A Radical Experiment

As promised, I am writing you about this book I recently finished, Radical by David Platt. You can click on the book on the side column where it says "putting in..." I was so encouraged and majorly challenged by his words and life experiences. He writes the book as a wake-up call to a generation that is caught up in the American dream(or the South African dream/21st Century Western dream). There is nothing new in this book that is not in the Bible, where you see repeated stories of people living out the very lifestyle he calls this generation to consider. David shares countless stories from the underground church in various countries and how God has changed his view on the world, himself, family and lifestyle.

Jeff and I have been deeply convicted by much of what David shared through out this book.In South Africa you can see need everywhere, but the answer is not simply giving money to fix the problem. David calls his readers to do something about it. Take care of the widow and the orphan. Don't just send others into the mission field, be one to go. Those you meet will be the richer for it and I guarantee you, God will use it to radically change your world view; He changed mine and now I am in South Africa as a result. People support us to give our time and lives to university students and we feel called to also care for the widow and the orphan. Our world views were freshly challenged again by this book and we found ourselves asking, "what does this mean for us?" The book ends with an experiment for a year. A year to turn your life upside down. A year to get radical in light of what God has done in your life.
So, if you don't want to change anything in your life this year; if you don't want to grow closer to God(or see what this God thing is all about); if you don't want to be deeply challenged in how you spend your time, money, life, etc; then do not pick up Radical. I am warning you, you will not like what he has to say. In fact, one of the members in his church wrote him a letter after he had been sharing this stuff with his congregation for a while saying that he had ruined his life because of this Radical calling. Also, don't pick up the Bible because it says all the same things too and in the clearest and best way possible.

Here are a few excerpts:

I pray that we will be a people who refuse to gorge our spiritual stomachs on the entertaining pleasures of this world, because we have chosen to find our satisfaction in the eternal treasure of his Word.

God delights in using ordinary Christians who come to the end of themselves and choose to trust in his extraordinary provision. He stands ready to allocate his power to all who are radically dependent on Him and radically devoted to making much of Him. (Oh that I would be such a one)

The purpose of the church is to mobilize a people to accomplish a mission.

The great reward of the gospel: God Himself.

So we have embarked on our Radical experiment:
1.Read through the Word of God in a year as a family
2.pray for the world for a year
3. Sacrifice something for a year to meet a need somewhere(don't throw money at it, get involved and see where your gift is going).
4. Go on a missions trip as a family.
5. Be a part of a multiplying community.
These are practicals he sets out. We know it will be anything but easy, but again it's the Holy Spirit who will work these things out in us. Oh the joy and the daily deep surrender.