Week 1: Introduction — Someone Worth Losing Everything For

1.Platt begins by describing a moment of conviction when he compared the demands of Jesus in the Gospels with the easy, low-cost Christianity common in American churches. When did you first sense — if ever — that something might be missing from the version of Christianity you were raised with or first encountered?

2.He uses the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44–46) to frame the book's thesis: that Jesus is worth losing everything for, and that our lives should reflect that conviction. In your own words, what is the point of those parables, and why do you think Platt chose them as his launching pad?

3.Platt makes a distinction early on between "the Jesus of the Bible" and "the Jesus of the American Dream." What does he mean by that distinction? Where do you see evidence of a culturally reshaped Jesus in the churches or Christian media you are most familiar with?

4.He describes his own sense of unease as a young pastor — realizing that what he was building looked more like a successful American organization than a New Testament church. What metrics does American Christianity tend to use for "success," and how do those compare to the metrics Jesus used?

5.Platt's title word is "radical" — meaning back to the root, not merely extreme. What is the root he wants to return to? Does that reframing of the word change how you feel about the book's invitation?

6.The introduction sets up a tension between comfort and calling. Where do you feel that tension most acutely in your own life right now — financially, vocationally, relationally, or spiritually?

7.Platt invites readers to approach the book with an open heart, willing to be changed. What is one assumption about the Christian life you are willing to hold loosely as you work through these chapters?