The Radical Disciple by John Stott

In The Radical Disciple John Stott writes in his usual simple but profound style. He clearly has the gift of taking life changing truths and explaining them in such a way that the points he makes come across as being so obvious we wonder why we did not see them ourselves.


The book is a call to Christians to live as Christ has called them to live, in the world but not of it. He does not bring out new truths, secrets or mysteries which will make the Christian life easier. On the contrary he addresses issues which should be central to our lives as believers and yet somehow are missing from our day to day living.


Stott defines a disciple as someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus, the nature of which is pupil to teacher and he sees the disciple as one who is under discipline.


He defines the word radical as a thoroughgoing commitment, something that consumes the life of the true follower of Jesus.


Stott acknowledges that too often Christians are selective in their obedience and so he chooses eight areas that we tend to avoid and draws out how obedience in these particular areas bring God glory. The eight areas are:


  • Non-conformity (we are in the world but not of it)
  • Christlikeness (we are to be like Him in all things)
  • Maturity (we are to grow in our relationship with Him)
  • Creation-care (we are to look after His creation)
  • Simplicity (we are to live simply)
  • Balance (we remember who and what we are)
  • Dependence (we are to rely on Him)
  • Death (we are to die to self)


As he addresses each point he reveals how distinctiveness in each of these areas helps to further the gospel by pointing onlookers towards a God who changes us from the inside out and who truly equips us to face the world.


I must confess I am a fan of Stott having read many of his books over the years. Do not allow yourself to be put off reading Stott because you think he might be too hard to understand. His gifting lies in making difficult topics not only easy to understand but also well within our capacity to obey. If you have never read any of Stott before I would heartily recommend this book. The chapters are short which means you can read and reflect at leisure before moving on to the next topic.


Ian Drysdale

 

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