Follow Me: A Call to Die. A Call to Live by David Platt (Tyndale, 2013), is a challenging book on what Jesus’ call to discipleship is actually about. Structured in 9 Chapters, Platt shares his passion for the lost and a desire to see Christians live out their calling to be disciples to make disciples.
Platt does not shy away from addressing big issues that have crept into Christian circles, particularly those of young adult generations, such as common phrases: “making Jesus your personal Lord and Saviour,” the ‘altar call’ and superficial aspects of religion. He mixes biblical truth with personal stories that last in your mind after you have finished that particular chapter.
I enjoyed his writing style and felt that as he shared anecdotes from across the globe, it was challenging to see the call to discipleship as both in my backyard and across the world. At times, it did feel as though I was being encouraged to drop everything, board a plane and head to a part of the world as a missionary, caused largely by Platt’s personal desire to see the world reached (which is a good thing!) When I stopped to think about this, I realised that I believe the West, while access to Christianity is fairly unrestricted, we are also in need of passionate Christians who are missionaries right here.
I think apathy and materialism has a lot to answer for in the Western Church, causing us to pursue wealth and affluence even when we don’t realise it, simply because of how pervasive it is in our culture. Platt’s book helps you realise our call to discipleship isn’t just inviting a friend to a one-off evangelistic event; it is a call to die to ourselves and truly follow Jesus. But unlike Platt who is focused on ‘out there’, this book helped me realise the need for ‘right here’. It challenged me though to be more mission-minded and gospel-focused in all aspects of my life.
