Week 1: Introduction — A Different Kind of Christianity

1.Platt opens by describing a Christianity that is "a mile wide and an inch deep" — large in numbers but shallow in discipleship. Where do you see evidence of this in your own church context or in American Christianity broadly?

2.He draws a distinction between being a "convert" and being a "disciple." In your own words, what is the difference Platt is pointing to, and why does it matter?

3.Platt suggests that our methods of evangelism — the quick prayer, the raised hand, the signed card — may actually be producing false assurance in people who have never truly repented and believed. How do you react to that claim? Does it feel too harsh, or does it ring true?

4.Think about the moment or season when you first identified as a Christian. Looking back through the lens of Platt's introduction, would you describe that as a moment of conversion, the beginning of discipleship, or something else entirely?

5.Platt insists that the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20) is not just a task for missionaries and pastors but the defining mission of every follower of Jesus. Is that how you have lived your Christian life so far? Why or why not?

6.What do you hope to gain — or be challenged by — over the course of reading this book? Write down one honest expectation and one honest fear about where this study might lead you.

7.How does the gospel itself — the death and resurrection of Jesus for sinners — provide not just the starting point but the ongoing motivation for the kind of radical discipleship Platt describes in the introduction?