Discipleship and Following Jesus

One of the main issues in the American churches these day is what it means to be a disciple. Many of the conferences being held and books being published are on about discipleship and how to become a disciple who makes disciples. Among those vocal about discipleship, David Platt is probably the most popularly known because of his books about being a "radical" follower of Jesus. His recent book Follow Me is similar in message to his Radical books, but is more specifically focused on discipleship.

If you've heard Platt speak recently, you're probably familiar with the message of this book. Essentially, it boils down to the idea that many Christians are either being deceived or deceiving themselves when it comes to being a real disciple/follower of Jesus. Many people think they are Christians because they prayed a prayer or were baptized. After that, however, they are not changing their lives to look like Christ. They continue on with their life the way it was before. To become a follower of Christ means that your life is different than it was before.

I believe that this is a message that Christians need to hear. Being a disciple is not only about making the decision to follow Christ, but also about actually following him. Much like in Radical, Platt is not afraid to be brutally honest about how Christians are living and how they should be living. He urges us to follow through with our commitment of being a disciple and live up to the call to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ.

That being said, the majority of this book is brutal honesty and primarily about what we are doing wrong. What he writes is needed, but while reading the the book it seemed like it was written against what is happening and not for what could be happening. There is discussion of what needs to happen in the last few chapters, but it felt out of balance. In his discussion of what we are doing wrong, I believe he is right in calling us to reexamine some of these potentially harmful practices that we have adopted.

Even though it is a bit harsh, Follow Me is still a very good book and gives us a needed reminder that following Christ does not end at baptism. Christ calls us to more than just a decision to accept his forgiveness. He asks us to follow him and tell others about him.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers through netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Should We Be Leading or Following?

In his new book I Am a Follower, Leonard Sweet poses this question with a fairly obvious answer. Early on Sweet argues that we have bought into the myth that to be effective in ministry we need to be leaders. He believes that we should not be trying to be leaders, instead we need to work on being the best followers that we can. In last few decades, the emphasis in ministry is been on how you can be a better leader and how being a better leader will make your ministry better. Sweet, however, thinks that we need to work on being better followers. The life that Jesus called us to was a life of "followership" not a life of leadership. There is only one leader for Christians, that leader is Jesus. We should not be leaders leading Christians, we are followers following Christ and helping other follow him, too.

Sweet breaks down his book by structuring it around Jesus' statement that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. At first, I thought that Sweet was stretching Jesus' words to make this argument, but the more I read the more it made sense to me. You could break down Sweet's basic argument like this: Jesus' followers are called to be just like Jesus. Jesus says that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Therefore, Jesus' followers should be like Jesus pointing to him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We cannot be those things, but we should be living in such a way that we fully embrace and live out the fact that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The book is divided into 4 parts: Introduction, Way, Truth, and Life. In each portion Sweet explains how a Christians needs to be a follower of Christ and not a Leader of people.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone who holds a role of leadership in the church. My one warning is this: Sweet seems to overstate things in the beginning that make you question where his is going. Then a few paragraphs or pages later he rationalizes what he says. So while he argues against leadership, I don't think that he would say there are no "leaders" in the church. There are people who fill the role of leader in the church, but they need to fill it as a fellow humble follower and not as a extremely well-qualified and potentially prideful leader. Read this book, let it challenge you. There are some places that I disagreed with a little, but overall I found that this  book that challenges me not to try to make myself better, but instead to make myself more like Jesus.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

David Platt wants you to take back your faith from the American Dream. American Christians are living under influence of the American dream to have more and better things. Platt, however, wants to call us a different dream, a dream that is Radical. He's not afraid to be upfront about it either.

Platt begins with by questioning the reader's faith. He even says that he wants to show you how, despite your best intentions, have turned away from really following Jesus. Real discipleship (following Jesus) requires something of the disciple, and here in America, we're not giving what is required of us. We've lost sight of Jesus and follow after the American dream. But his question to the reader is whether or not Jesus is really worth it. Jesus calls us to come and die, to abandon our attachments to the things of this world, and turn our lives over to Christ. Platt argues to bring the reader back to that point.

At times this can be a hard book to read, and I think it is harder for those who lived longer in pursuit of the American dream. Platt describes some of his encounters with church leaders and Christians who have told him that they are glad that he has gone into the inner city and around the world so that they didn't have to. This seems extreme, but there are many of us who, although we won't say it, live like this. We want others to go around the world and into the tough places with the good news so that we don't have to. That's not, however, the call of Christian discipleship. Platt writes Radical to remind us that the dream of God is not two cars, three children, and a house with a picket fence, but instead the dream of God is for all people to hear his gospel of love and salvation. And this dream does not just happen, it happens because God's people answer the call of to go and preach the good news.

This is one of two books I have read by David Platt. He writes passionately and honestly. Both of these make his books interesting and convicting. His call is an heartfelt and honest call to get off our couch, turn off the TV, and go do something for God. Radical has changed my view of what a Christian does and how they live. There were times when I got frustrated and thought that he was just another person guilting me into being a missionary, but in his conclusion he makes attainable goals for any person. He doesn't ask you to move out of the country, but instead to give at least a week of your time outside your culture and to give part of your offering to spread the gospel. I would recommend this to anyone. It's an easy read and hopefully it will change the way you live your life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah's book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Learning to be Radical Together

David Platt has become known recently for his book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. In Radical, Platt writes how that we need to forget the American Dream and remember what God is calling his people to do. God is calling his people to be radical. Now, he is writing about how to be Radical Together. If you've read radical you know that life is not about the nicer car, the nicer house, or the 6 figure salary, it's about doing whatever we can to spread the gospel, and sometimes that looks a bit radical. In Radical Together, Platt writes about how we need to be working together in churches and small groups to be radical for God's mission. The gospel will not be spread if people are not willing to do radical things and we do them as the church. God never called us to live this life alone and he does not want us to help other alone either.

It's only appropriate that I would review this book on the Thursday leading up to Easter. Today is Maundy Thursday. Maundy is related to the word Mandate and is connected to the new command (or mandate) that Jesus gives to his disciples in John 13:34. Radical Together follows that command to love. Platt is calling us to do whatever it takes to show the love of God to people around the world who need help. Just as in Radical, he calls his readers to the radical experiment: To pray for the entire world, to read through the entire Word, to commit our lives to multiplying community, to sacrifice our money for a specific purpose and to give our time in another context.

While I am one to get frustrated by books that seem like they would be just another guilt trip about being a rich american, Radical Together is a great book with a great message. I do believe that this is a book that American churches need to read and implement. Even if the church only did the minimal of what Platt asks in the radical experiment, the world would be a better place. I appreciate what Platt writes in this book and hope that his words are effective in convincing more of the church to rise up and be the church.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”