Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God

by David Platt

Take the next step. From radical followers of Christ to radical communities of faith.

In Radical, David Platt’s plea for Christians to take back their faith from the American Dream resonated with readers everywhere, and the book quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Now in Radical Together, the author broadens his call, challenging us to unite around a gospel-centered vision.

How, he asks, might such a vision reshape our priorities as the body of Christ? How might well-intentioned Christians actually prevent God’s people from accomplishing God’s purpose? And, how can we best unleash the people of God in the church to carry out the purpose of God in the world?

Writing to everyone who desires to make an impact for God’s glory—whether you are an involved member, a leader, or a pastor—Dr. Platt shares six foundational ideas that fuel radical obedience among Christians in the church. With compelling Bible teaching and inspiring stories from around the world, he will help you apply the revolutionary claims and commands of Christ to your community of faith in fresh, practical ways.

“I love Radical Together! Please read it. God is using David Platt to lead his church into much-needed reform.… I don’t know of a church leader that I trust more.”
—Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love

“I have the privilege of knowing David Platt, and I assure you that his life and ministry commend what he has written here. Read this book. Like the right medicine, it may be more helpful than comfortable. In fact, my prayer is that it may be an explosion, shifting many churches from centering wrongly on ourselves to centering rightly on Christ and his agenda for us—and for his world.”
— Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Faith, Christianity, Church, Theology

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

DAVID PLATT serves as Lead Pastor at McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C. He is the founder and chairman of Radical (Inc.), an international ministry that serves the church for the cause of Christ—to glorify God by making disciples and multiplying churches among all nations. Resources from David Platt and Radical can be found at radical.net.

Books by David Platt include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, and Something Needs to Change, as well as the following volumes in the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series: Exalting Jesus in Matthew, Exalting Jesus in James, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, and Exalting Jesus in Galatians.

David Platt received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Along with his wife and four children, he lives in the Washington D.C. metro area.

Connect with David on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Reviews

[Krista Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this before I read "Radical" but it didn't really matter - much of what Platt espouses here I've been thinking and/or reading about for years. To be viable, churches really must change. I'm not sure the way my denomination is heading is the right direction, for a number of reasons, but Platt (33 years old - check out his videos) adds more fuel to the fire. For example: we really do need to look at what and how we do things and then decide what is truly necessary, what needs to change, what needs to go and not be afraid to let go of things. In all ways, the church needs to honor God and do His will, not make the people who come to church necessarily feel better about themselves. This will require sacrifice - something many American Christians have not been encouraged to do nor has it really come up in conversation because honestly, change can be hard, frightening, and full of conflicts. For example, why are we building larger and more luxurious churches when so many in the world are suffering and/or have never heard of God?

Platt's words are presented very carefully and logically and always without any sense of his own importance (as opposed to most other popular evangelical leaders - the fact that his face does not show up on the book is indicative to his sensitivity that this is not about him.) But his words are somewhat like being drenched with a large bucket of ice-cold water. "...The assumption is that God is somehow obligated to bless the plans we create. Yet no where in Scripture has God promised to bless my plans or any one else's in the church, no matter how innovative or creative they may be. Neither has God promised to bless us based solely on our motives. Sure, we are supposed to do everything for the glory of God, but that doesn't mean everything we do for his glory is assured of his blessing...There is only one thing God has pormied to bless, and that is his plan."

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was honest and to the point. His ideals for radical living for church is the following.
1) One of the worst enemies of the Christians can be good things in the church.
2.) The gospel that saves us from work saves us to work
3.) The Word does the work.
4.) Building the right church depends on using all the wrong people.(my favorite)
5.) We are living, and longing for the end of the world
6.) We are selfless followers of a self-centered God.

Does Platt make this easy, no but it takes a commitment to bringing Glory to God. It takes prayer. Fundamental prayer not a supplemental prayer. "You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth". It takes a self-denial. It takes a people who are desperate for the Spirit of God. It takes a believe that says and lives that God's Word is true. His Word says the gospel will advance thru persecution and sufferng and to say that I am good with that. It takes a church to realize that there is no one that seeks God, so why are we calling ourselves seeker friendly churches. God is doing the seeking. We need to be faithful that when a unbeliever comes into a worship gathering He will be convinced by all (he is hearing) that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. That he will fall down and worship God exclaiming..."God is really among you!. When that happens we are being sensitive to the right seeker!

There is so much gold in a little book that will at least get you thinking about yourself, your church and what you need to change.

[Barb Terpstra · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoyed "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream" as I did, then this book is for you. Once again, Platt does not allow you to become complacent in your walk with God. He challenges us to really follow the faith practices that Jesus modeled for us while here on earth.

He reminds us: "Don't sit in a classroom; share your lives. Donation build extravagant places; build extraordinary people. Make disciples who will make disciples who will make disciples, and together multiply this gospel to all peoples."

Platt has a passion for igniting people to really take the Bible and God's message seriously. He uses God's word to convict us of the message of God (go and make disciples) and bring it to all people. He brought to my attention a verse that I had not considered before. Matthew 24:14 "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Platt explains that the original word for "nations" in the New Testament is "ethne" and refers to all the ethnic peoples of the world. What Jesus is telling us in the Bible is that "the end of the age will come when people from every single ethnic group have come to Christ." Platt tells us there are eleven thousand people groups in the world and more than six thousand of them are still "unreached". This is an awesome responsibility that God has given us, and one that I personally need to grow in.

In the beginning of the book, Platt shares a story of a man who had spent most of his adult life involved in programs and serving on committees in his church. When he began to become active in discipling and leading others to God he realized that "I have spent my life doing all the stuff in the church that I thought I was supposed to do. But I'm realizing that I have missed the most important thing: making disciples". Isn't that just true for most of us? We do all the "right things" from a world point of view, but are we really following God's commandment to "make disciples".

This book will make yourself wonder - am I fully surrendered to God. It will make you ask - God, what do you want me to do.

[Kerry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had finished reading David Platt's first book "Radical" a few weeks ago, and was amazed at how little of substance the book had. And since I had the sequel, "Radical Together", I thought I would go ahead and read it too. Certainly it would flesh out more of what Platt was trying to say in the first book with more detail, I thought. Alas, such is not the case. Every once in awhile Platt says some good things. But for the most part, this book, like its predecessor, is fairly vapid. Adoption, which he promotes, is a great thing. Missions is important. But there is little actual Scriptural exegesis, and almost no theology to speak of. He goes on and on about the importance of making disciples. But I have yet to figure out from him what we are supposed to be teaching those disciples, other than that they are supposed to then go make disciples too. Almost absent is any of the teaching actually found in Scripture.

I respect the way Platt has devoted himself to missions work, teaching, and preaching. He has obviously been diligent in his service for God. And maybe the place to find any substantial teaching would be in his sermons and the classes on Scripture he teaches. But with the lack of clear thought I see in his books, I'm not too hopeful. I can't for the life of me understand why some Reformed people have saddled up next to him the way they have. Maybe there's more that I'm not seeing. As far as his books go, there's just nothing there.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never reviewed Radical because there were too many thoughts and no way to get them on paper (or I guess I should say screen). But I just finished his book Radical Together which takes the themes of Radical and shows how to live them out in the context of the church. Great thoughts (really because they are from Jesus, he just spells them out neatly) and if really taken into practice could totally change our lives (but isn't that the point of being a new creation and making disciples of all nations) and our churches.
Put everything on the table to find the best (what's commanded) and examine the just good.
Disciples should do the work of evangelizing while the church should equip (many today have it the opposite).
Our money should reflect Christ's heart for the poor and oppressed (he talked a lot about downsizing, intentionally moving, adopting etc, along with Jen Hatmaker stuff our generation is preaching)
The church should reach their city with their eyes on the ends of the world.
Among others, and its a quick read and short book, so I recommend it!

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A smaller version of Radical, but packed with a large punch... If you read Radical, then this book is a must... Now where to from here...

[Keri Zumbahlen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally read “Radical” and felt overwhelmed with urgency and felt a little resentment because I definitely felt like I read it coming from a heart of obligation rather than love for the lost. “Radical Together” pushed me much more to a heart of compassion by seeing God’s love in it through His design for the church and community. “We live sacrificially, not because we feel guilty, but because we have been loved greatly and now find satisfaction in sacrificial love for others.”
Reading this should make you rethink the design of the modern day church. The church should exist to equip believers to bring people to Jesus all week long. And we don’t need to do anything to make God more appealing to the masses. When did church become a place for entertainment? And it’s not up to us to bring in the numbers. The Holy Spirit does that. And He does it well. “The Word is sufficient to hold the attention of God’s people and satisfying enough to capture their affection.” —this hit me hard. At least personally, I tend to put too much effort in planning rather than letting the Holy Spirit lead and letting the Word captivate people with the true character of God. Let’s just read together & pray together & talk about Jesus together & then go do what He says. He faithfully honors that expectant obedience. We should wake up every day eager to hear more from God. And with a group of people living like this, “we find ourselves engulfed in a community that finds deep and abiding pleasure in denial of self and dependence on God.” And let me tell ya, this kinda living truly is beautiful. It’s almost like He designed us to live this way??
Overall, would recommend for the way this book made me think about the way I live and if I’m truly living a life where I sacrifice myself daily and become more and more dependent on the Lord to move.

[Elliana Mortellaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for church leaders. What would happen if the church’s main priority was to glorify God? Then our vision would shift to God’s vision and the church would be radically different. Convicting and a vital call to action we must heed.

[Alex Ponce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente continuación del primer libro Radical.

El autor nos expone la manera en cómo ser un pueblo radical.

Muy recomendado.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Platt came basically out of nowhere with his first book, the New York Times Best-Selling Radical. His themes of abandonment to Christ and calls for serving God is any ways possible connected with people across most demarcations we could use to describe them. As many people’s “American Dream” (i.e. 401k, large home, etc.) crumbled around them, the call to a larger purpose that rejected living for those things seemed to resonate with many.

Now, Platt has followed up that book with Radical Together, intended to help people live out the vision cast in Radical within the context of the church. What does it look like for a congregation to really be “radical”? How can church leaders guide their people in serving others? What does it really look like to live a life of all-out relinquishment of self and submission to God’s call on our lives?

I hadn’t heard of Platt before his first book, but I gave a very positive review to Radical (it actually ended up being quoted in the reviews section at the front of this book). I was motivated by Radical to re-examine my life, values, and goals for what I wanted my life to look like. I enjoyed the book, operating on what I’ll call “the assumption of the gospel.” I know that I’m saved by faith alone by grace alone by the work of Christ alone and that nothing I do for God earns me anything. I filtered everything said in the book through that lens. It wasn’t until my wife read the book that I noticed how much of what Platt said could be taken, and how it could feel so burdensome to people. It can sound like works-righteousness, like you can never measure up, be “radical” enough, and that God is continually disappointed by your life and your ability to live a blessed life while others perish from lack.

Platt doesn’t believe that. But I do think he assumed others knew that when writing Radical at times. I assumed that. I think lots of churches assume the gospel a lot. The result is sermons that provide numerous practical ways to serve God and/or live moral lives, but never mention the imputed righteousness of Christ the enables us to serve. People might feel motivated to obey, but when they fail (as we will), they feel guilty. That’s not the gospel.

With this in mind, I was so happy to see Platt give a full chapter to “The Gospel Misunderstood” where he explicitly writes to people who read Radical and came away with a low-level guilt that condemned and paralyzed them. He makes it clear that Christ saves us from work and to work. As he states, only Jesus was “radical enough.” He gets the indicatives and the imperatives right and explicit here. We serve in response to grace and salvation, not to earn it. This is vital and without it, everything else said in the book would just be more weight around weary sinners’ necks. With it, we can be empowered to live lives that glorify God and serve others in response to the grace of Christ.

Like Radical, Radical Together is full of stories from Platt’s church (and others who have shared stories in response to the first book) of people responding to the gospel by doing amazing things for God. He lays the groundwork for discussions within churches by simply asking questions about budgets, programs, missions trips, etc. He doesn’t condemn many things churches do, he just points out that we need to be willing to ask the questions. Is that program really the best use of the resources God has provided? It might be, but are you willing to seek God’s answer?

In many ways, Radical Together is very similar to the first book, just taking a more macro view. I think Platt learned from the feedback he received and didn’t assume the gospel this time around. This book is a great resource for church leaders looking to glorify God with their churches, and it’s a must read for anyone who came away from Radical feeling condemned and not inspired. Platt is a fantastic, humble, gospel-driven, young pastor who is still learning and is a much needed voice in American evangelicalism today.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine two churches. The first is seeker-sensitve.
Newcomers are welcomed at the door and provided with a latte and croissants. They settle down in a large auditorium, astounded by the hundreds if not thousands of others who have joined them. Their children are taken care of and entertained in an adjoining room. They listen to a professional band play amazing music accompanied by sensational graphics on HD screens around the auditorium. There are no obvious Christian symbols on display, no cross or crucifix, no stained glass windows, no Bibles. It could be any theatre in any town. The pastor then stands up and gives an excellent and inspiring talk again accompanied with amazing projected graphics on the screens.

The second church is also seeker-sensitive.
But for this church it's a different seeker. This seeker is the one one who seeks worshippers (Jn 4:23). There is very little entertainment, but what takes place is worship and praise to the God who is the creator of all things, the music may not be note perfect, but there is honesty, integrity and sincerity in the singing. This church is attempting to show people the love, justice, holiness, grace and character of God - no gimmicks.

In which place is God most glorified? How can we be radical together and not succumb to the American dream? That is the question that David Platt asks in this book. Platt's previous book Radical was a bestseller. This book takes shows the next step - it provides ideas and examples of how we can be radical together.

It is a challenging if not uncomfortable read. It will challenge you to consider how the radical impact of the gospel affects church life. Platt is refreshingly iconoclastic. Here he wants to consider what could happen if 'we apply the revolutionary claims and commands of Christ to our communities of faith'.

He has six key ideas:

1. The good things of church can become the enemy of the best - programmes, as good as they are, may not be the best thing for a church.
2. The gospel saves us from work so that we can work. We don't earn God's acceptance.
3. The Word does the work - the Bible is our guide and motivation. Living according to God's word will mean making big changes.
4. Building the right church depends on using the wrong people - God is interested in people. Dedication to church programs is not the same as 'devotion to kingdom purposes'. The issue is not performance in church, it is not professionalism but as he puts it 'Performance has nothing to do with it. People have everything to do with it'.
5. We are living and longing for the end of the world - by this he means that we need to take the gospel to the ends of the earth (Mt 24:14 )
6. We are selfless followers of a self-centred God. All this is done not because God needs us - God is self-sufficient, he needs no ones help - but he wants to involve us because he loves us.

These he claims are radical claims. By following these we can be 'radical together'. I was particularly pleased to see the emphasis on the self-sufficiency of God; otherwise the book can become yet another programme to follow, something more for us to do. But at essence what Platt is calling for is for each of us, for the churches, to seek what God call us to do and to do it - and that my be very different from what his church at Brook Hills, Alabama, or our prevailing culture call us to do.

He provides some concrete examples which his congregation in have followed. These include reducing church budgets so that more money can go to mission, lifestyles rearranged, downsizing, a large adoption programme in the church and reallocating resources.

One needn't agree with all that Platt is advocating, but it makes for an interesting read. It will challenge each one of us and each congregation to think what can we do to make sure that we are being sensitive to the right seeker. It is a message that the rugged individualism of evangelicalism needs to hear.

[Dara Harvey · Rating 1 out of 5]

A failed attempt to clarify Radical. Another reviewer put it this way: "Platt has not learned from his earlier missteps. He is not teachable." I am inclined to agree.

I was a member of Brook Hills during the Radical Experiment. I was relatively new to my faith then. Like many people at Brook Hills, I made the mistake of believing every word David said, as if it came straight from the Bible. I will never make that mistake again. After 4+ years of trying to be "Radical," my faith had changed into nothing but a tired to-do list of good works. It has taken many years to untangle from that, and finally begin growing in Christ again.

David has heard concerns from people like me, and took them to heart - or so I thought. In Radical Together, he attempts to address these problems. He describes "Ashley," a hypothetical person representing many who struggled with Radical: "She wants to please God, and she works hard at putting Christianity into action. Yet she never feels as if she has done enough, and she is never sure of her salvation. Trying to live out the Gospel is wearing Ashley out.... I get frightened when I think about Radical in Ashley's hands." So at first it sounds like David finally gets the problem. Not everyone responds to Radical the same way - some feel God teaching them through it. Many, however, feel pushed into endless works to earn (or keep) their salvation.

But despite this nod to "Ashley," Radical Together ultimately reiterates the same problems as Radical: in one paragraph David says only Jesus can be Radical. If he'd stopped there, I would give this book 5 stars. But in the very next section, he falls right back into his previous rhetoric: "the same Gospel that saves us FROM work, saves us TO work."

That sounds great on paper, but what does it look like in real life? He never really explains. Instead, he describes a foster program he started at Brook Hills, where people trained to become foster parents based on James 1:27. We were close friends with a couple who signed on to foster a young child. They didn't have kids yet, and hoped to get a preschooler or baby. Instead, they were assigned a 12-year-old with major emotional and developmental problems. Within a year, the child was in a rehabilitative home, and the couple was divorced.

David was this couple's pastor. And yet, I'm honestly not sure if he's even aware of what happened to them. I don't blame him personally for the divorce, but I have a major problem with his approach in Radical Together. He jovially describes his discussion with a rep from Alabama DHR about the foster program: "I didn't decide to do this. God decided this was important for his people. And he is the one who is compelling us to participate." Really? Because I never felt compelled to foster a child. What I did see was marriages (more than one) end in divorce over unrepentant adultery during Radical, and hundreds of others leave in protest because of Radical's exhausting and impossible standard.

Radical Together, like Radical, exists in a world that does not resemble reality for many Christians. It does nothing to address the very real despair many people have felt as a result of the Radical Experiment at Brook Hills. David pays lip service to these problems, but he ultimately falls right back into the same rhetoric that "if you don't adopt or foster kids, go on overseas missions every year, downsize your home/car, etc., you're not a Christian."

Beware of this book.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Radical Together is a helpful follow up to Platt’s 2009 bombshell Radical. Perhaps ‘toned down’ isn’t quite the way to describe the book, but certainly it is more nuanced and prescriptive than the original. In particular Platt goes out of his way to right two misperceptions that could result from a reading of his first book: that the radical call is an individualistic call, and that we are saved by our radicalness (for wont of a better word), not saved to radicalness. Platt does a good job of righting both of those problematic readings. The second issue is handled particularly adeptly in his second chapter where he gives us two parishioners – one predisposed toward legalism and the other toward liberty – and pastorally communicates his concern for both. It is a very helpful corrective.

I do remain concerned about the impact Platt can have on a significant chunk of Christian readership. Despite the second chapter, there remains an edge in Platt that can be problematic. It seems Platt has a fairly uniform audience in mind as he writes. It’s the kind of audience that occupied the mega-church he became pastor at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. That is, a huge church with top tier facilities and large programs in a heavily Christianized area. Having grown up in a mega-church in a moderately Christianized area, I resonate with his message to the average person in this group. But the problem is that Platt tends to universalize this audience as THE American Christian audience. Not only do I think that’s not accurate, I think it can cause some real problems for churchgoers who go to small churches or who struggle with legalism and grace or who are challenged daily with judgmentalism. In the past six months I've had two lengthy pastoral conversations with congregants who struggled with the guilt they felt upon reading Platt. While all would do well to have their consciences pricked by Platt, there remains a danger that what occurs is a prick that leads to repentance and godliness and not an overwhelming burden that leads to legalism or depression.

Finally, even though I understand it isn't Platt's project, I wish he would provide more space for those who would be called to radical lives in much more mundane ways -- remaining in the marketplace and corporate world and living out the gospel powerfully, but perhaps at times subtly, in that context.

All of this said, I am grateful for Platt and his prophetic voice. I was pricked at many points and need the voices of humble and searching men and women like Platt in my life.

[AddyF · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read "Radical," and, to be honest, I wouldn't have chosen to read this one either if it hadn't been an assignment for the discussion group I'm in. I balk at the idea of being "radical," because I fear the danger of being out of balance, of letting a book call me into something God isn't calling me into. Nevertheless, I think this was a good book, and I think, for the most part, the author kept things in balance. The book could've just as well been called "Intentional Together" and I think the message would've been the same--though the book probably wouldn't have sold as many copies. I love the idea in chapter 4 that "building the right church depends on using all the wrong people." I think it's extremely important to evaluate church ministries to determine whether they are really fulfilling the goals of our mission. I loved the chapter on international missions and the idea of focusing more on "the ends of the earth" and the most unreached areas of the world.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't imagine being able to read this book without starting to examine parts of your life - and service and giving and location - with an eye toward change. My husband is reading the original Radical. I'm eager to see what we might change as we come out on the other side.

Sometimes I resent the comfort I've been born into. I long to be challenged, forced to rely on God in a deeper way than I have before. I feel like there's great risk in even thinking that, much less writing it. But I can't help feeling like there's more out there for us. Maybe the questions Radical asks will take us a few steps further down the path.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will challenge you to think deeply about how we worship and follow God. It created an excitement in me because of his honestly and truth that he expressed showing the reader that we need to shake up our traditional and comfortable forms of the church and realize whats truly important. It might make you uncomfortable because his ideas make sense, yet often that's not how we are truly living.

[Cory St. Esprit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Platt-like. A great message with a great heart behind it. Sadly, if you've read enough Platt, there is nothing mind-blowing or Earth-shattering as far as "new information," yet the message of worldly reconciliation and Gospel-driven mission to the Earth shouldn't be anything short of mind-blowing and Earth-shattering.

[John Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure there's a book I've anticipated more than this one in the last year... and it was well worth the wait! David Platt's first book, Radical , brought into focus the incompatibility of the Christian life with the American dream, and has had a huge impact on Christians — particularly those in my generation. Many readers of that first book have begun to live lives of radical obedience to Christ, devoting themselves to prayer, reading God's Word, and spending their time and resources serving others at home and abroad. Many of these readers' stories are shared in this second book.

But one person being radical will not ultimately accomplish much. To see real change come in this world requires like-minded Christians to band together in local churches, with each person contributing their talents, resources, and energy to the cause of Christ as part of a unified body. What Radical did for individual Christians, Radical Together aims to do for churches. I believe it will succeed!

In the first chapter, called "The Tyranny of the Good", Platt urges churches to re-examine the use of their resources, facilities, and time. Most churches, he says, are not investing themselves in worthless, unfruitful, or unbiblical pursuits. Rather, they are held captive by the "tyranny of the good", spending themselves on labors that are good... but not necessarily best for advancing God's Kingdom purposes. Therefore, churches should "put everything on the table", reconsidering before God our ministry strategies, our worship services, our programs, our finances, and our policies, priorities, and procedures. "The gospel compels the church to go to God with everything we have and everything we do and then ask, 'What needs to go? What needs to change? What needs to stay the same?'" (p. 9)

The goal is to determine how best each church can serve the Lord, but this may require letting go of some very good things. These good things tend to grip churches the same way that the "American Dream" grips individuals, keeping us from serving God with all we have.

If there was a problem with Radical, it was that many who read it might be tempted to feel guilty that they were not living radically enough, and that they were not adequate to be used for God's purposes. Thankfully, Platt addresses this concern in the second chapter, called "The Gospel Misunderstood". Since everything we do as Christians starts with the gospel, it is imperative that we understand it properly. Platt talks about two types of people who misunderstand the gospel; he calls them Andy and Ashley.

Andy has professed faith in Christ, believing (correctly) that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. However, because he believes himself already and eternally saved, he sees no need to "do" anything with his faith. His life bears no fruit of faith, and he has no concern for the lost, or for the poor. He is defensive when people start talking about "radical" faith.

Ashley, on the other hand, never feels as if she has done enough for Christ, and is never sure of her salvation. Reading Radical only made her feel guilty, and trying to live out the gospel is wearing her out. Andy and Ashley are both wrong about the gospel, and they are likely represented in every church in the world. But for both, a right understanding of the gospel will fuel both faith and works, and the worship that is the right response of every Christian to what God has done for us.

For the Ashleys of the world, Platt assures that "you will never be radical enough... and the beauty of the gospel is that you don't have to" (p.27). The gospel frees us from work, and from the effort to overcome our guilt before God. But "the gospel that saves us from work also saves us to work" (p.28). Through a helpful examination of the different usages in Scripture of terms such as "works", "deeds", and "acts of love", Platt provides a holistic understanding of how faith and works relate, with the simple summation: "Real faith always creates fruit." (p. 29)

From this point, he continues to show how guilt is an insufficient motivator for long-term Kingdom work, and that the gospel alone is sufficient to sustain and strengthen God's people for accomplishing God's purposes. In order to access this gospel, though, we need to depend entirely on God's revelation of himself. This is the focus of chapter 3, "God Is Saying Something".

Here he brings the attention of churches and church leaders back to where it always should have been: the Word of God. Contemporary Western Christianity so often believes we "need" programs, flashy music, and dynamic speakers in order to have a "successful" church. Platt challenges these assumptions and encourages us to focus on the things which God has clearly commanded in Scripture, and trust that God will be faithful to bless work that aligns with His plans.

The two strongest chapters in the book are the fourth and fifth, "The Genius of Wrong" and "Our Unmistakable Task". In the first of these two chapters we read about the great value God places on people. Not only is the gospel itself intended to bring people into relationship with God, but the people of God are to be the means by which the gospel goes forth. Whereas many churches use what Platt calls "manufactured elements" (performances, places, programs, and professionals) to attract nonbelievers, the Bible simply calls for Christians to love God, love one another, and serve those around them. Though it may seem like God is using the "wrong" sort of people (sinners) to accomplish his purposes, it is the "genius" of his plan to save those who believe through the folly of the preaching and ministry of Christians who have not yet been perfected.

Since this is where the Bible places the emphasis on ministry, why do churches emphasize other things so much? Platt exhorts us to devote ourselves individually and corporately toward loving people and developing disciple-making disciples. "We will never have enough resources, staff, buildings, events, or activities to reach all the people in our community, much less all the peoples in the world. But we will always have enough people. Even if they seem like the wrong people." (p. 75)

He follows this up with a call for a global evangelistic effort that completely consumes our churches. He says that "our unmistakable task" is to reach every people group in the world with the message of salvation, and that our motivation must be the return of Christ. Scripture says that before the Lord returns, the gospel must reach every people group in the world; therefore the church ought to be motivated for missions because we long for Jesus' second coming! Though some may disagree with this view of Christ's return (and Platt is careful to state that his "definition of unreached people groups may not be exact" and therefore it is possible that Christ could come back at any moment), hopefully everyone can agree — regardless of one's particular system of eschatology — with the statement, "But we do know this: Jesus hasn't come back yet, which means there is still work to be done." (p. 85)

If there is one thing in this book that readers may take the wrong way, it is Platt's very nuanced stance on local and global missions. While he is emphatic that missions must be both global and local (as opposed to either/or), there will undoubtedly be some who will believe he does not value local missions, thanks to sentences like this one: "I am convinced that Satan, in a sense, is just fine with missional churches in the West spending the overwhelming majority of our time, energy, and money on trying to reach people right around us." (p. 87)

However, he does do a good job of clarifying statements like that, making a compelling case that global missions actually drive local missions. Platt urges his congregation and his readers to devote 2% of their time — roughly one week per year — to sharing the gospel outside our local context, though one must be aware that many short-term mission projects are little more than glorified vacations that may do more harm than good (see Corbett & Fikkert's When Helping Hurts ). Done properly, though, these trips can make all the difference in the life of individuals and of churches, both here and overseas.

"Successful short-term missions must be a part of fueling a long-term disciple-making process in another context... At the same time, successful short-term missions must also be a part of fueling long-term disciple making in the sending church. As we go together into other contexts, we grow together in Christ. Our eyes are opened and our hearts transformed as we serve in situations that make us uncomfortable." (p. 94)

The final chapter ("The God Who Exalts God") and the book's conclusion give us our marching orders. Amid a series of vignettes sharing examples of people and churches who have made radical changes are several challenges rooted in the exaltation of God, who does all things for his own glory. Platt casts a vision that he hopes will spread throughout the churches, and I sincerely hope that it will! He gives us plenty of encouragement from Scriptures that promise success in our evangelistic efforts when we are motivated by the pursuit of God's glory among the nations. "For when our faith communities actually believe that God deserves the praise of all peoples, then our humble worship in the church will lead to an urgent witness in the world." (p. 109)

I highly recommend this book, though I suggest reading (or re-reading!) Radical first. This book is not a sequel per se, but it does build upon things covered in the first book, and in some ways assumes that the reader is familiar with some of the previous material. The good news is that you can buy it for less than $10, and all the proceeds of book sales will go toward foreign missions! If you like, read the first chapter, which you can download for free here .

Here is the trailer for this book:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfdTBC...

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

“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?” This is the question that David Platt sets out to answer in his second book, Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God. Throughout these 130 pages Platt reminds the audience of core teachings he laid out in his first book, Radical: Taking You’re your Faith From the American Dream, and he gives guidance on how the “radical” lifestyle can be implemented in the local church body as a whole. From the outset I want to recommend this book. It will definitely put your lifestyle into perspective and give you much food for thought and leave you in tears and prayers of repentance on more than one occasion. I would say that all the way through, Radical Together is a better book than Radical. I believe this is due to the fact that Platt is able to build upon, refine, and correct teachings he presented in Radical. Radical Together is a great read, it does have some spots that are worth noting.

Radical Together is more balanced than Radical, but it is still given to extremes. One of my major issues with Radical was that, at times, Platt was given to extremes. Oftentimes he left the readers feeling like if they supersized their meal then they were personally responsible for the starvation of an entire third-world country. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad, but guilt did seem to be a motivator oftentimes where the Gospel should have been. To be fair, it was definitely implicit. Platt never came out and said anything close to this and, based on his preaching, does not even believe anything close to this. I commend Platt for addressing this head on in Radical Together. In chapter 2 Platt gives a hypothetical situation with a girl named Ashley. He explains that, for her, the challenges as they were laid out in Radical would be too much. She has a soft heart and would swing to the extreme end and be plagued with guilt and worry because she could never be “radical” enough. I praise God for Platt’s pastoral heart. Here, and other places in the book, Platt simultaneously exhorts, in a prophetic way, those who have no desire to be “radical”, he edifies and comforts, in a pastoral way, those whose hearts are already tender and hurting for those in need.
While Platt made great efforts to help his readers avoid those extremes, at times we find him going there himself. At one point he even claims that “Satan, in a sense, is just fine with missional churches in the West spending the overwhelming majority of our time, energy, and money on trying to reach people right around us.” While there is truth to the concept that Platt is trying to get across, that it is not faithful to Scripture to be focused entirely on our immediate surroundings, his concept gets lost in this exaggeration. This mentality, which is a major theme in the book, ignores the fact that those who have been saturated with a false Gospel are, in a real sense, as much “unreached” as those who have never been exposed to a Christian or the Christian message. Both types of people need the Gospel and Satan does not rejoice in either group being presented the true Gospel message. To some degree this feels like showing partiality to the impoverished at the expense of the wealthy, which is not a biblical attitude.
One of my main complaints with Radical that remains in, albeit to a lesser degree, Radical Together was an issue of semantics. It may seem like nitpicking, but from a pastoral sense it is crucial. Terminology like “live the Gospel” and “be the Gospel” is confusing and misleading. The Gospel cannot be lived. It was lived by Jesus. The Gospel is the historical truth of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. We cannot live that. We can live a life in response to the Gospel, changed by the Gospel, but we cannot “live the Gospel”. The most troubling usage of this language is on page 28, in a section called “Saved from Work”. Platt gives a beautiful presentation of the Biblical Gospel. He plainly goes through the sinful condition of man and God’s plan to save all who will call upon the Lord through the perfect life and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, concluding with His victorious resurrection. He concludes that, even though many would desire him to end right there, “The Gospel says something else”. He then shows us, Scripturally that we are saved to work. This is 100% true. The only problem, and it is a big problem, is that this is not part of the Gospel. It is our response to the Gospel. Our response is not part of the Gospel. Any deviation here leads to much confusion and much heartache. We do not add to the Gospel (even if what we are adding is a good thing). We do not take away from the Gospel (even if the edges we dull would make it more palatable for the hearer). The Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and it is the power unto salvation. Platt knows this and if the issue is brought up I am certain he, like many who use the terminology, would say it is just shorthand for “living in light of the Gospel”. The problem, again, is that this shorthand can be misleading and confusing and I feel it would be best to write as clearly on this subject as possible. I will say this. This type of language is not nearly as present as it was in Radical and by no means would it be considered pervasive or even prevalent.
For a while through the book I was beginning to worry. I felt like there was not much Scripture being used. As I read chapter 3, which is about the primacy of Scripture in the life of the church, I thought, “Hey, Platt. What’s the deal? You say Scripture is important and I barely see any. I hear a lot of vague, Scripture like references, but no real Scripture citations.” So I flipped back through the preceding chapters and was shocked. This book is saturated with Scripture. David Platt has a sneaky way of getting Scripture into the conversation…sneaky in a good way. His covert use of Scripture, here and in Radical, allows these books to be read and received by some who would be turned off by blatant Scripture references. Like Radical, this book has the ability to be embraced by those who do not share the Christian worldview, even when there are pages devoted to pure Gospel presentation and absolute Christian truth claims.
Radical Together is a great challenge to live a life not consumed by the “American Dream” or the “American Evangelical Dream”, but to live a life powered by the Gospel to fulfill the Commission of God to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Platt passionately and consistently calls the reader to live a life of sacrifice, not to earn favor from God, but to adorn the Gospel message well and send it to the ends of the earth. I appreciate this book greatly and would recommend it to any who desire to be stirred and challenged and pressed on to good works and a life faithful to the Word of God.

The good people at Multinomah sent me a copy of this book, free of charge, through their Blogging for Books program. Thank you greatly for a great book.

[Ken Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW: Radical Together
Author: David Platt

“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?“

That’s the question David Platt confronts us with in Radical Together. It is a serious question which every pastor, church leader, and Christian should be concerned with. It is a question that has no easy answers. But, it is a question we should seek to answer in every area of our personal lives and in our lives together in the local church.

What I enjoyed most about this book is the fact that David Platt never claims to have the answer to “the question,” but he invites us to join him and his church as they are seeking to find it. I found his arguments compelling, and the personal stories recounting the struggles he and his church have encountered in pursuing a “radical” relationship with God through Christ. There are also a great many what I would call “success stories” about how members of his church family have bought in and are making life-changing decision to follow Christ in the context of “total abandonment to the global purpose of God.”

That phrase “total abandonment to the global purpose of God” may scare people into thinking that Platt believes only foreign missionaries are serving God faithfully. That’s not what he’s saying. What I believe he is saying though is that a church that is totally committed to living out the gospel in its local context will necessarily be committed to living out the gospel in the global context. What we do here affects what we can do there. I agree with Dr. Platt because Dr. Platt merely recounts God’s plan and methodology as we find it in God’s Word.

Platt proposes six ideas which can help govern our decision-making, our structures, and priorities as individuals and churches, and I would say even Associations, Conventions, and Denominations.
One of the worst enemies of Christians can be good things in the church.

In chapter one Platt discusses how this principle led Brook Hills church to lay everything their church did, from ministries, events to budget items, on the table and ask the question, “Are these the best ways to spend our time, money, and energy to spread the gospel in our neighborhood and in all the nations?” At Brook Hills it led to downsizing what they did and where they spent their money, but has led to greater Gospel impact locally and globally.
The gospel that saves us from work saves us to work.

In chapter two Platt discusses how this principle rightly understood compels us to “radical” commitment to Christ. The gospel must be our motivation for commitment to Christ, or we have the wrong motivation. If our primary motivations are guilt or duty, they will not sustain “radical” living. We must understand that we have been loved greatly by God, and our deepest joy is found in displaying that same sacrificial love to others because God loves them.
The Word does the work.

In chapter three Platt focuses on the centrality of the Word in the life of the believer, and of the church. The basic building block of disciple-maker is the ability to teach people to obey the Word of God. Many have forgotten this simple, but important element. The Word of God must be taught, believed and lived in the church. Pastors, church leaders and teachers must pray for the Spirit to cause God’s work in His people, and then trust that it will. The kicker to the chapter is this: There is only one thing God has promised to bless, that is the plan for global evangelization given in His Word.
Building the right church depends on using all the wrong people.

In chapter four Platt focuses on countering the upside-down model of church growth many churches employ. The prevailing model is for church members to spend their energies inviting people to church so that the “professionals” can share the Gospel with them and then disciple them. Platt proposes the more biblical model of the purpose of worship and church activities is to equip the believers to share the gospel with others so they can lead them to Christ, and to equip the believers how to disciple them to live as followers of Christ. Platt states, “church leaders are intended by God no to plan events but to equip people.” In other words, “Building the right church, then, is dependent on using all the wrong people.” The goal, Platt says, “is always for all of the people of God to be equipped and empowered to lead as many people as possible to Christ.”
We are living-and longing- for the end of the world.

In chapter five Platt reminds us that “the end of the age will come when people from every single ethnic group have come to Christ.” He then challenges those who believe that to live as if they believe it by being “intentionally engaged in taking the gospel to unreached people groups.” If we are not intentionally engaged, Platt says, we are in “disobedience to the command of Christ.” Platt quotes G.E. Ladd, “Christ has not yet returned; therefore the task is not yet done.”

In this chapter he gave the compelling example of “Brook Hills Bob” and “Brook Hills Baruti” as a reminder to keep balance in our local and global focus. Platt states, “we are going to reach Bob and all kinds of other people in our community. But as they come to Christ, we are going to encourage them to spend their lives spreading the gospel to Baruti.” We are to grow God’s kingdom here for the saking of the nations.
We are selfless followers of a self-centered God.

In chapter six Platt concludes by reminding us of God’s self-focus. Of “radical” believers Platt says, “they know they belong to a God who desires, deserves, and demands absolute devotion in their lives and in their churches, and they want to give Him nothing less.” We must continually remind ourselves to foster humility concerning ourselves, but an exalted view of God if we are to live for Him and His purposes.

There is another great feature to this book I truly enjoyed and look forward to implementing. The discussion guide at the end of the book was good for my personal reflection, but will be a great help as I encourage people in my church to read the book. I look forward to interacting with them and discussing some of the questions as we will be able to communicate to one another how these principles challenge our church.

Conclusion
I have appreciated David Platt’s ministry ever since hearing him speak at a youth evangelism conference in Georgia some years back. Since then, I have followed his ministry at Brook Hills Church via the church website. I have listened to many sermons and Secret Church sessions online. In recent years he has burst on the scene as a reluctant “evangelical rock star” being present at the Southern Baptist Convention Pastor’s Conference and Together for the Gospel in 2010, both of which I attended. Needless to say, knowing what I know of Dr. Platt, I trust him and I commend this book to all, especially to my church.

[Katterli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly practical and inspirational ideas on what the people of God ought be doing.

“We realized we’re prone to exalt our work over God’s will”
“As we grow in relational intimacy with Christ, through the gospel, we gradually overflow in radical living for Christ”
“We live sacrificially, not because we feel guilty, but because we have been loved greatly and now find satisfaction in sacrificial love for others”
“God dependent faith is the only foundation for God glorifying work” WOW (on adoption)
“The Word is sufficient to hold the attention of God’s people and satisfying enough to capture their affection” (on church not needing to be entertaining)
“We exist for the glory of God. God exists for the glory of God.”

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Radical and thought it was very convicting. I also enjoyed this book. Eye opening and thought provoking.

[jax · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. if you want to be challenged in your Faith in Jesus, this is the book to read. It's short and to the point but packs a huge punch.

[Brice Karickhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than Radical because we must be Radical Together (see letters to the church) (or Ephesians)

[Robert Irish · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I did not read its predecessor, Radical.
I like the idea of moving deeper into community to do something radical together.
However, this book is essentially a manual for irresponsible and culturally-insensitive missionary work that will likely lead the follower into burn-out and disillusionment, or lead them to do much damage in the world as they promulgate a Western gospel.
I think Platt means well, but he consistently missteps. I think the one area that he does do well is in his critique of the American (and to a lesser extent Canadian) church that has grown comfortable and focuses its attention on itself and its own programs--this is my reason for raising it to one star.
The book is short. He covers six key ideas:
1. The good things of church can become the enemy of the best - programmes, as good as they are, may not be the best thing for a church. Here, the book is at its best. Platt is able to suggest that churches need to stop looking at themselves and start looking outward. I disagree with his approach to doing that, but he's right in that at least.
2. The gospel saves us from work so that we can work.
This is fine as a point, but he claims to want to balance these, and then doesn't. His is a "gospel of works"--whether its adoption, going as a missionary to India or Africa, or turning all your relationships into conversion projects. It all smacks of irresponsible, ill-equipped people running off to ruin the world for God.
3. The Word does the work - the Bible is our guide and motivation.
There's an irony with this one. The book claims to revere the Bible, but he totally ignores using the Bible--perhaps because he's cherry-picked a few verses rather than understood it in any holistic way.
4. Building the right church depends on using the wrong people.
I'm sympathetic to this point: we don't need churches that are aimed at performance, but I got little from the chapter.
5. We are living and longing for the end of the world
This is an example of classic American evangelicalism grabbing a single verse of the Bible (Matthew 24:14) and misconstruing it and elevating it to the ends of the earth. Sigh.
6. We are selfless followers of a self-centred God.
This drove me crazy: he doesn't know what the word "self-centred" means. What he means to use is "self-sufficient"--and he even quotes A.W.Tozer using that word--but he goes for the catchy misrepresentation anyway because, I suppose, it's "radical." God is obviously, NOT self-centred: "although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped" (Philippians 2:6) -- God's choice is not to centre on himself but to give completely of himself to the point of death. That's not self-centred. At the same time, God does not need our efforts, does not need our praise, does not need us, because God IS self-sufficient. And that was the point of the chapter. I hate when writers write stupid for the sake of being provocative. That's all this chapter did.
I would not recommend this book, except perhaps for some members of the board of my own church who need to read chapter 1--to consider how "church programs" might be the enemy of God's best plan.

[Jimmy Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just completed the second book by David Platt entitled “Radical Together.” I was eager to read this book because of how impactful “Radical” was. This book also challenges the reader to think hard about his or her faith, but is geared toward use in small group studies. In other words, it is an encouragement for groups of believers to engage the world together for Jesus Christ.

The book was good, challenging, and enlightening. Although I did not find it to be on par with his first book, it was a logical next step to move from personal application to church application. Were a church to apply the principles found in the pages of “Radical Together,” that church would need to make hard decisions about it’s programming and budgeting. But even small steps in this direction would enhance the local church’s abilities to reach their community and world with the transforming Gospel of Christ.

My suggestion is to read “Radical” first. Pray for God’s wisdom. Read it again. Share it with a few friends. When they have read it and have become excited about it, it is then time to pick up “Radical Together,” read it with the group, and use it for a small group study. In truth, that may be the best feature of the book – the study guide at the end.

FTC Disclaimer: ”I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”

[Rev.dulce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Radical Together
I recently read David Platt's book "Radical Together". He is able to make a convincing argument "that the gospel that saves us from work also saves us to work" (28). It is able to brings that gap between the assurance of being justified by faith alone and the notion that Christians are still called to work for the Kingdom of Heaven while on earth. "Real faith always creates fruit" (29).

Platt tells of his own experiences of being called to pastor a large church. However, his own lens seems to be the main focus of the book. He doesn't quite bridge the gap between a mega-church and the smaller churches. I did like his emphasis on the priesthood of all believers. That the people of his church were taught to understand that they were in ministry 7 days a week and not just on Sunday. He does give some advice for equipping the saints.

He totally lost me at the end of the book. When he goes from making a difference in the world to a message about heaven and salvation. It kind of falls apart at the end, in my opinion. It goes from talking about making a difference in the world to our role for evangelizing the world.

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Platt delivers another challenging yet encouraging look at the current state of the American church and what the Bible has to say about living in a way that challenges what we view as "normal" church. He touched on a lot of the material in this book in Radical, but in Radical Together he faces the church head on and goes into great detail about what it looks like when a body of believers finds revelation in the Word and then takes the action that is only appropriate when one understands the heart of God.

This was a great follow-up to my reading of From Eternity to Here and has already acted as a great introduction to the reading I started today, Watchman Nee's The Normal Christian Life. I really like that Platt says things that are very challenging yet does it with love and compassion. I don't see a finger pointer here, but a man who has been radically changed by the truth of God's character, which is exactly where followers of Christ find themselves. I appreciate his honesty. He doesn't sugarcoat difficult truths and is quick to point out his own weaknesses. What I see in this book is a man with a heart for God who wants to see the church in America remember who God is and act accordingly. Good read.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is challenging me even more than Radical. I've read so many books lateley that have been sending me the same message. We need to love Jesus and live our lives abandoned to Him. Platt writes that local churches and members are changing their lifestyles not because they read an orange book entitled Radical, but because they're being gripped by an overwhelming God. "They know they belong to a God who desires, deserves, and demands absolute devotion in their lives and in their churches, and they want to give him nothing less. He is worthy of their all."
Also, over the years we've seen an increase in "seekers" churches. But, Platt reminds us that the Bible makes clear "There is ... no one who seeks God." "Instead, Jesus tells us that the Father is puruing worshipers for his praise. HE is the one doing the seeking! He has been seeking sinners for thousands of years, and he is pretty good at it - far better than all the attractions and allurements we can assemble. ...Let's show people the most biblical, holistic, clear and captivationg vision of God that we possibly can and then trust him to take care of the seeking."