on how much money we should live on and how much to give away.  If you're like me then you recoiled a few times.  But I believe that there is a place of freedom from the worries and cares of money.  Stick with me.

We all have blind spots.  Personality quirks and flaws, if you will.  I have a tendency to interrupt people.  Sometimes at work I try to do everything myself and inadvertently make my co-workers feel inadequate.  I'm so glad that I have friends in my life to point these things out to me.  Think of this chapter as a gentle uncovering of a blind spot in all of our lives, not a condemnation.

Caring for the poor is a serious matter to God.  It is all over the Bible.  Just like teachings on sexual purity and gossip, we cannot read them and pretend it does not apply to us.

Platt starts by comparing the blind spot of materialism in our culture today with slavery 200 years ago.  Professing Christians were able to pray, go to church and read the Bible all while justifying the mistreatment of thousands of human beings?  They felt they were being generous by providing slaves with an extra chicken at Christmas while they lived with abuse and desolate poverty the other 364 days of the year.  They lived as they wanted then gave their scraps to the poor and called it generosity.  Jesus addresses this in Luke 16, the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  The rich man gave his scraps to Lazarus and patted himself on the back for being generous.  His riches were a stumbling block to him, and he did not enter heaven.

Now, Platt is very clear on one thing: caring for the poor is not a mechanism of salvation.  However, it is a mark of those who have been redeemed and know the Father's Heart.  His heart is with the poor and broken.  In church today we studied Acts 4:32-37.  Our pastor pointed out that the early church's view of money and material possessions was a radical change from their cultural views of money.  In Jewish culture, money was viewed as a sign of God's blessing, and lack of money was viewed as God's displeasure.  On top of that, persecution was ramping up against them.  It was a time when fear could have led them to hoard all their resources and stop sharing with each other.  However, because they realized that God was their Father and he would take care of them just like loving earthly parents.  Because of this world view they understood that their status, security and comfort came from God, not money.

So where does this leave us?  Most of what fills our houses are considered luxuries, not necessities.  Are our possessions inherently bad?  NO.  But what if Jesus walked up to us today and asked us to sell all we have and give the money to the poor?  Could we obey Him?  What if He asked us to live on half our salary and give the rest to missions?  Could we make the necessary changes do accommodate this command?  Or are we more like the rich man in the Lazarus story or the slave owners from 200 years ago and giving our leftover scraps to the poor?  When I read this chapter, God spoke this to me: "you are the rich man, giving your scraps and not your best."  I believe that God is challenging us to live radically and be willing to trust that He will care for us when He commands us to care for the poor.

This is a hard area.  If you're like me, you're probably having anxiety when you consider giving up your luxuries.  Obedience in this area requires a change in the heart and an increase in faith.  It will look different for each of us.  Toward the end of the chapter, Platt poses this question: how much will it take?  Many people in the world have never heard the gospel of Christ.  We can help reach the world with all the resources God has blessed us with.  That is an amazing opportunity.

Like the rich man, our possessions will not help us once this life is over.  We cannot afford to let the love of our possessions keep us out of heaven.  That is why we must take this chapter seriously and allow God to convict us in order to experience true freedom. We have a heavenly Father who knows what we need and will care for us.

Now for the questions:  take a moment to pray before you answer.  I'm going to post my answers in the comment section below.

1.  What is your response to the challenge in this chapter to care for the poor?  How did God convict your heart to increase your giving to the poor through this chapter?

2.  Do you view God as your heavenly Father?  If so, how does this change your view of money?

3.  What luxury can you give up in order to give more to the kingdom of God?  I know this isn't easy, but I believe the result of the work of faith will far outweigh the momentary discomfort =]

Radical, Chapter 5: Multiplying the Community

I have to say that I’m really enjoying the time we’ve spent reading this book.  It is very convicting, and this chapter might be the most convicting for me so far.  I took a turn facilitating the blog this week, and it was very refreshing!  I’ve been reading right along but for some reason the blog keeps eating my comments =[  This time I finally got smart and wrote my blog in a word document!

  This chapter is all about discipleship and what that looks like practically.  Throughout the chapter he weaves this theme that discipleship is a messy, down and dirty, in your face process that takes time…lots of it.  He does this is several ways, starting with the ultimate example: Jesus.  From time to time I’ve wondered about how Jesus did things.  He had all these adoring crowds surrounding Him, but time after time He gently but firmly extricated Himself to either pray to His Father or explain a parable to the disciples.  He was incredibly focused on following the Father’s will and teaching His human companions.  I think about how a human would handle the same situations.  I’m thinking that I, for one, would consider all the attention to be a “God given opportunity” and “a platform” to speak from.  Soon I would be all about myself and the truth would be watered down.  It really seems like Jesus had two missions while on this earth: redeem humanity and make disciples.  This was His last command to us: go into all the world and make disciples.  This is His model, to reproduce ourselves.  How can we look for another way?

He makes the point that people are not impressed with drive by evangelism.  He illustrates this by documenting his experience evangelizing in the French Quarter of New Orleans.  No one opened up to him until they realized he was there to stay and genuinely cared about them.  And all of us understand this.  When have you ever been convinced to like something by someone who isn’t passionate and doesn’t seem to care about your well-being?

My final thought before getting to the questions is the concept of listening to reproduce.  I think this is my favorite part of the chapter.  So often we listen to sermons and other teachings to see what we can get out of it and how it applies to our lives.  There’s really nothing wrong with that, but the author points to a bigger purpose that we are called to be a part of: listening to reproduce.  Meaning, I’m paying close attention to the sermon so I can explain this passage to someone who doesn’t understand it or has never read the Bible.  Wow.  Now I need to step up my game.  This reminds me of college.  I paid very close attention in my nursing classes, especially lectures that had to do with keeping people alive.  This was because I knew it was vital knowledge that would actually save lives someday.  I felt a weight of responsibility to understand the material that I didn’t feel in my Bible classes (I minored in Bible).  What if I approached every sermon this way?  Knowing that I had the opportunity to learn vital knowledge that would save a soul someday?

Ok, so for the questions:

1. Who do you look to as an influence of discipleship in your life?  

For me it’s been different people at different times.  There was a family that really took me in while I was living in Cleveland.  They were so passionate about the Lord and read His Word continually.  They opened up their home and their hearts to me, and really challenged me to go deeper in my commitment to the Lord.  I’m so thankful for my time with them.

2.    

Do you have the opportunity right now to disciple someone?  Think of that person or persons, and think of ways you can pour into their life.  Also, keeping in mind Jesus’ last command, who can you disciple who does not currently identify faith in Christ?  

a.    Personally, this chapter challenged me to continue to disciple a few women whom God has brought into my life, even though their lives and mine are messy.  Discipling is hard.  I get easily discouraged.  But those who trust in the Lord renew their strength.  We serve a good God. 

b.    As I think about the second part of my question, I realize I’m surrounded by people who need the gospel.  My neighbors from China and India for instance.  They never heard the gospel before the Helms and I moved into this building.  Or how about my new co-worker who just lost a good friend to cancer?  Turns out that friend was a Christian and had been witnessing to her already.  I never got to meet her, but she passed me a baton of sorts =]  And finally, there are the Somalian refugees who populate our city.  I’ve met some of them already, they work at the hospital with me.  They never got to hear the gospel in their own country, so God brought them to us. 

3.    What are some practical ways you can listen to reproduce?

a.    A couple things come to mind for me right off the bat.  First, I need to be more diligent in daily Bible reading.  It often gets pushed right off the priority list for me.  I need to make it a part of the daily routine.  Another thing I can do is review sermon notes and read over the passages again.  Kind of like studying for an exam in college =]

Radical, Chapter 4: God's Global Purpose From The Beginning Till Today (Liz)

What have I done to serve the global church today?

Honestly, not much. The grand total of my contribution might be about ten seconds of prayer and 30 seconds of contemplation as Ethan showed me pictures from Bangladesh.  I didn't give any money.  I didn't really sacrifice any time.  I didn't change any part of my day, in any way, despite the knowledge that billions of people have never heard the Gospel and countless Christians around the world are dying for their faith every day.

The rest of my week didn't fare much better.  I mostly do what I want, when I want, without consideration of God's overarching plan for humanity.  After all, this is the American way.

The pages about a "call" to missions being a threat really struck a chord.  Many of the people I love and respect deeply treat global missions as something they are not "called" to do.  In my day to day, I often act in the same way.  Our reticence to relinquish our small plans for His glory must grieve God's heart.  He wants to give us countless riches, and we settle for trinkets and trifles.

This chapter was a difficult one.  In fact, I suspect by this point that many people who began to read this book (with conviction) have stopped before or during the reading of this chapter (out of conviction).  The message is a hard one.  American Christianity, as Platt points out, has become comfortable "assigning the obligations of Christianity to a few while keeping the privileges of Christianity for us all.  In this way we choose to send off other people to carry out the global purpose of Christianity while the rest of us sit back because we're 'just not called to that' (73)."

Those of us raised in middle class families were taught to pursue higher education and admirable careers, while stowing away treasures on earth for "someday" (our own, or our children's futures).  Is it possible that this American dream has led us away from God's plan?  As the retiree who worked abroad said, "What else am I going to do with my retirement? I just want to tell as many people about the gospel as I can." I literally got choked up as I read his words.  If only God would give me a heart so faithful and steadfast.  If only God's glory was my first, last, and dominant thought every day.  I pray that someday it would be. 

Questions:

1. Respond to the following quote:

"[Statements about being called to the United States] are smoke screens because most of us really are not very concerned about the needs right around us.  Most Christians rarely share the gospel, and most Christians' schedules are not heavily weighted to feeding the hungry, helping the sick, and strengthening the church in the neediest places in our country.  But even if we were doing these things, we would still be overlooking a foundational biblical truth when we say our hearts are for the United States.  As we have seen all over Scripture, God's heart is for the world (76)."

2. Have you viewed missions as an either/or phenomenon?  Or have you agreed with Platt that we are to have a heart for both here (America) and there (everywhere else)?

3. Have you been open to the possibility of leaving everything you consider "comfortable" to bring the Gospel to places it has not been proclaimed?  What would global, radical abandonment to Christ look like in your life?

Radical, Chapter 3: Beginning at the End of Ourselves [The Importance of Relying on God's Power] (Liz)

A self-sufficient person struggles to ask for help, exemplifying pride.  I am that person.

An insecure person attempts to control all situations with plans and back-up plans, personifying fear.  I am also that person.

The following passage was especially convicting to me:

"In direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability.  He intentionally puts His people in situations where they come face to face with their need for Him.  In the process he powerfully demonstrates His ability to provide everything His people need in ways they could never have mustered up or imagined.  And in the end, He makes much of His own name (47)."

I live far more often by the mantra of the American dream than that mandate of Christ.  In trying to stay afloat and manage situations by my own strength, I am not only missing out on the opportunity to see what God wants to accomplish in my life but also the beauty of not having to make things happen.  Making things happen is exhausting, often destroys relationships, and nearly always undermines our peace.  His way is better, His strength is perfect, and His heart is kind. We need to trust Him.

Questions for you, sisters (quoted from the end of the chapter):

1. "Would you say that your life is marked right now by desperation for the Spirit of God?"

2. "Would you say that the church you are a part of is characterized by this sense of desperation?"

3. "Why would we ever want to settle for Christianity according to our ability or settle for church according to our resources?"

4. What are some practical ways we can combat the tendency to rely on ourselves rather than Christ?

Radical, Chapter 2: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of the Gospel (Liz)

Do we really want to know God?

Yes, we call ourselves followers of Christ.  We (mostly) attend church on Sundays.  We (usually) try to confront the sin in our lives.  We (claim to) love other believers.  But what do we do with God?

In the day to day, is He the center?  Do we arrange our days around knowing Him and pursuing His presence?  Do we really want to know all of Him, or only the parts that make us comfortable?

"Yes, God is a loving Father, but he is also a wrathful Judge.  In his wrath he hates sin.  Habakkuk prayed to God, 'Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.' And in some sense, God also hates sinners... Fourteen times in the first fifty psalms we see... descriptions of God's hatred toward sinners, his wrath toward liars, and so on... The gospel reveals eternal realities about God that we would sometimes rather not face... We are afraid that if we stop and really look at God in his Word, we might discover that he evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we are ready to give him (page 29)."

These are hard words.  But they are true.  Often, we construct our view of God from Christian culture and our (distorted) personal experience, rather than from Scripture. When the church or our hearts fail us, we find ourselves lost, confused, and distraught.  Or worse, we may be so distracted that we don't even notice the depth of our lostness.  Many purported believers are mostly defined by these traits: lost, confused, distraught, clueless.  This is not the Gospel.

Gospel means "good news", and describes the prodigious love of a God who left perfection to live among His people.  Not simply to receive worship (because He mostly didn't while He was on earth).  Not to gain perspective (because He already had it).  But to lay down His life for unworthy, oblivious people.  And this was no easy task. Jesus didn't sweat blood because He was afraid of dying (notably, other martyrs more cheerfully went to their deaths -- and certainly they were not above Christ), but because He was preparing to face the full wrath of God's hatred towards sin and sinners ("stored up since the beginning of the world", page 35). 

Implicit in the good news of God's redemptive work is the claim that we are inherently sinful.  We cannot accept forgiveness when we feel we've already arrived at perfection.  We haven't.  Though I am sure you have noticed, I will point out the obvious: our flesh wars against our spirit.  We often say things like, "I am an awful person", hoping those who love us will disagree and soothe our egos.  But the Truth is this: we are awful people.  Awful people who God can redeem, and is working to redeem as we turn our eyes and hearts towards Him.  

A few questions for you, dear sisters (please respond in the comments section):

1. Where did you derive the majority of your view of God?  Your family?  Your church?  Your friends?  Your emotions and experiences? 
2. What is your initial response to hearing that God hates sinners?  And that every inclination of our heart is evil from childhood (Genesis 8:21)?  What is the truth about these statements?
3. Respond to this quote: "We have taken the infinitely glorious Son of God, who endured the infinitely terrible wrath of God and who now reigns as the infinitely worthy Lord of all, and we have reduced him to a poor, puny Savior who is just begging for us to accept him (page 37)."

Radical, Chapter 1: Someone Worth Losing Everything For (Liz)

We all want to be right.  We will argue and defend our decisions and viewpoints, even and often if they do not align with Scripture.

A wise family member once told me: people don't change until the cost (or pain) of change is less than the cost (or pain) of staying the same.

She was right.  But another dimension must be considered: we may not truly understand the cost of staying as we currently are, because we do not always maintain an eternal perspective.  What we perceive as a small price to pay for the pursuit of life/liberty/happiness may, in fact, have enormous consequences for us, for those we love, and for those we should have loved (if we weren't too busy pursuing our own plans).

But God.

God, who gave us Himself, also gave us a means of knowing His will in the Word become flesh.  He has given us everything we need for life and godliness.  Everything.  Yet how often we try to find truth elsewhere, only to find ourselves disappointed!  Perhaps this is because we are not actually looking for truth, but for permission to continue behaving and believing as we do.

Sisters.  There is a better way.  Christ came to show it to us.

The passage in Luke 9 titled "The Cost of Following Jesus" presents us with three men who desire to follow Christ, but perhaps not fully.  It is easy to identify with them.  Who wouldn't want a place to lay his or her head at the end of the day?  A chance to bury his or her father?  A chance to say goodbye to loved ones?  But Jesus had a response for each of their hesitations, as He does for ours today.  First, we are told to follow Him.  He gives us strength to follow as we obey.  Then, we are told to keep our hand on the plow, and not to look back.  Catch that -- not. to. look. back.  There is no room for comparison, bitterness, or discontent in the heart of the Kingdom seeker.  He calls us to move unabashedly forward -- to invest in the soil of the lives around us, and to plant seeds of Truth (God's word) wherever we go.

All around us, we see messages of dissatisfaction.  Marketing is the science of generating and inflaming human discontent.  Buy this!  Sign up for this!  Look like this!  If you do, you will be satisfied.  

Yet whenever we look to an imperfect source -- ourselves, our relationships, our possessions -- we end up dissatisfied.  But when we look to Jesus, the perfect Author of every good story, there we find all we need.

---------------------------------------------------------------

And now a couple of questions for you, dear sisters, based on quotes from the first chapter of Radical (please answer in the comments)...

1. "He was calling them to abandon their careers... to abandon their possessions... to abandon their family and their friends... Ultimately, Jesus was calling them to abandon themselves.  They were leaving certainty for uncertainty, safety for danger, self-preservation for self-denunciation.  In a world that prizes promoting oneself, they were following a teacher who told them to crucify themselves."

What about the above paragraph is most threatening to you (i.e. what would you LEAST like to turn over to God)?

2. " 'Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.' If we are not careful, we can misconstrue these radical statements from Jesus in the Gospels and begin to think that He does not want the best for us.  But He does.  Jesus was not trying to strip this man of all his pleasure.  Instead he was offering him the satisfaction of eternal treasure.  Jesus was saying, 'It will be better, not just for the poor, but for you too, when you abandon the stuff you are holding on to.' "

What does the phrase "treasure in heaven" conjure up?  How do you think abandoning stuff could bring you ultimate joy?

Let's commit to praying over these truths this week, and asking God to show us what in our lives we are holding onto more tightly than Him.  He is sufficient.

Chapter One Thoughts (Shanti)

I feel I should be completely honest about my initial feelings/thoughts about this book. When Liz suggested it and I read the short description I had this defensive reaction swell up in me. Then while reading the first chapter I had to pray that God would help me to read it from a place of openness and not defensive justification of my current lifestyle. So let me start with what I really liked in the first chapter. I like David Platt's aggressiveness. He is bold about challenging the reader right from the start. Challenging what we have accepted as appropriate lifestlyes and acceptable goals and aspirations. On page 13 he writes in reference to the American Dream: "But do you and I realize what we are doing at this point? We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with. And the danger now is that when we gather in our church building to sing and lift up our hands in worhsip, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves." Ouch! When you frame it like that is caused me to meditate on the idea of self-worship. I also liked his thoughts on the cost of nondiscipleship. "the call to abandon the attachments of this world." And "the price of our nondiscipleship is high for those without Christ. It is high also for the poor of this world." Also the "Call to Treasure" was thought provoking. I think for many Americans, (myself included) we view things, stuff as a huge part of our goals and aspirations in life. We want that dream home, car, job etc, but if asked the question "What would your ideal life look like?" why don't any of us say "to see as many people's lives changed through the power of Christ and to be a light to a dark world?" (Again I'm speaking to myself here). Speaking about the story of the rich young ruler, "Instead he was offering him the satisfaction of eternal treasure. Jesus was saying, "it will be better, not just for the poor, but for you too, when you abandon the stuff you are holding on to." Ok so several things I like. The one thing I didn't like, and this may evolve as I read the book or it may just be conviction, but I felt like the opening tone was a little ungrateful. Let me explain. Here is a pastor of a large "megachurch" who is making a livelihood from preaching the Word in the US and yet it's as if he is looking down his nose at it and glorifying overseas missions and suffering as the gold standard. Now don't get me wrong more mission work needs to happen overseas to reach those who have never heard the name of Jesus. I guess I was just rubbed the wrong way. So that's what I thought about Chapter 1. Looking forward to the rest of the book!!

Operation: Online Book Club

Welcome, Sisters!

This will be a forum for discussion of matters of grace and truth.  As previously decided, our first book to read through together will be Radical: Taking Back your Faith from the American Dream.

Regarding structure, I was thinking one chapter every two weeks would be a good initial target (we can always speed up).  I will list the chapters below, and would love if one of you would sign up for each chapter (to write a blog entry that will initiate discussion in the comments section over the weekend) -- all of you have been invited as authors to this blog.

Chapter 1 Someone Worth Losing Everything For -- Liz
Post by Friday, August 8th

Chapter 2 Too Hungry for Words -- Liz
Post by Friday, August 22nd

Chapter 3 Beginning at the End of Ourselves -- Liz
Post by Friday, September 5th

Chapter 4 The Great Why of God
Post by Friday, September 19th

Chapter 5 The Multiplying Community
Post by Friday, October 3rd

Chapter 6 How much is Enough? -- Shanti
Post by Friday, October 17th

Chapter 7 There is No Plan B -- Marissa
Post by Friday, October 31st

Chapter 8 Living When Dying is Gain
Post by Friday, November 14th

Chapter 9 The Radical Experiment
Post by Friday, November 28th

I hope you will join us on this journey!

Much love always,
Liz