Book Review: The Radical Question and Idea

The Radical Question and A Radical Idea by David Platt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Radical Question and A Radical Idea is two books in one. That is if you consider a sermon a book, it qualifies as two books in one. However, don't let the size fool you. It has more depth and substance of books ten times its size! The first part, The Radical Question is a sermon. To those who have read anything he has written before, he seems like Super-Christian, but in this section he tells of a sermon he preached which fell short of what he hoped and he was never invited to speak at that church again. But he was focusing on himself and not on God. He challenges the reader to live a Radical life, sold out for the Lord. Not the American dream that is Christian-ized to make us feel better about ourselves. He makes us ask the question what would things look like if we took Jesus' words seriously and followed Him to the point of having our values upside down to the world's values.

In the second part of the book, he talks about the necessity of church as a place where people can be Radical with one another. One person can only do so much, but when people band together to work with each other, even bigger things can be accomplished. He talks about how his church focuses their services around the believers and not those who aren't Christians. The goal of his church is to equip the believers to go out and make disciples not to bring sinners to church and let the pastor see to it they are saved. As his church became more motivated to find ministry around them where they live, such as holding Bible times in their homes for children, he wondered why the church tries to organize how and where Christians serve. Platt also discusses how the modern church has become an entertainment center where the best speakers, best musicians and best performances are given each Sunday. While good speakers are okay, a church full of attractions is not exactly what Jesus had in mind.

I highly recommend this book. At only 112 pages it is a quick read, and I think it could revolutionize many people and churches.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. It in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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You can read an excerpt right here:


The Radical Question and A Radical Idea by David Platt (Chapter One Excerpt)