The Radical Disciple

April 12, 2010
If this book of reflections on what it means to be a faithful Christian nonconformist has a poignant quality, it is not solely because its author, one of the world’s leading evangelical preachers and writers, ends it with the word: “Farewell!” The author of Basic Christianity
and Why I Am a Christian
focuses what is likely his final written work eight aspects of Christian practice that he feels are not taken seriously enough. These include nonconformity, Christlikeness, maturity, care for the creation, simplicity, balance, dependence, and death. Of particular interest are the author’s ideas on materialism and where Christians are asked to be active in advocating and practicing social and ecological justice. While the writer’s unadorned prose, threaded with biblical references, adheres to the essentials of Christianity orthodoxy, his deep concern for the prophetic and evangelical dimensions of Christianity comes through loud and clear. This slim volume will have special meaning for admirers, but it may also touch those unacquainted with this longtime evangelical lion as his public voice falls silent.