Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream is about just that: rescuing American Christians from the deadly kudzu of the “American Dream.”

He’s not saying that America=evil or that everything within our culture is bad, but that there are harmful ideas that we have bought and followed without discernment, becoming normal in the American church.

I don’t really know where to start on this review.  In some ways, I only need to say: go out and buy it (it would be worth buying at twice its $10-12 price tag, and when you’re done with it, lend/give it to someone else).

When I first got my hands on this, I did what I do to every book: look to see how many actual pages it had (secret: I do the math to figure out how many pages I need to read in each book per day to finish it by the date that I want).  At the very end, I noticed it has 5 things he wants the reader to commit to, and leaves room for you to write out how you’re going to carry them out.  I read them before I read the rest of the book, and I thought, “Ehh, those are good, but I’ve heard all that before.”  But when I read the book and then got to that section?

You bet I was praying, asking God’s forgiveness for neglecting these simple things and praying through how I was going to re-implement them in my life.

This book was the perspective change that I needed.  This book is the perspective change that the American church needs.

If you want to know more about what Radical is about, check out the video on the bottom of the homepage of the book’s website.  You can even sign up to read the first chapter for free.  But really, you need to read chapters 6 (“How Much is Enough?: American Wealth in a World of Poverty”) and 7 (“There is No Plan B: Why Going is Urgent, Not Optional”).

Chapter 6 hits on the very topic God has been working on in me: that I’m abundantly wealthy (yes, in a worldly sense) and I squander that wealth on myself (more on this in an upcoming blog post).

In chapter 7, David Platt walks simply through 7 Biblical truths that makes participation in missions mandatory for all Christians (going, praying, sending, and/or supporting).  Nothing new for me, but this was the simplest and most logical presentation I’ve seen.  Kind of a “duh” thing.

While I’ve been blessed to have heard a lot of this before from the ministries I have participated in and my church that I love, I needed to hear it again.  The American Dream is so easy to get caught up in.  It’s easier to join in the pursuit of a better living, fun gadgets, and being well-dressed than it is to live sacrificially and simply so that I can bless others with the blessings He’s blessed me.  After all, I don’t want to be weird, do I?

But indeed, the Christian faith as laid out in the Bible is radical.  When we try to soften it’s commands and examples, we’re wrong.

I don’t know what else to say to convince you to read this book.