Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

The final chapters in Radical function much as the conclusion of a sermon does, and especially the sort of sermon one might expect to hear in an evangelical church like Platt’s. In that context, a standard sermon moves from the introduction of a big idea (framing one’s life around Jesus’s biblical teachings rather than American cultural values), to the careful exposition of biblical evidence (which has been a central element in most of the foregoing chapters), to finally ending with a call to action. The goal is to move one’s hearers to a point of decision, so that they are not only hearing the Word of God preached, but responding to it in some direct way. In a typical evangelical sermon, the call to action might be a spiritual re-commitment of oneself to God, or (if the hearer is not yet a believer) a first-time decision to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Depending on the content of the biblical exposition, the call to action could also take the form of a practical challenge to amend one’s life: to cut a certain sinful habit out of one’s practices, for instance, or to resolve to engage more intentionally on a particular act of service.

The call to action following a sermon—often referred to as an altar call— typically uses several rhetorical devices to achieve its goal, including (1) a re-emphasizing of the necessity of conversion, (2) an inspirational challenge to raise the converts spirits and make them believe they can take the step, and (3) a direct application for them to put into practice. Each of the chapters in this closing section represents one of these rhetorical links. Chapter 7 underscores the absolute necessity of committing to a “radical” Christian life. Using a thread of reasoning from Paul’s epistle to the Romans, Platt makes the case that the biblical evidence is indisputable and the costs of failure are unimaginable, so (as the chapter title indicates), there is no “Plan B.” The call to action is not optional; it is a necessary step in one’s life of faith.

Chapter 8 then represents the rhetorical device of inspirational challenge, using terminology designed to appeal to Platt’s readers’ sentiments and convictions. For example, words like “risking” and “daring” set the call to action as a rousing adventure. Platt’s anecdotes also tend to this effect, as he selects stories of brave explorer-missionaries, setting off into unknown dangers for the sake of completing their call. Chapter 9 brings the whole argument down to the final, practical element of the call to action: pressing the audience to make a commitment, to undertake a decisive act based on all that they have heard. It offers a practical application, broken down into five easily understandable steps, so that no one can walk away from the book feeling like they don’t know what to do next; they can only walk away deciding either to heed its call or ignore its call.

These final chapters also bring the major themes of Platt’s book to their resolution. His theme of critiquing the American Dream is brought to a point of critical decision, particularly in Chapter 9’s third recommendation for the “Radical Experiment”—sacrificing one’s money for a specific cause. Taking this step would necessarily require one to move beyond the normal pattern expected in the American Dream—using one’s money to provide more material comforts and better financial security for oneself—and to devote one’s resources to the good of others instead. The theme of Discipleship as Costly Obedience also finds expression in the stipulations of the “Radical Experiment” in Chapter 9. While the one-year scope of the commitment makes it seem doable, each of the steps has the potential to be challenging. Readers who undertake the experiment will be facing the costly sacrifice of time each day, of money, and of certain patterns of engagement (leaving established habits for time spent in a community of faith and in another context beyond one’s comfort zone). These steps are costly, but they offer readers a simple framework for how to engage on a path toward what Platt believes is an authentic, biblically faithful model of discipleship.

The final remaining theme, that of The Global and Missional Context of Christian Faith, is woven prominently throughout all three chapters. Chapter 7 reminds readers that God’s plan hinges on Christians being missionally active in bearing the good news of salvation to those who have never heard it before, and that there is no alternative to this arrangement. In Platt’s view, either the church will be missionally-focused and globally-oriented, or the church will fail in its main purpose. Chapter 8 uses the testimonies of notable missionaries of the past as exemplars of the “radical” Christian life, and so underscores once again the central place that a globally-oriented practice of faith has within Christian spirituality. Chapter 9 then offers specific steps which readers can take to align their discipleship practices with global and missional values, including praying for every country in the world and devoting oneself to a multiplying community. Like a good preacher, then, Platt brings all of his themes back to practical applications in the end, seeking to move his readers to a point of decision and urging them to commit to making this radical version of Christian discipleship a reality in their lives.