"Radical Together" Book Review

In Radical Together, the follow up to David Platt's extremely successful Radical, Platt seeks to look at the underlying foundation of the message in Radical--the gospel. In some ways, this book looks at the foundation of what makes the church, the church. I believe, with complete honesty, that Radical Together has the potential of transforming the way churches do church.

In six brief chapters, Platt outlines some pretty radical (no pun intended) suggestions that, if understood and applied, would make a huge difference for the church in America. In chapter one, entitled "Tyranny of the Good", Platt suggests that the greatest enemy of the church are actually good things. In chapter two, entitled, "The Gospel Misunderstood", Platt suggests that "the gospel that saves us from work saves us to work." In chapter three, entitled "God is Saying Something", the primary focus is given to God's Word and its effectiveness in ministry. In chapter four, entitled "The Genius of Wrong", the author proposes that "building the right church depends on using all the wrong people. In chapter five, entitled "Our Unmistakable Task," Platt reminds us that Christians are living and longing for the end of the world. Finally, in chapter six, entitled "The God who Exalts God", we are reminded that "we are selfless followers of a self-centered God."

For readers of John Piper or John MacArthur, there is really nothing revolutionary here. However, I believe the effectiveness of this book lies in Platt's plain, forceful writing style. He has a way of communicating truths we are familiar with in new and powerful ways. My personal favorite chapter was chapter four as it reminded me yet again of the power of preaching God's Word clearly. It is a chapter that should be meditated upon by all in ministry.

In conclusion, Radical Together provides an excellent "kick-in-the-pants" for the church in America by reminding us what the gospel is. In some ways, however, this book is also a needed balance to Radical for this book is less focused on what YOU need to do and is more focused on what GOD has already done and is doing. As a result, this book is more focused on orthodoxy (right belief) than orthopraxy (right practice) whereas it seemed Radical was the other way around. This is a great book and one that will surely benefit all who read it.

*Thanks to Multnomah Publishing for providing me a free review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review*