Radical by David Platt

Week 6: Chapter 5 — The Multiplying Community

Read Chapter 5 of Radical by David Platt. Key passages: Acts 2:42–47; 2 Timothy 2:2.

Platt turns from the global vision to the local question: what kind of community actually produces disciples who change the world, and how does that differ from what we usually build?

Discussion Questions

8 questions

1.Platt opens this chapter by describing the early church in Acts 2 — a community marked by teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer, where everything was shared and people were added daily. How does that picture compare to your experience of local church community? What is missing, and what might account for the gap?

2.He argues that the dominant model of American church — a weekly gathering centered on a polished worship experience and a professional sermon — is fundamentally consumer-oriented rather than community-oriented. What do you think? Is that critique fair? Where does it land for you personally?

3.Platt emphasizes 2 Timothy 2:2 — "what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" — as the New Testament model: multiplication through personal discipleship, not addition through attractional programming. What is the practical difference between those two models?

a.Are you currently discipling someone — investing intentionally in their spiritual growth? If not, what has prevented you from doing so?

b.Is someone currently discipling you? What does that relationship look like?

4.Platt describes his own church's shift from a Sunday-morning-centered model toward smaller multiplying communities. What did that cost them, and what did they gain? What fears would your church have about making a similar shift?

5.He challenges the idea that the most gifted person should be the one doing all the teaching and ministry, while everyone else watches. The New Testament model is every-member ministry. Where do you see your own gifts being unused or underutilized in the church you are part of? What would change if they were deployed?

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Closing Prayer

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Lord Jesus, You did not build Your kingdom through polished productions — You poured Your life into twelve ordinary people and told them to do the same. Forgive us for outsourcing discipleship to professionals while we remain consumers. Thank You for the church — Your body, Your bride. Knit us together in a community where we are truly known, truly accountable, and truly sent. Multiply us, Lord. For the glory of Your name and the sake of the world. Amen.

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