Radical Read Along - Are you in?

Today was the day to post about the last chapter in the Radical book in Marla's Read-along.  Chapter 9 focuses on DOING something with your Christianity (James 1:22 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." ) 

Dr. Platt lays out a five point plan for putting our Christianity into practice:
1) Pray for the whole world
2) Read the Bible through
3) Sacrifice for a specific purpose
4) Spend time in another context and
5) Commit to a multiplying community

I originally listened to Dr. Platts sermon series on this topic back in January and it had an incredible impact on my life.  I knew what the five points were back then - but I didn't commit to it at that time.  Let's go through them one by one:

Pray for the Whole World
While I knew the resources to support me in this endeavor were readily available , I was not consistent in taking advantage of them.  I tend to pray in the morning when I first wake up and at night when I am going to sleep.  I completely forgot about taking the time to find out WHO I should be praying for that day.  This is obviously an area in which I need to work.

Read the Whole Bible
Once again, I knew the resources were there, but I didn't use them like I should.  I was reading my Bible; just not consistently or in any specific manner.  I have taken some times during the year and done some research on a specific topic, but not with the intent of going through the entire Bible.  The sad part is that I have laid out a plan for my oldest to do just this.  I have spent some time during the last few months (when he started) discussing some passages with him, but I am now convicted more than ever that I should be doing this WITH him. 

Sacrifice for a Specific Purpose
This is one area where I think we have actually been successful.  It was the conviction of the Radical series that led us to pursue the adoption of DJ (a story I'll have to post another day).  As a result, our sacrifice is to pay for his adoption out of our savings.  However, God also convicted me to determine if our tithes to our church were supporting the "American Dream" of Christianity or the Radical Christianity.  From what I could determine, our tithes were supporting the "American Dream".  As a result, we are now tithing in a myriad of other ways - supporting kids via Compassion International, Amazima Ministries, helping others fund their adoptions, etc.  We even gave all of the proceeds of our garage sale to Show Hope.  I still don't think we are completely where God wants us to be financially, but we are working towards that goal. 

Spend Time in Another Context
This year our family has found numerous opportunities to serve others locally.  We have helped at a local homeless shelter, packed food for Haiti, helped kids with autism learn to surf, volunteered for Show Hope, and volunteered at Camp No Limits.  I don't mention these things to brag, but to show that there are LOTS of opportunites around us to reach out without having to specifically go overseas.  The other thing I was most interested in was doing something that our ENTIRE family could participate in.  I really want my kids to learn the lesson of helping others EARLY. 

Commit to a Multiplying Community
I mentioned earlier that I was trying to determine if our tithes were supporting radical Christianity - and they weren't.  As a result, we are looking for a new community of believers that does believe in radical Christianity.  The problem I am finding is that very few churches in our area "get it".  There are maybe two - one that is very close to home and one that is about 30min away.  Unfortunately, our schedules have not allowed me to visit either one yet.  I'm hoping to visit the closest one next Sunday.  I am continuing to pray for guidance in this area as it will mean yet another change for our kids. 

Am I in?  We at least have one foot in.  We are working on putting the other foot in.  At least we are thinking about these things now where we weren't before; we just have to get into more of the doing (James 1:22)