Review of "Radical Together"

Just as in Radical, David’s first book, Radical Together (RT) is 6 chapters that will drive every pastor, church leader, and even church-goer to consider the Christian journey, and in this case the collective journey of the church, as the Bible designed it instead of how the American dream has reshaped it.

Chapter 1: “Tyranny of the Good” – Platt combats the present–Church philosophy that busyness equals godliness by recognizing that within the organization of the church there are a plethora of “good” options to keep oneself busy but very few that lead a person to embrace why the church exists – to make disciples. Therefore, it is essential to put everything up for sacrifice in order to achieve the God-ordained mission of the church.

Chapter 2: “The Gospel Misunderstood” – Many faithful church attendees live out their Christian life attached to the church pew under the guise that they are entering heaven on the wings of grace of which works plays no part. Platt reaffirms the God’s sole plan of grace, but drives the principle that the way grace is completely embraced is when it is lived out in works that accomplish the will of God. RT gives numerous examples of how the Church of Brook Hills, the church Platt Pastors in Birmingham, is living out what they learn from scripture.

Chapter 3: “God is Saying Something” – In this chapter Platt elevates the role of the Bible within the church due to recent trends within evangelicalism to promote other forms of connecting with God under the belief that scripture has a challenge to connect with present culture. But RT practically leads you to “trust the word” and in so doing it will “unleash the potential of God’s people in the world.” And when this occurs the church relies on the infinite power of scripture instead of the abilities of the church leadership.

Chapter 4: “The Genius of Wrong” - This chapter puts the frequent used model of “just get’em here and the pastor will do the rest” on its head by pointing out the exponential affect the church can have when people are trained to engage their community and disciple those who are around them. Platt (as does scripture) places the responsibility of discipleship upon all Christians and not just those who are deemed professional.

Chapter 5: “Our Unmistakable Task” – The world is the focus. Responding from his first assignment as Pastor of Brook Hills to identify the target in to community, Platt shows how the focus must be the world (while not ignoring the community). To this end the church must participate in all forms of reaching the world’s people groups

Chapter 6: “The God Who Exalts God” – “We are to be selfless followers of a self-centered God. But the problem is that we often reverse this in the church. We become self-centered followers of a selfless God.” (that about says it all.)

I intend to use the Small-Group Discussion Guide located in the back of the book to guide my church and others to evaluate how well we are aligned to the biblical principles Platt puts forth in Radical Together.

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"

A Life Lesson without the Training Wheels

A couple of months ago my daughter Baleigh developed a resolve to ride her bike without training wheels. She had put off this feat until she polled her class and learned she was one of the few who hadn't embraced the world of 2-wheeling. Being the class-loving instructional guy i am, I gave her a verbal lesson on everything she needed to know in order to know how to go w/o training wheels; balance, speed, safety, band-aids. I figured since I enjoyed teaching and her being a good listener this would be a piece of cake. Boy was i wrong. Before I knew it i found myself in the grass of our backyard getting my cardio exercise holding onto her seat and she launched out. Phrases such as, "Always keep your eye on where you want to go; and,"Don't Stop peddling" were coming from my mouth. Before I knew it she had gone solo a whopping 5 feet, and I needed a break. On Day 2 I reverted back to oral instruction but quickly learned that was not going to cut it. So, instead of running behind her a few steps, I held on for several laps around the yard and then quietly let go while I kept cheer-leading for her to keep peddling (and don't run into your brother).

As I was feeling like Forest Gump running across America, a discipleship lesson began to flood through my mind. All too often churches can be guilty of meeting people with a deep resolve to grow in their faith but often the next step is to just put them in a class to hear oral instruction from those who are already experiencing faith on two wheels. But such a process isn't good enough (and was not what Jesus modeled). I don't believe people are looking for another class to attend; rather, i believe people desire someone who has been where they are to run behind them throughout life in order for them to strengthen their walk (or ride) through this world.

People need those who will run behind them encouraging, instructing, adjusting, and reassuring. Is it exhausting work, yes. But whoever said coming alongside someone else was easy.

So if you have ever had the desire to grow in your faith but found yourself in a classroom still needing training wheels, I'm sorry. As a pastor, we should have done better. We must do better. I'll run with you.

FYI: by the end of day 3 Baleigh was riding around the block (w/o training wheels).

Happy Monday,
BNall

Book Review: If God is Good (Randy Alcorn)

I chose this book to review because of the enormous amount of questions continually asked me from the voices of the hurting who are trying to reconcile evil and suffering while embracing a God often singularly defined by love. When I first opened the box I must admit that I was overwhelmed by the size of Randy Alcorn’s work (495 pages, 11 sections, and 45 chapters); however, what I unearthed as I journeyed through the pages was biblically-grounded answers to questions thought by everyone but generally only voiced by those who are the victims of evil or who find themselves in the pit of suffering.

If God is Good begins with the origin of evil and suffering and defines the terms under a biblically-centered framework (sections 1-2). Randy Alcorn takes the time to provide adequate rationale as to how other worldviews (a framework of thinking) breakdown when trying to grapple with evil and suffering and God (sections 3-4). In addressing conversations with those who struggle to mention God and evil and suffering in the same sentence, Alcorn provides logical explanations as to how a loving God who has given free will upon His creation must allow the same humanity to choose evil and suffering because that same freedom of choice also leads humanity to choose the greater good which freely express love to others and toward Himself; therefore, without that freedom humanity would be reduced to puppets who are emotionless, having with a limited view of great since there is no evil to measure against. And despite our freedoms, both good and bad, God still works to bring about what is best even though it does not occur within our time frame (sections 5-8). It is under this explanation of God working to bring about perfect good and evil that Alcorn describes how Heaven and Hell help to perfectly satisfy the demands for justice or award that humanity so quickly cries out for and God’s holiness demands as a “good” God (section 7). Sections 9-10 (chapters 34-45) provide a framework for dealing with those circumstances where answers are generally slow to come (e.g. pointless suffering, children as victims) and while using such circumstances to bring glory to God, to develop the character of the individual, and even to bless others. In these final sections, as throughout the entire text, Alcorn is honest about what cannot be known about evil and suffering in light of what God has revealed in the Bible and suggests that the best response is to trust the God whose understanding of circumstances infinitely exceeds our finite perception of reality.

I highly recommend If God is God for those heading into the storms of life, in the middle of a storm, or just coming out of one (I guess that is pretty much everyone).

For His Fame,

Brian

["I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"]

Buy it today: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com