The Radical Question: What Is Jesus Worth to You? [Paperback]

David Platt (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Publishers (2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601423217
• ISBN-13: 978-1601423214
• Product Dimensions: 1.9 x 3.8 x 6.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Platt is deeply devoted to Christ and His Word. David's first love in ministry is disciple-making - the simple, biblical model of teaching God's Word, mentoring others and sharing faith. He has traveled extensively to teach the Bible alongside church leaders throughout the United States and around the world. Atlanta natives, he and his wife Heather, made their home in New Orleans, until they were displaced by flooding following Hurricane Katrina, in 2005. In 2006 David became the Pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama.A life-long learner, David has earned two undergraduate and three advanced degrees. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (A.B.J.) from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Theology (Th.M) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He has previously served at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as Dean of Chapel and Assistant Professor of Expository Preaching and Apologetics, and as Staff Evangelist at Edgewater Baptist Church in New Orleans. David has written two books, The New York Times Bestseller "Radical - Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" and "Radical Together - Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God." David and Heather were married in 1999. They are the parents of three children, Caleb, Joshua and Mara Ruth.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#68 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#75 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#68 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#75 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what i Thought February 16, 2011

By Parson Doug

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought "Radical" and this book "The radical Question: What is Jesus worth to you." I thought that this was a study guide or supplement to the original book "Radical;" however, I was greatly mistaken. Don't get me wrong it was a good read but not worth the $1.59 I payed for my Kindle version and definitely not worth the $11.59+ you would pay in paperback. The whole book was based out of the stories that David tells at the beginning of the chapters in "Radical." My biggest disappointment lies in not having clear enough descriptions to let me know that I would be purchasing a book with almost word for word content as its original. I feel duped into buying an extra piece of literature that was unnecessary. Don't Buy this if you plan on buying "Radical," because there is no need!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Radical by David Platt December 14, 2010

By Briana M. Jeffers

Format:Paperback

Warning, do not read this book unless you want your life to change!

David Platt does an excellent job of showing how the American dream and Jesus' command to go forth and make disciples of all nations don't mix. He answers the question of what it really means to give your life to Christ.

He describes the hunger believers in countries where Christians are persecuted have for God's word and makes you wonder where your hunger has gone.

David shows you what living God's global purpose would look like in your life. In chapter 5 he shows what happens when Christians go out and share the gospel with unbelievers.

The chapter, How Much Is Enough?, really impacted me and is making me take another look at what I really need. It's hard to go back to life as normal once your eyes are opened to the poverty that most of the people in this world face.

At the end of the book you are presented with the one year radical experiment. The author challenges you to commit to a life changing experiment composed of 5 different commitments.

After reading this book I am excited to see what God has in store for my life over the next year as I live out the Radical experiment. I want to read and discuss this book with my family to see how it can change all of us.

There are so many things in this book that I will be thinking about for a long time to come. I was already on the path to changing my thinking about what I am pursuing in my life and this book has deepened my resolve to make some changes.

The author presents evidence for the radical way of life for you to think about and come to your own conclusions on how you should change.... He gives suggestions and shares the testimony of his own life along with those who have changed their life purpose.

I received a free copy of this book from Water Brook Moltnomah in order to review this book and this is my opinion. Read more ›

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Ten steps to living Radical? - seems contradictory April 15, 2011

By Dan

Format:Paperback

Synopsis: The basic premise of this book is that American Christians have distorted the message of Christianity to fit into the ideals of the "American Dream." This essentially means that American Christians are overly materialistic and selfish with their time and money. It also means that they view Christianity as a consumer product, thus rendering church services to be professional entertainment and Christianity to be a product that is consumed, not a life-changing truth. Platt offers explanation to how these views do not agree with the real message of Christianity and finally gives a "challenge" which will aid the American Christian in overcoming these American distortions of the faith.

My Opinion: I have been putting off writing this (and honestly if writing it was not part of the agreement for receiving it I probably would not be writing this) because I have to say that something early in the book put a bad taste in my mouth so I feel like possibly that skewed my opinion of the rest of the book, so take that as a sort of disclaimer. What was that thing at the beginning of the book? Platt tells a story of a group of believers in his Alabama mega-church who hear about some Christians in Asia facing persecution who must meet in secret to study the Bible. These believers in Platt's church are inspired by these Asian Christians so they start a regular evening Bible Study and call it "Secret Church." To me this seems to trivialize and make light of the very real persecution of fellow Christians in these dangerous regions. Platt seems to agree with this criticism but never applies it to his church's "Secret Church...." Toward the end of the book he explains about the ichthus (Jesus Fish):

How far we have come when we paste this symbol identified with martyred brothers and sisters in the first century onto the backs of our SUVs and luxury sedans in the twenty-first century.

Beyond this I felt that the book seemed to say a lot of the "right things" but never really got to the heart of the problem. Platt tries to offer advice in correcting these American distortions of Christianity, but he does so within the very system that has created and fostered these ideas. This seems to miss the very heart of the issue. He tries to encourage people to give generously to those in need, yet he pastors a mega-church which is a resource black-hole. He tries to encourage people to minister to each other, yet says nothing about the false distinction between clergy and laity. He encourages people to be sold out to Christ and never look back, yet he offers a "Challenge" or program to try out and see how it feels. Something in me has a hard time with a book titled "Radical" which opposes the American Dream, yet culminates in a one year program. Maybe I'm just being too critical. That is quite possible.

This book exposes a lot of real problems within the American Church, what I feel it does not do is offer valuable solutions to those problems, and this is mostly because it never gets to the heart of those problems. I see two major oversights in Radical. The first is that he never asks the reader if they are truly even Christians. I think that would be the place to start. If you have a lack of passion for the things you say you believe, and if you believe a distortion of the real thing it would certainly be worthwhile to initially ask "do I believe the real thing?" The second oversight, in my opinion, is that he completely ignores the negative effect of the clergy/laity distinction. Why don't people live out their faith? Because they pay someone else to do that for them. Give money to missionaries and pastors and ministries. They are the professionals and that's what they get paid for. This is how Americans view everything and the clergy/laity distinction brings that belief into the church. Read more ›

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Radical? Not Really... January 24, 2011

By Darrell Dow

Format:Paperback

David Platt's book Radical bears the provocative subtitle "Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream." If you want to create controversy, implying that the Christian faith stands in opposition to the American way of life is a pretty safe bet. It takes until page 19 to figure out what Platt means when he talks about the American Dream: "self-advancement, self-esteem, self-sufficiency...individualism, materialism, universalism."

The problem, says Platt, is that America Christianity has too much and cares too little. The real Jesus is much too radical for our Western tastes with His commands to sell all we have and give to the poor; to give up our lives; and to take up our cross and follow Him. To Platt, the American suburbs is a place all to often isolated from the world and insulated from hearing its cries for help.

Through each chapter, David shares his own experiences traveling around the world visiting mission fields. He speaks in glowing terms of native peoples who are as hungry for the Bible and as they are in need of daily bread. In fact, if one were only to take his accounts, they would believe that the entire world is full of nothing but gracious and grateful people who (be they ever so poor) are yet willing to drop everything to learn more about Christ.

As the book progresses, a litany of familiar names and stories begin to appear. George Muller, C.T. Studd, William Carey, Jim Elliot, and John G. Patton all put in a showing causing anyone who went to Baptist Sunday School (as I did) to have flashbacks of multiple five day missionary stories and sermon illustrations. Yet Platt unabashedly reaches for these classic tales to support his pleas for a more real and committed witness even to the point of sacrificing our own lives to spread the gospel....

He ends the book with a call to a five step plan that will help any Christian become "radical." The steps are (in so many words) praying more, reading the Bible more, giving more, going more, and committing to the ministry a local church. Wait a second...I thought this was something radical? As the book concludes the reader is suddenly left aware that they are listening to what sounds suspiciously like the plea from every Baptist pastor for the last hundred years. And as if one needed any further confirmation, there's even a decision card for the reader to sign. It's been a long time since that was considered radical.

I appreciate David Platt's zeal. It's evident that his writing comes from an honest heart and that he's wants to see billions of unreached souls enter the kingdom. Yet, I felt a slight unease as I read the book -- and not for the reasons one might think. I am personally no stranger to scenes poverty or hardship, having myself grown up in the third world on one of many mission fields. That experience has taught me that the solutions to the problems of the needy are never as simple as a dollar dropped in an offering plate.

Platt admits in the book that he is not an economist. If we were an economist he would be aware that the problem of poverty in the world is a tangled knot of social, economic, and political maladies. Even if every American Christian gave up their fineries for a life of self-imposed penury, it would not make those in most of the developing world any richer.

Guilt imposed upon ourselves for our success is not the answer. The economic question is never "why do we have so much?" but rather "why doesn't everyone?" That's not to say that we should not give but rather that we should not wallow in guilt at the financial blessings that our country affords.

Platt also seems posses glamorous view of the foreign mission field that actual foreign missionaries are quickly disabused of. The soul of the suburban housewife is not lesser in value than that of a tribal witchdoctor -- although the later admittedly makes for a much better sermon illustration than the former. If we are to honestly look at the whole world then someone must teach Sunday School at the First Baptist Church of Boise as well as labor in the fields of Bangladesh.

Jesus' call to us was to follow him and become fishers of men. I admire David Platt and the work that he and his church are striving to do in spending their time and money reaching out to the world. But in the end, as timely as some of its challenges may be, Radical seems to fall short of its title and instead delivers a decent repackaging of a fairly familiar message.

I received this book for free from WaterBrookMultnomah Publishing Group for this review. All opinions, however, are from the spectacular machinations of my own hyperactive mind. Read more ›