A Review: "The Radical Question & A Radical Idea" by David Platt

"The Radical Question & A Radical Idea" by David Platt is a two-in-one book combination. The first book, "The Radical Question" appears to be a summary of some key concepts from his original book "Radical". The second book, "A Radical Idea", appears to follow the same vein and sum up key points from the book "Radical Together".

"The Radical Question" asks readers to consider what Jesus is worth to us. He challenges us to live differently, to pursue a true Christianity instead of simply a Christian spin on the American dream. As he talks about how underground house churches often risk everything, including their very lives, for the chance to gather together and worship Christ, he ponders "I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we in America have lost touch with what is essential, radical--even dangerous--about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable" (p. 8). Having read the original book, "Radical" about a year and a half ago, I found this section to be a great reminder and summary of the challenges and questions from the original.

"A Radical Idea" addresses the question of "How can we in the church best unleash the people of God in the Spirit of God with the Word of God for the Glory of God in the world?" (p. 63). Platt looks at how the church can stand together, united to live for a radical purpose of living out a more biblical gospel. He questions our American desire to build big buildings and have top-notch programs instead of prioritizing getting the gospel to people who desperately need it and channeling greater amounts of funding toward things with a more far-reaching, eternal impact. He discusses the need to invest more in the people of the church, thereby creating disciples, instead of investing more in programs.

Overall, the message of both books is a great one. He has a great message that the American church desperately needs to hear and ultimately begin to live out on a much greater scale. This little book would be a great one for someone who hasn't yet read either "Radical" or "Radical Together". But it does seem a bit overkill to put out two short little summaries instead of encouraging people to read the longer volumes that are packed with far more substance. Content-wise, the book is fantastic. But for me personally, I'm going to stick with the original books and skip these little summaries.

(I’ve received this complimentary book from Waterbrook-Multnomah through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required and the views expressed in my review are strictly my own.)