[rating:3.5]
(Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2010)
231 pgs
(David Platt is the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, a four-thousand member congregation in Birmingham, Alabama)
Although this is not a leadership book, per se, it has wide reaching implications for leaders who wish to take their church to a new level. In this book Platt invites us to join him on a journey where he attempts to answer two questions:
1. Was I going to believe Jesus?
2. Was I going to obey Jesus?
Platt spends most of his time identifying cultural issues in the American church that run against the Biblical teachings of Christ. He points out how we have watered down Christ’s mandate to take up our cross, we have made Christianity a social club void of any significant commitments or sacrifice, and we have settled with receiving rather than multiplying our faith in others.
His challenge to the “American Dream” is well noted and he does a good job of pointing out the disparity between the life of Christ and the life of the average American Christian in churches today.
“Biblical proclamation of the gospel beckons us to a much different response and leads us down a much different road. Here the gospel demands and enable us to turn form our sin, to take up our cross, to die to ourselves, and to follow Jesus…salvation now consists of a deep wrestling in our souls with the sinfulness of our hearts, the depth of our depravity, and the desperation of our need for his grace. Jesus is no longer one to be accepted or invited in but one who is infinitely worthy of our immediate and total surrender.” P. 39
Platt observes that the vast majority of Christians have failed miserably in following the Great Commission (Matt. 18:19-20) in that they are not making reproducible disciples, or disciples of any kind. We sit, observe, appreciate, enjoy, and go home without any thought that we are to be making disciples ourselves. In many contemporary worship services, “some people have their Bibles open, while others don’t have a bible with them. A few people are taking notes, but for the most part they are passively sitting in the audience. While some are probably disengaged, others are intently focused on what the preacher is saying, listening to God’s Word to hear how it applies to their lives. But the reality is, few are listening to reproduce.” (p. 102)
Platt further urges that our priorities are selfish, self-centered, and void of compassion for the hurting, the hungry, and the needing around the world. He points out a denomination newsletter that proclaimed victory in that 23 million dollars was raised for a new sanctuary for a First Baptist church, while across the page a small article mentioned that five thousand dollars was raised to help feed 350,000 refugees in western Sudan. “That’s not enough to get a plane into Sudan, much less one drop of water to people who need it. Twenty-three million dollars for an elaborate sanctuary and five thousand dollars for hundreds of thousand of starving men, women, and children, most of whom were dying apart form faith in Christ. Where have we gone wrong? How did we get to the place where this is actually tolerable?” (p. 16)
Platt concludes his search for answers to his two questions with five challenges and one year to carry them out:
- pray for the entire world
- read through the entire Word
- sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
- spend your time in another context
- commit your life to a multiplying community
It is easy to point out faults and flaws with the church today, many have. But Platt actually puts his own church on notice and demonstrates for us what it will look like to live out this challenge. He is not all talk and all finger-pointing; he is action. He lives out what he preaches. He walks the talk.
In regards to leadership, Platt shows what a leader of God’s people can accomplish when they live by conviction rather than program. Platt puts his career and his reputation on the line for the sake of the Gospel. What is fascinating is how he was not fired by his mega-church for being so radical and “in your face” with his convictions as a pastor. They chose to follow this leader even though many of them would end up sacrificing their savings accounts, changing vocational directions, and giving up long-held dreams for a comfortable life in the US. Influencing people to sacrifice is not unusual, but they need something worthwhile to buy in to. Platt’s book does this. I will be interesting to see the follow-up book as they are still in their trial year.
This book is well-written, easy to follow and offers challenging thoughts. However, I wish there was more attention given to seeking God himself, spending time in concerted prayer times, and seeking God’s will rather than simply committing to five challenges. Although there is nothing wrong with these five challenges, it would be a mistake for Christians to think this is what God is asking of them. Like every revelation God gives a person, one shoe does not fit all Christians (unless it is from God’s book). There is a danger to settle for accepting Platt’s challenge rather than discerning for yourself what God is asking of you personally. He may have 8 challenges for you or 3, but they will be tailor-made for what He wants to do in your life, and not just jumping onto the next band-wagon that comes through town. I do not disagree with Platt’s challenges, but there is a danger of following another man’s idea of what pleases God rather than checking in with God Himself.