1. Author David Platt was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1979. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia before enrolling in New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary were he would receive his doctorate. After graduating from seminary Platt became the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2014 Platt left his church to become the president of the International Mission Board. David Platt has written many books which include Radical, Radical Together, and Follow Me. 2. Summary In his book, Radical, David Platt calls his readers to give up their pursuit of the American dream and live a life that Christ has called us to. This is a life of taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. He believes the church of America has forgotten what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. In his book he lays out a solid Biblical definition of what …show more content…
it means to follow Jesus and he urges the reader to live a life that Christ has called us to. In the opening chapter of the book David Platt walks through Luke 9. He talks about how we as believers are called to leave everyone, including ones on family for the sake of the gospel. In this chapter Platt also talks about the amount of money churches spend on building compared to missions. In the next Chapter Platt talks about the hunger people in other countries have for the word of God. He also focus on how people are so willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the Gospel. The third chapter deals with the church in america being self dependent and not God dependent. He focuses on the idea that American churches have about handling things on there on without the help of God. He calls the reader to rely on God alone for strength and not ones own self. The next chapter deals with churches not going to the ends of the earth with the gospel. He claims that churches in America are willing to give money but not actually go. In the sixth chapter of the book Platt attacks the prosperity idea that is in America. He calls the church to see the hunger that is going on in the world. He wants people to stop trying to gain the world and starting taking care of the poor. Chapter seven in the book calls people to have a hunger to go each the unreached people in the world. In this chapter Platt gives the number of unreached people in the world, 1.5 billion. He states that we must an urgency to go to these people because without the gospel they are destined for destruction. The next chapter opens the eyes of the reader to the dangers of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Sharing the gospel is not an easy task and it may lead to death, but being murdered for the sake of the gospel is worth it. The book closes with a challenge to the reader to live a radical life style for one year. 3.
Critique Overall, Radical is a very good book. David Platt leaves the reader with a deep desire and awaking to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. One of the biggest strengths of this book is the many illustrations. Each chapter in this book is full of very powerful stories. Those stories serve as an amazing illustration to drive hope each point Platt is trying to make. Platt gives a lot of great information in the book but the stories lay out an amazing example of how this information is used in the line of battle. It gives the reader ideas and also helpful encouragement as they try to live a radical life. Another great part of this book is how much Platt uses the Bible. This is more than an idea that Platt has developed and more than a bunch of cool stories. In this book David Platt lets the word of God speak through his writing. Scripture is a sword that can be used in many different ways such as preaching, but in this book David uses it through writing. If the reader has a problem with what Platt is saying then they have a problem with what the word of God
says. One problem that is seen in this book is David’s idea of everyone going on missions to the ends of the earth. This is a great idea, but it is not possible for all. Many people have limitations that prevent them from being able to go into the rest of the world. I have also seen this book effect people in such a way that they get fired up for interactional missions but they forget about reaching their own city. I agree that we need to go to the ends of the earth with the Gospel but we can not forget our neighbors along the way. Another problem I have with this book is the idea that softball fields and gyms are a bad thing for a church. I grew up in a church with a gym. Because the church I attended had a gym we were able to bring in many kids into the church to play basketball. These basketball games led to us sharing the Gospel with hundreds of kids. Because my church had a gym many people came to know Jesus as there savor. I do think these things, like gyms, can be a bad thing if they are used for the wring things, but if they are being used to share the Gospel I see no wrong in them. 4. Uses for Ministry Radical is a very powerful and moving book. This book is a very good read for American Churches. So many people in America have forgotten what being a true Christ follower is all about. It is easy in the American cultural to get caught up in having nice things but forgetting we are called to live a life of abandonment. So many churches in America are worried about having nice builds and forgetting that there are people dying every day without the gospel. If the church does not start making disciples than it is setting itself up to fail. It is so easy for the church in todays world to forget there is people outside the doors dying without knowing Jesus. I think this book calls for the people of God to leave their comfortable seats and go into the dark places of the world for Jesus. In this book Platt calls the church in America to do this. I think that this book can awaken the hearts of many cold Christians to go and change the world for Christ.
David was a young boy who got beaten everyday. He was very skinny, bony, and was beaten everyday. David wore threadbare clothing, he looked as if he hadn't changed or washed his clothes in months. This was the truth, his mother starved him and abused him. She never washed his clothes to embarrass him. This worked at first when people started making fun of him, but David got used to it. Bullies started beating the scrawny boy up everyday, it became a routine, but he was so frail and weak from being starved he couldn?t fight back. David looked muddled, he had a very terrible physical journey that made him mentally stronger.
The church has a problem. The eternally relevant message with which she has been entrusted no longer readily finds a willing ear. According to Henderson, the solution lies in first understanding how our world thinks and then, beginning where people are at, bring them to see "the functional relevance for their lives of the actual relevance of our message". In high school speech classes, we were taught to "know your audience." As a careless high schooler, I didn't really care what she meant, but it eventually made sense (once I actually decided to think about it). You wouldn't use sock puppets to explain math to accountants; you wouldn't use in-depth power-point presentations to explain math to first graders. With this in mind, why do many Americans still try to talk about Jesus using the methods used thirty years ago? Why do we use Christian "jargon" to explain Christianity to those outside the faith? Henderson contends that modern American Christians must change their approach to sharing the faith in order to fit modern America. The pattern of Henderson's book is straightforward: he examines a particular aspect/mindset/value of modern Americans; he then gives ideas about how a Christian might share Words of Eternal Life with such an American. Henderson's writing is both straightforward and enjoyable. He gets right to the heart of the American mindset, then illustrates it with descriptions from scenes from popular movies, personal anecdotes, jokes, etc. In all, Henderson does the modern Christian a great service in writing "Culture Shift." Jesus told Christians to tell others about him ("Go, therefore, and baptize all nations...") and Henderson can help us along the way through this book
Before his departure to New England, John Winthrop prepared a speech where he preaches of loving thy neighbor and the loss of the individual for the good of the whole. Throughout his speech, he references many biblical verses that emphasize those ideas and presents them to a large assembly of thos...
1. In the book, the father tries to help the son in the beginning but then throughout the book he stops trying to help and listens to the mother. If I had been in this same situation, I would have helped get the child away from his mother because nobody should have to live like that. The father was tired of having to watch his son get abused so eventually he just left and didn’t do anything. David thought that his father would help him but he did not.
The reason I picked this book is because I have always been curious about terrorism. Truthfully, I really didn’t expect the book to take the stance it did, which focused mainly on the religious implications of what influences people to commits acts of terror. I liked the fact that the book takes new angles in approaching the search for truth, by focusing on case studies and performing interviews with the people who have committed terrorist acts. This is like getting the insiders view of the inner workings and frame of mind people have before, during, and after they have unswervingly performed the acts of violence.
Many years later, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams began discussing their beliefs that they were living in an apostasy. That the gospel of Christ as they knew it was not perfect. They both believed wholeheartedly that the gospel would soon be restored to its former glory. They didn’t know how or by whom, but they knew it would happen. 10 years after they died came the restoration of the gospel. And because of
I cannot exactly say what happened, as a theme, in this book because the theme keeps changing, but what I think the author was trying to do was simplify the important facts in the bible so people who don’t understand all of the “thee’s” and “thou’s” will be able to have a better understanding of what it has to offer. In chapter ten, there’s a section called “change the world.” One thing in this section that stuck out in my mind was this, “Charity is like a lever. You can move a large heavy abject with a lever. But you also need a fulcrum. That’s the gospel. The foundation. You need them both. With both, you can move the hearts of men, If the Holy Spirit blesses your efforts. You can move even the world. You can usher in peace that surpasses all understanding.” Faith is the evidence of things unseen. (Hebrews 11:1) this verse was used in a section called “faith and victory.” It brings to mind words said by a man named Billy Grahm. He said, “Have you ever seen God? I’ve never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind but I’ve never seen the wind.” Our faith is in a constant battle with the world. Neither winning nor losing. Some may fall, others may become martyrs but we are constantly getting “reinforcements” from the side we’re fighting against. They are the people who realize that our faith in God is stronger than anything the world can throw at us.
I found the book to be a thought provoking and fascinating narrative, that was easy to get into. Author Beck's story of his spiritual journey made for worthy reading, especially, with his grounded, detailed recollections and comfortable writing style that flows fluently in an easy going conversational tone that invites you to read on. At times gritty, sometimes impassioned, and tangibly emotional this memoir of a young man looking to find his place in the world and finding it through the awakening of his faith and love for Jesus Christ was a worthwhile
While the world is full of Christians, few actually take this commissioning seriously. It is regarded as impractical or even impossible. For one servant of Christ, Billy Graham, impossible does not exist in the realm of the faithful. The Bible teaches that with God all things are possible, and looking at Graham's resume, one would almost be convinced that was true. Graham is quite possibly the greatest preacher of all time. He has preached in 185 countries to over three billion people. That number is more people than even the apostle Paul preached to. He has been personal friend and minister to ten United States presidents. For thirty seven years he has been on the Gallup organization's list of the ten most admired men in the world. His is a ministry that has been heard and felt around the world, beginning in the nineteen fifties. It is this beginning decade that perhaps gives the most insight into the ministry, how and why it started, and how people reacted. It is the strength of the ministry built in this decade that continues to carry Graham's ministry to this day, even while Graham is now slowed by Parkinson's disease. A look at the man in relation to the decade reveals some interesting facets of the national attitude in the fifties, and his reaction to the issues strongly shows what was on the minds of the people. As instrumental as he was in shaping the moral outlook of the era, a look at the issues of the fifties would not be complete without a look at this preacher to the nations, Billy Graham.
Toward the end of his book, Hunter shares a phrase with a similar intent of the four domains of Blanchard and Hodges. He writes: “Thoughts become actions, actions become habits, habits become our character, and our character becomes our destiny.” (Hunter, 1998, p. 167). With this quote in mind, Hunter affirms Blanchard and Hodges’s perspective of servant leadership. Both authors concur that by centering one’s life on the love of Jesus Christ, servant leadership will come naturally. When a leader puts their own selfish needs aside and places their trust in God, they will be empowered to spread Christ’s light to all those they meet. Leading in this way mirrors the way Jesus led because it calls for service as a way of
...nd helpful in my spiritual life but, at times it was hard to follow. The way the book was written seemed too much like a conversation I suppose since it was taken from lectures from a radio station. The many analogies that were carried through the book were very helpful like this one, which portrays a vivid analogy of how Christians see good: " the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it" (p.63).
...er of evangelical history, in which the Pentecostal-charismatic movement is quickly supplanting the fundamentalist-conservative one as the most influential evangelical impulse at work today”(Carpenter 237). The neo-fundamentalist movement, stemming from Graham and Falwell, is just another story in the rise and fall of influential popular movements, as now Pentecostalism has become the fastest growing form of Christianity in the world, with three to four hundred million adherents(Notes 12/3). The pattern in this rise and fall tends to be pieces that overlap and pieces that change and fundamentalism is no different. This was a movement that survived through hardships and adapted to welcome every human being, but it appears that it will remain mainly a twentieth century phenomenon as new forms of the pattern take its’ place.
“Americans are harder working and more productive than ever, yet the rewards of that productivity flow into the pockets of fewer and fewer people (Ketteler, 2006).” This relates to the previous articles in that the wealth are becoming wealthier, while the poor are becoming poorer, and this is something that goes against everything the common good stands for and the teachings of the church for so many years. As we can see over and over again, people become greedy and selfish and only do what is in their best interest, and this goes against the teachings and the actions of Jesus Christ. Father Ketteler writes that Jesus chose the poverty life, to be close to those who are in need most. “Jesus lived out a preferential option in standing on the side of those most in need, physically and spiritually (Ketteler, 2006).” Father Ketteler finishes with saying that when we love one another, nobody is a burden and everything that is produced is shared equally among all men and women, “civilizations of love abandons a mentality in which the poor as individuals and as peoples are considered a burden, as irksome intruders trying to consume what others have produced (Ketteler,
“First, there is the call to be a Christian. Second, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond through service in the world. Third, there is the call that we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives—our immediate duties and responsibilities” (Smith, ...
Over the past year and a half I have felt a tremendous calling placed upon my life to spend my time on Earth pouring everything I am into a Christ centered ministry. When I first arrived in Southern California, from Indiana, I thought I had my whole life figured out. It was my belief that God had already made it completely obvious how I would spend the rest of my life serving his kingdom. I could not have been further away from the truth. God has revealed so much truth and knowledge to me that I am still having trouble wrapping my head around. Through my classes here at Vanguard and the community that surrounds me I have seen and felt God move in amazing ways. However, through the book Jesus is____. written by my favorite pastor, Judah Smith, I have been opened up to new concepts and ideas that have been nothing short of mind blowing and full of Jesus’s truths. While writing this book, Pastor Judah asked himself the question time and time again, “Who is Jesus to me?” He also asks the reader at the beginning of the book, “Who is Jesus to you?” This book challenged me, made me smile, and convicted me. Judah’s love for Jesus is evident. His passion to make Him known is confirmed. The book traces different aspects of what the Bible says about Jesus and who