Moving beyond mere good intentions to truly follow Jesus |
Written by Christine D. Johnson |
Monday, 14 January 2013 02:57 PM America/New_York |
Pastor and best-selling author David Platt examines the cost—and indescribable joy—of discipleship Alabama pastor David Platt knows former Muslims whose conversions to Christ could get them killed. To them, and to the New Testament disciples, the price of following Jesus is dramatic and obvious. Yet many who call themselves Christian, according to Platt, neither understand the cost nor truly follow Christ. “With good intentions and sincere desires to reach as many people as possible for Jesus, we have subtly and deceptively minimized the magnitude of what it means to follow him,” writes Platt in his new Tyndale House Publishers book, Follow Me: A Call to Die. A Call to Live. A New York Times best-selling author, Platt has long urged readers and his congregation at The Church at Brook Hills to radical living. His book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream sold more than a million copies and challenged Christians to reject postmodernisms that are antithetical to the gospel. Follow Me explores both “the gravity of what we must forsake” and “the greatness of the One whom we follow,” Platt writes. He calls Jesus the “Great Initiator” who invites us into relationship with Him in spite of our sin and says that following Him includes self-denial, commitment to a local church and making disciples. In following Jesus, “we experience a desire for him and pleasure in him that totally transforms everything about us,” Platt writes. Platt also seeks to “uncover potential dangers hiding behind popular clichés.” For example, he says we cannot make Jesus our Lord and Savior because “Jesus is Lord regardless of what you or I decide.” The final chapter poses questions leading readers to make specific plans for following Jesus and being fishers of men. For information or to order Follow Me, call 800-323-9400 or visit www.tyndalebooksellers.com. |