The twenty-first century has opened with a rapidly changing map of Christianity. While its influence is waning in some of its traditional Western strongholds, it is growing at a phenomenal pace in the global South. And yet this story has largely eluded the corporate news brokers of the West. Layered as it is with countless personal and corporate stories of remarkable faith and witness, it nevertheless lies ghostlike behind the newsprint and webpages of our print media, outside the camera's vision on the network evening news.
Miriam Adeney has lived, traveled and ministered widely. She has walked with Christians in and from the far reaches of the globe. As she pulls back the veil on real Christians--their faith, their hardships, their triumphs and, yes, their failures--an inspiring and challenging story of a kingdom that knows no borders takes shape.
This is a book that coaxes us out of our comfortable lives. It beckons us to expand our vision and experience of the possibilities and promise of a faith that continues to shape lives, communities and nations.
"Kingdom Without Borders invites us into a magnificent tapestry of the glory of God alive in the peoples and nations of our world. Miriam Adeney weaves the dominant designs of God's global mission with and through countless stories of people and friends. We meet sisters and brothers in Christ in contexts of joy and profound sadness; in China, Latin America, the Islamic and the Buddhist worlds; in the arts and persecution, in the Word and the Spirit. I cannot recommend any book higher than Kingdom Without Borders as the introduction to worshiping the God on mission."
"Miriam Adeney has once again written a powerful and accessible book on a topic of profound importance. Readers will be humbled and inspired by what they find in these pages--testimonies that show how the gospel is changing lives all over the world."
"A delightful and accessible introduction to global missions--God's foreign policy among the nations. A masterful storyteller, Miriam introduces us to her multicultural family, from Cesar in the Philippines to Ruth in Rwanda, in this flyover perspective on the move of the Spirit through the peoples of our world. Bible teaching, economic theory, comparative religions or insights on intercultural communication provide lively connecting tissue you will not find in dry missions texts. It is a bold call to serve vulnerably, sharing in suffering until Christ's resurrection power is released among all peoples!"
"Kingdom Without Borders is a fresh look at the question, What is God doing in the world? In this book, Miriam Adeney again combines the work of a scholar with the skill of a writer. She draws us into the story of the global Christian family, while introducing us to the trends and theological conversations so vital to our understanding. Between Adeney's mastery of storytelling and the profound insights she reports, the reader gains a greater appreciation for God's greatness. This creative combination of voices from many sources is an important contribution to the growing conversation surrounding globalization."
"Miriam Adeney takes us on a richly illustrated journey in order to teach us how to (re)think globally while loving and acting locally. Moving with creative ease between narrative and dialogue, she tells fascinating stories with a sensitive crosscultural touch, crossing all given and imposed borders and barriers with passion that inspires."
"The fact of the vibrancy and growth of the church around the world is one many of us have come to learn in the past few decades. Like no other account I've read, Miriam Adeney compellingly weaves individual stories from every nook and cranny of the globe into a tapestry that reflects God's burden and passion for every person and community. She takes what others report as data and brings it to us through the lives of the people who have been transformed by encountering the living Christ, and ultimately paints a masterpiece of God at work across our planet. Reading the journeys of brokenness, trauma, pain, hope, sacrifice, joy and redemption will change your perspective on how God is at work--and just maybe your life."
"For the uninitiated as well as the budding scholar, Kingdom Without Borders is the ideal introduction to contemporary world Christianity and highly recommended for college courses and church classes on the subject."
"Drawing upon personal encounters and published accounts, [Adeney] employs her notable gift of storytelling to narrate the ordinary but extraordinary lives of Christians around the world. . . . Her work creatively weaves together real-life experiences with reflections on the major missiological issues they illustrate. . . . Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand and participate in God's kingdom in the world today."
"Adeney's stories should open the eyes of many Western Christians. Though stories of Western missionaries are interspersed throughout, the book remains a tribute to indigenous Christian movements. Each story that Adeney relays reveals a God who is not representative of borders. Perhaps it's the stories told by Adeney that will help North Americans see more clearly how the old story of the gospel plays out in new contexts."
"This is not a statistically heavy book, nor a dry country-by-country ledger of church growth accounting. Rather, Adeney introduces the reader to the simple yet powerful faith stories of representative Christians in Thailand, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Columbia, and many more nations. This is a deeply personal book: a testimony to the faithfulness of God in the lives of his people around the globe."
"[Adeney's] stories of global Christian witness renew believers' faith and trust in God and reinforce that God's Kingdom truly is without borders."
"This book is a fresh view of the answers to the question, 'What is God doing in the world today?' You will be inspired by these testimonies, many of them are almost unbelievable."
"A humble and complex anthem to the diverse kingdom of Christ found in worldwide cultures."
CONTENTS
Introduction: What I Learned from Filipinos
1 These Are My People
2 The Elephant in the Room: Jesus' People in China
3 Word
4 Pulsating Passion: Jesus' People in Latin America
5 Spirit
6 Axis of Hope: Jesus' People in the Muslim World
7 Catastrophe
8 Mystic Servants: Jesus' People in the Hindu World
9 Song
10 When You Go Through Fire: Jesus' People in Africa
11 Way of the Cross
12 Way of Life
Endnotes
