Do Something Radical
By Steve Backlund
Radical means extreme or very different from the usual or traditional. The Bible is full of people who did radical acts. Here are a few:
Abraham left the familiar and followed the voice of God (not knowing where he was going).
Peter, James, and John (and the other disciples) left everything to follow Jesus.
Elijah challenged 400 Prophets of Baal to prove whose God was real.
Peter stepped out of the boat to see if he could walk on water.
The Children of Israel walked about the walls of Jericho in silence for seven days.
King Jehoshaphat put the praisers in front of the army in a military conflict.
I am on staff at Bethel Church in Redding California. They have a ministry school called the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. People from around the world have made the radical decision to leave their jobs, leave their nations, and come to experience God’s love and power there.
It is clear that in our faith Journey we will at times do things that do not seem logical, convenient, or easy, but the hunger in our hearts to break out of routine and to experience something greater will propel us to do some things that are seemingly extreme. I have done this personally through obedience, generosity, going to locations where God is moving, and in other ways.
As I prepared for this blog, I sensed by me simply saying, “Do something radical,” it would jolt people out of passivity and procrastination into powerful actions. I do realize there is a small percentage of people who do not need to hear this word (those who have difficulty following through on commitments, those addicted to excitement, and those who live impulsively apart from relationships with emotionally mature people).
Here are some ideas of some radical actions that would create a big result. Some of these are a confirmation for what people have already been thinking about.
Make a bucket list of things you’d like to do in your lifetime
Travel to Brazil on a Randy Clark ministry trip to activate miracles in your life
Travel with Georgian Banov to minister to the poor
Down-size to have more financial freedom
Go back to school to improve yourself or to make a career change
Start doing regular social media live broadcasts
Train for 5K run or a marathon
Run for political office
Climb a tall mountain
Start a neighborhood connection group
Fast social media
Check yourself into a substance abuse treatment center
Cut up your credit cards
Start regular counseling or book a sozo (inner healing) appointment
Attend a church camp with the whole family
Minister to the needy as a whole family
Preach the gospel on a street corner or on an airplane
Participate in my leadership academy starting in September 2024
Or something else
What is radical for one person may not be radical for another.
The Prodigal Son came to his senses to do something radical. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father’” (Luke 15:17-18a). We do not need to be as low as him to come to our senses and decide to do something life-igniting for us and others. Together, let’s do something radical!