What is the Reform the Church Needs? - Philosophical Fragments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In advancing this series (Part One, Part Two, Part Three) on David Platt's Radical Together, I want to address these questions:\u00a0What exactly is the reform\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2011\/07\/22\/what-is-the-reform-the-church-needs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is the Reform the Church Needs? - Philosophical Fragments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In advancing this series (Part One, Part Two, Part Three) on David Platt's Radical Together, I want to address these questions:\u00a0What exactly is the reform\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2011\/07\/22\/what-is-the-reform-the-church-needs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Philosophical Fragments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-22T14:00:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Timothy Dalrymple\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Timothy Dalrymple\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2011\/07\/22\/what-is-the-reform-the-church-needs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2011\/07\/22\/what-is-the-reform-the-church-needs\/\",\"name\":\"What is the Reform the Church Needs? - Philosophical Fragments\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-22T14:00:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-07-22T14:00:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/#\/schema\/person\/de8c9a4caf0177191808914f83826310\"},\"description\":\"In advancing this series (Part One, Part Two, Part Three) on David Platt's Radical Together, I want to address these questions:\u00a0What exactly is the reform\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2011\/07\/22\/what-is-the-reform-the-church-needs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2011\/07\/22\/what-is-the-reform-the-church-needs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2011\/07\/22\/what-is-the-reform-the-church-needs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is the Reform the Church Needs?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/\",\"name\":\"Philosophical Fragments\",\"description\":\"Daily Thoughts on Faith, Culture and Politics from Timothy Dalrymple\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/#\/schema\/person\/de8c9a4caf0177191808914f83826310\",\"name\":\"Timothy Dalrymple\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/53a368bbc8d116657d6af168549f2add?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/53a368bbc8d116657d6af168549f2add?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Timothy Dalrymple\"},\"description\":\"Timothy Dalrymple was raised in non-denominational evangelical congregations in California. 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{"id":655,"date":"2011-07-22T10:00:38","date_gmt":"2011-07-22T14:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/philosophicalfragments\/?p=655"},"modified":"2011-07-22T10:00:38","modified_gmt":"2011-07-22T14:00:38","slug":"what-is-the-reform-the-church-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2011\/07\/22\/what-is-the-reform-the-church-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Reform the Church Needs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In advancing this series (Part One<\/a>, Part Two<\/a>, Part Three<\/a>) on David Platt\u2019s Radical Together<\/a><\/em>, I want to address these questions:\u00a0What exactly is the reform that the American church requires? \u00a0How exactly should that reform be framed? \u00a0What are the right terms and categories to explain it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve explained in detail what I find so worthy of celebration in Platt\u2019s work, and in the response to Platt\u2019s work amongst theological conservatives. \u00a0The truth is, theological conservatives should be \u2013 and sometimes are \u2013 the ones most committed<\/em> to caring for those who cannot care for themselves. \u00a0We believe Jesus really said the things recorded in the gospels, and really meant the things he said, and that it is the calling of our devotion to Christ to live in obedience to his teachings. \u00a0When theological conservatism overlaps with political conservatism, then theological conservatives may have different ideas than political liberals on the best ways to serve the needy. \u00a0But respect and care for the widow and the orphan is a profound, non-negotiable, and beautiful part of the life of faith.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also explained why I don\u2019t think that being more \u201cradical\u201d in our faith can be the goal. \u00a0Should we be more radical in our faith? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0Should that be our goal? \u00a0No.<\/p>\n

In Radical Together<\/a><\/em>, Platt sets forth six principles for living a radical faith within the communities of the church. \u00a0They\u2019re fine principles, and I don\u2019t disagree with them. \u00a0Too many churches have become \u201ccaretaker\u201d churches, where the congregants want to be lavished with cheap grace, want to live unchallenged lives, want someone to sprinkle a little holy water over essentially worldly and comfortable lives. \u00a0If the pastors press for lives wholly abandoned to God, then the graybeards in the congregations warn them that they\u2019re growing legalistic and extreme. \u00a0The congregants basically want a little religious mood music to usher them into old age and beyond. \u00a0I know this because I\u2019ve seen it happen. \u00a0I\u2019ve seen pastors thrown out of their congregations because they believed that when Jesus said \u201cdeny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me,\u201d he did not mean to lead ordinary suburban American lives with the addition of church attendance and the occasional tithe. \u00a0Those of us who attend excellent churches that fully preach the gospel and the call of discipleship should not underestimate how much complacent Christendom is out there.<\/p>\n

So what is the solution? \u00a0Is it to try to be radical? \u00a0Can we grit our teeth and ball our fists and will ourselves into more radical lives of faith? \u00a0I don\u2019t think so. \u00a0This is not a battle that will-power can win. \u00a0The more we trust in our own will power, the more we entrench ourselves in the illusion of self-sufficiency. \u00a0Grace is the key not only to our justification, but also to our sanctification. \u00a0It is God\u2019s grace that counts us as righteous (\u201cGod demonstrated his own love for us\u2026while we were still sinners\u201d \u2013 Romans 5:8) and God\u2019s grace that makes us righteous (God will be faithful to complete the work he began in us \u2013 Philippians 1:6). \u00a0No, the solution is not ourselves. \u00a0The solution is Christ. \u00a0We do not need a better us. \u00a0We need more of Christ in us.<\/p>\n

I am convinced, what is desperately needed in the church today is a recovery of the ideal of the imitation of Christ. \u00a0We do not seek to be radical; we seek to be like Christ. \u00a0We do not seek to live a radical life; we seek to live a life like Christ\u2019s. \u00a0Trusting in Christ, we are empowered to live the life Christ lived. \u00a0Living like Christ, we become like Christ, and we come to know Christ and rest in him ever more deeply. \u00a0From salvation comes imitation, from imitation comes transformation into the likeness of Christ, and from transformation comes understanding and union.<\/p>\n

Next, in the final part of this series, I\u2019ll try to sketch out what this means.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"