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The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling

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"As I lay down my pen for the last time at the age of eighty-eight . . ."

One of the most influential Christian leaders of the Twentieth Century has given us his final work, and is retiring from public service in the kingdom. He does so having made an extensive contribution to the worldwide church, as a pastor and church leader as well as a scholar and theologian.

This book is a brief statement on the nature of the Christian life, which is an appropriate place for Stott to close out his career. Although it is small in size, there is great challenge found in this volume. Its subtitle is Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling - a presentation of those areas which define the church, but which have often gone unnoticed and under-emphasized. There are eight chapters, which each take a particular area for investigation and challenge: Nonconformity, Christlikeness, Maturity, Creation Care, Simplicity, Balance, Dependence, Death.

The overall focus of the book fits with the title, and is geared to move the reader to a more dedicated commitment to the demands of kingdom life and growth. While there might be points at which the modern reader would choose to part company with Mr Stott (his assumption of the impact of anthropogenic global warming might not be so readily accepted by those of us who know that the facts are not supportive of the theory), overall his emphasis and message is good.

This is among the final fruits of a life given to the service of the kingdom, given to us by one who himself has chosen to be - every step of the way - a radical disciple.

Quite simply this is classic Stott. Most of what he writes in this book he has written else where. But that really does not matter. Having Stott's thoughts on discipleship compiled in one volume is wonderful. John Stott is one of the most important and influential evangelical, Anglican figures in the last 100 years. A new generation of ministers are enjoying his writings afresh, and this volume should be a favorite. Short and concise each chapter brims with Stotts indubitable style and wisdom.

The final chapter, on death, was my favorite. His wisdom, humility and honesty (he is 87 years of age and, as he says, he is reflecting on death and seeking to prepare for it) was touching. This is a book which should be given away. It's as good as any book on encouraging and challenging us in the way of being a disciple of Christ.

In what John Stott calls his final book, The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling, he seeks to address eight areas in which he believes the Church is lacking.

He begins by explaining that by "radical disciple," he wants to emphasize the teacher-student relationship between Christ and the Christian, as well as the necessary deep-rootedness of commitment that Jesus requires from His disciples (14-15).

First, Stott argues that we have not exemplified nonconformity. Rather, we have sought escapism or conformism, Nonconformity is "a call to engagement without compromise" (19).

Second, Christlikeness. Stott argues that The Westminster Shorter Catechism is not strong enough - what God has called us to is to become like Christ. We are to be like Him in being incarnational, servants, loving, patience in enduring, and like Him in His Mission (31-34).

Third, maturity. Stott argues the greatest problem of the modern church is "growth without depth" (38).Maturity comes as one gets a clear portrait of Jesus through prayer and study of the Scripture (48).

Fourth, Creation care. Stott explains tat both dominion and being created in the image of God bear on our stewardship responsibility to care for the Creation, as well as the Scripture's teaching that the Creation will be restored on the last day - not destroyed. (I found this the weakest chapter because he does not explain how to care for the Creation.)

Fifth, simplicity. Not asceticism, but biblical simplicity. Rather that explain this briefly as Stott does with his other chapters, he prints the entire document, An Evangelical Commitment to Simple Life-Style (65-82). This would ave served better as an appendix; in the body of the book, I found myself going from listening to a kind teacher to slogging through a marsh.

Sixth, balance. In this chapter, Stott examines six metaphors that Peter uses to describe the disciples, and Stott shows that each is a balancing act as they all work together (97-98).

Seventh, dependence. This is the humility to accept that w not only need God but we need each other, both in understanding, and in emotional and physical well-being. (102).

Eighth, death. Stott examines the relationship of the fact of death to salvation, discipleship, mission, persecution, martyrdom, mortality, and the necessity of death if we are to live (133).

Stott's book covers a great deal of necessary material for the 21st century Church, though I would wish it had some expansion, and some additional editing. Also, in looking for the books that Stott quotes, I found that most of them are out of print, though somewhat available through the usual sources.

I hope Stott will write more on these issues or that others will take up his mantel and continue to show how we might become the radical disciples Christ has called us to be.

Veteran author and pastor John Stott has written his final book, The Radical Disciple. He is retiring from full-time public ministry and leaves us these thoughts on what it means to truly follow Christ. He focuses on eight areas that usually do not receive much attention: nonconformity, Christlikeness, maturity, creation care, simplicity, balance, dependence, and death. Stott's writing flows and is easy to follow. His chapters are not long nor in-depth but they are rich, heart-felt and biblical and reveal his passion and efforts in ministry. His stand on two areas, creation care and simplicity, may raise eyebrows depending on your understanding and beliefs, but these are minor points to disagree on compared with the wealth of knowledge and insight he brings to the book overall. A brief section of notes and references is included at the end of the book. Overall, Pastor Stott's book is both introspective and retrospective of his service in ministry and it provides hope for any pastor, leader, or believer and follower of Christ who is "still on the road."

This book was provided to me by IVP for the purpose of review at no cost to myself. I was not required to write a positive review.

I grew up with John Stott's books. I listened and watched to John Stott sermons. A tear rolled down my cheek as I read his goodbye to us...

I have passed the book along. It is easily readable. Though it is unremarkable in many ways, it is biblical and sound, and his message needs to be heard.

I can not recommend this book because of chapter 5 which he and other NGO's gather together at the Lausanne Congress and call for a "new economic world order" and "Social Justice".
Those two phrases made my eyes bleed!

Another pastor starts down the road to communism and the Lausanne Congress of 85 other pastors join in the fray.
When has the UN and these NGO's ever solved anything.He then goes on in section 4 misuse Acts 4:32 as the validation for a communist life style.
Sorry Pastor this book gets tossed.

Nothing in Christianity validates a socialist life style and stealing from others to make it so.
Did the widow who gave the mite have it stolen from her?
No. It was a gift from her heart.
Your intention to force this on people... reeks .
So John your book stinks!

John R. W. Stott's final work, The Radical Disciple, is excellent. Published shortly before his death, this reflection on radical discipleship challenges us to go beyond words and actually live as followers of Jesus. Stott's message is clear: the purpose of God for the people of God is Christlikeness.

In The Radical Disciple, John Stott explores some important of the aspects of discipleship he thinks have tended to be overlooked.

The book is quite a short one- less that 3 hours in audiobook format. It is not a complete guide to discipleship as some of the obvious topics are missing. Instead it takes the form of some reflections on areas and practices of discipleship he has come to consider important but neglected over his long and fruitful walk with God. Things like caring for the environment are not necessarily what you would expect out of a book on discipleship but he makes a good case for it. I found the material on the environment quite challenging. Another very interesting idea he addresses is dependence on not just God but others as well as part of our spiritual growth. In my opinion, the best of the chapters is the one on dying. His reflections on dying take on a particular weight as he is coming to the end of his life and this is the last book he is to write. The book ends with an incredibly moving goodbye to his readers.

Style wise, the book is an easy enough read, although in places he does rely a little too much on quoting theological position papers he had helped to develop.

I am not a fan of the use of "radical" in this or other books as a term to describe what should be normal Christian discipleship but the material in the book is strong enough for me to overlook it. I think this book is a fitting finale to his ministry and is a worthwhile read.

The Radical Disciple by John Stott is more interesting because of what it says about John Stott than what it says about discipleship. Stott admits that he recognizes his time is short, and as such the topics he chose to include (and exclude) from this title tells more about what he finds important and worth saying than the content he puts forth in each chapter.

That's not to say the chapters are lacking. They are well thought out and very biblical. However, compared to David Platt's Radical, it is not as inspiring. Perhaps it is because Platt's work seems more fundamental. Though environmental responsibility is important in our day and age, I don't see it as a primary aspect of being a disciple as described in the New Testament. As a result, Stott's work is novel, but not foundational.

The narrator, Grover Gardner, has also narrated many other books which I have listened to and reviewed before such as The Holiness of God, Desiring God, and A Sweet and Bitter Providence. His voice is both grandfatherly and professorial. Sometimes soothing, sometimes lecturing: at all times enjoyable.

If you are looking for a book on discipleship, I would recommend Radical and Radical Together. If you are looking for a book by John Stott, I'd start with The Cross of Christ and see where it takes you.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ChristianAudio as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

This is John Stott`s last book. He decided to retire several years ago and now has said he will no longer write (he turns 90 at the end of April). So I think it is interesting that he is intentionally writing a book about discipleship and concentrating on areas that he thinks are often left unaddressed.

The book ends with a poignant chapter on death, similar to the last album by Johnny Cash. Both Cash and Stott know they are not long for this world. The afterward says goodbye to the reader and discusses his will and legacy. In many ways, I wish he opened with this. Because it gives more weight to the rest of the book.

However, if he started with death it might overwhelm the general theme of the book, Non-Conformity. The title of the first chapter, he is calling us to be different as Christians. Not just different from the world, but different because we were created to be like Christ. There is a good quote about the fact that we cannot live like Christ, unless we have Christ live in us. And I think that is the living with Christ in us as the only way to achieve Christlikeness may be more counter cultural to the church than anything else in the book. We all know that we have transformed, but to really be transformed we not only have to strive after living like Christ, we have to submit to the Spirit that guides us.


The subjects are fairly standard for a book on discipleship, Maturity, Simplicity, Balance, Dependence, (although their treatment is fairly unique). But there is one subject that is unusual in a US context. That chapter is about the responsibility of Creation Care. He carefully places our role for creation as part of our original work given in the garden and clearly separates it from worship of the creation. And he has clear biblical guidance in the chapter. But as I was glancing through the reviews on Amazon, it was the number one complaint. Readers just do not want to hear that care for creation is part of discipleship. It could be a cultural difference. While NT Wright, John Stott and a number of other authors that are outside the US include extensive writing about the role of creation care in discipleship, almost no one inside the US does the same. My guess is that it is an attribute of the US political system where environmentalism is almost solely a Democratic party issue. But outside the US there is not a real question about the role of creation care in discipleship.

The chapter on Dependence is unique in another way. I have heard many people talk and write about being dependent on God. But I am not sure I have ever heard anyone talk about being dependent on others as part of discipleship. Stott, nearing the end of his life, and having spent years loosing faculties as a normal part of aging, understands dependence. He talks about breaking his hip and needing content attention. But where it is interesting to me is where he talks about Christ as a model of dependence on others. Christ was born a baby. He was totally dependent, for food, to be cleaned, propped up, taught language, etc. Christ was fully dependent without the loss of his divinity. For us, dependence is a part of the created order of life. Most people we will have a period of life where others (children or parents or others) are dependent on us. Then we will grow older and again we will depend on others for the basics of life. Stott quotes Jesus talking to Peter about growing old and being led where he does not want to go. That passage is about Peter's death in particular, but is a good example of what happens when we all age. Alzheimer's runs in my family. My grandfather is in late stages of Alzheimer's. He is mostly unaware of what is going on or of who anyone is. He is being lead where he does not want to go. But this dependence (both living through it and seeing it in others), according Stott is still part of the process of learning to follow Christ. In many ways, I think this was the most important part of the book for me. Stott asserts the proper way to view aging, and the increased dependence is joy at the opportunity to learn to follow Christ better. But often there is sadness and desire to not be a burden. He encourages the embracing of tears and sadness as part of the learning.

One thing to know about this book is that Stott quotes heavily from a number of Christian statements. These are often very important statements (on voluntary simplicity for the sake of the gospel, the importance of evangelism, etc.), but if you are like me, you tend to skip over statement to find out what Stott says about them. Luckily I was listening (one of my favorite narrators, Grover Gardner, narrates the book) and it is more work to skip over the statements than just continue. While the language of these are often formal and a bit unwieldy, they really are important documents that we would be good to read and think about and discuss.

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The audiobook was provided by [...] for purposes of review.