Something Needs To Change By David Platt

Something Needs To Change
by David Platt
Publisher: Multnomah
ISBN: 9780735291416

I requested to review this book because my husband is a big fan of David Platt. I haven't read any books of his, so I figured I'd give this a go. Thanks to Multnomah for sending me a review copy.

Summary:

While leading a team on a week-long trek of the Himalayas, bestselling author and pastor David Platt was stunned by the human needs he encountered, an experience so dramatic that it "changed the trajectory of my life." Meeting a man who'd lost his eye from a simple infection and seeing the faces of girls stolen from their families and trafficked in the cities, along with other unforgettable encounters, opened his eyes to the people behind the statistics and compelled him to wrestle with his assumptions about faith. In Something Needs to Change, Platt invites readers to come along on both the adventure of the trek, as well as the adventure of seeking answers to tough questions like, "Where is God in the middle of suffering?" "What makes my religion any better than someone else's religion?" and "What do I believe about eternal suffering?" Platt has crafted an irresistible message about what it means to give your life for the gospel--to finally stop talking about faith and truly start living it.

My Review:

So it's funny how God works sometimes. I asked to review Something Needs to Change because of my husband. Turns out, this hit me where it counts. Can I be honest with you? I'm not a big fan of non-fiction. Heck, I'm not even a little fan of non-fiction.

This book though, I read it and soaked it all in!

I wasn't sure I was going to care for it at the start, but I was so thankful David Platt had the forethought to journal his journey. I'm also not one to highlight or dog-ear pages of a book. Probably a good thing this was an ARC (advanced readers copy).

"The question is no longer 'Whom do I need to love?' Instead, the question is now 'Who is the one who is loving?'"

Something Needs to Change has made me think of our mission trips to Peru. How I've gone down there and done good things, but did I see the needs? The spiritual needs. I think to a degree I did. Like Platt, I wondered why God allowed me to be born here in USA where there is an abundance of everything and not in a jungle sleeping on a dirt ground. Those trips have been "easy". I've liked them because they haven't taken me out of my comfort zone. And that's where this book hits me.

"There is a kind of love for God and for others that simply can't be manufactured by religious learning."

Are we , as Christians, willing to be uncomfortable for Christ? For the lost? When we go back down hopefully next year, will I be willing to say, "ok, let's do a jungle trip!"? Am I willing to see the need that those who are unreached and go? My fervent hope is that I would say, "Yes!"

"We want to make the most of this life now (we even market Christianity as the key to our best life now). But it sure seems as though Jesus's message sounds more like our best lives later. And forever."

The end of Something Needs to Change reminds me of what it's like as we prepare to come home from Lima, Peru. Fred and I joke about moving down there and Stalin and Paige encourage us to do it! I worry that when I get back I'll be lulled into a sense of complacency. Comfortable in my house with our 2 cars, enough food to feed one of the villages David's been to, and with enough clothing to give multiple pieces to each person - that's my fear.

If God calls, will I be willing to live in a remote jungle in Peru? Will I be willing to live even in Lima? What about my desire to be a hands-on grandma? My hope to move back to Minnesota where friends and family are? I'm not saying God isn't calling me to those things, I just wonder if I'll be able to hear him above the noise in my own head.

Ok, so this was more than a review. Clearly you can see that this book has caused me to be very reflective of my own life. I hope I don't stop just because I've finished the book. Go. Get. This. Book! If anything, it'll give you a new perspective. I know it's done that for me.



About the Author:

David Platt serves as pastor at McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C., and he is the founder and president of Radical Inc., a global ministry that serves churches in accomplishing the mission of Christ. David previously served as the president of the International Mission Board, and he has authored several books, including Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, and Counter Culture. Along with his wife and kids, he lives in the Washington D.C. metro area.