A Challenge to American
Christians
David
Platt in his two books Radical: Taking
Back Your Faith from the American Dream and
Radical Together: Unleashing
the People of God for the Purpose of God
has handed down a challenge to both individual
Christians and the Christian church. The first
book is directed mostly to individual Christians
and the second one is directed to the church as
a whole.
 Platt
asked Christians to abandon their county-club
attitude (my words not his) and actually live
their lives much like Jesus said his followers
would live. That is quite a challenge when one
considers the prevailing state of culture. Instead
of daily news about graft, corruption and greed,
we would see stories of people using their money
to further the work of Jesus rather than building
mansions that could easily accommodate twenty
people for a family of three. The response to
this may be, “But we do see such stories.”
Then we need to see many many more.
Christians may not agree with Platt's take on
the church, but it is hard to argue with the man
since he bases all his recommendations on passages
from the Bible. As Christians we may claim that
we are not influenced by this me-me attitude.
One author said ninety percent of the people buy
things that don't want, with money they don't
have, to impress people they don't like. Do we
really need televisions screen big as the same
of one wall in our house? Or do we buy them because
our neighbor has one? It is not easy to give up
the luxuries and comforts that we have come to
enjoy, but that is exactly what Jesus, not asked
of us, but demanded.
 Radical
Together: Unleashing the People of God
for the Purpose of God deals with way the church
uses its resources. Many churches spend a great
deal on building magnificent building to house
the comfort-loving flock. One must ask, “Who
are they trying to impress?” Other churches,
the general public? God? We know that the church
can't impress God. He said the best we could do
would be like rags to him. So Platt and his members
have changed the way they use their resources
and encouraged other Christian churches to do
the same. For those who asked the question, “Yes,
but what is wrong with the programs we have now,”
he tells us there is nothing wrong with them.
It is just that they are not the best way to accomplish
the goal of gathering more people into God's army.
Platt spends a great deal of space on the importance
of missionary work to other countries when some
people have never been exposed to the word of
God. He uses the biblical message that all people
will hear the word of God and help responsible
for its teaching. That argument is hard to disagree
with, but there is much of God's work yet to be
done right here in our own country—let's
pray that we can accomplish both.
After reading these two books, readers will be
forced to look at churches and their work in a
different light and wondering if they are doing
what Jesus would do.
|
