David Platt has done it again – another challenging book reflecting the heart of God for the nations.  The dominant theme throughout the book is the answer to this question, “How can we in the church best unleash the people of God in the Spirit of God with the Word of God for the glory of God in the world?” (p. 3).

Platt addresses that question as he points out that good is often the enemy of the best – we can become sidetracked doing good things in the church but miss the heart of the Great Commission – to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  He points out that the Gospel saves us from working for our salvation so that we can realize God’s grace and work toward helping others experience His grace.

He demonstrates the power of God’s word to bring about transformational change.  He succinctly states, “the Word of God accomplishes the work of God” (p. 45).  Platt describes the emphasis of too many churches, “There it is a performance at a place filled with programs run by professionals.  The problem, though, is the one p we have left out of the equation:  the people of God” (p. 58).

“Radical Together” challenges the reader to take seriously the truth of Matthew 24:14, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”  He challenges the reader, “If we were willing to take some risks, if we were willing to alter our lifestyles, and if we were willing to organize our churches around taking the gospel to people who have never heard of Christ, we could see every people group on the planet reached with the gospel” (p. 80).  What a great statement – if we really believe that is true are we willing to make the lifestyle changes to make that statement a reality?  The sad reality is “As long as church consists of normal routines and Christianity consists of nominal devotion with little risk, little sacrifice, and little abandonment, then we can do this on our own” (p. 117).

Platt closes by emphasizing the sufficiency of God, “God does not involve us in his grand, global purpose because he needs us.  He involves us in his grand, global purpose because he loves us” (p. 123).  If you appreciated Platt’s first book “Radical” then you will definitely want to read “Radical Together” – I highly recommend this book if you want to play a role in fulfilling the Great Commission!  (I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review).