Faith That Endures: The Essential Guide to the Persecuted Church [Paperback]

Ronald Boyd-MacMillan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

In many underprivileged countries, the church is under constant persecution. Christians everywhere have heard the stories and seen the newscasts. But there are too many who still don't understand. What does persecution really look like up close? And what can we learn from the faithful endurance persecuted Christians so boldly embody? Ronald Boyd-MacMillan, writer-at-large for Open Doors International, has produced the most compelling and comprehensive look at Christian persecution today. With real life stories, he educates readers on the many levels of church persecution, highlights testimonies that have never before been published, and shows what we all can do to remember, reflect, and respond. Compassionate and provocative, Faith That Endures gives readers a path of connection to their persecuted brothers and sisters in a new and vital way, even as it enlightens and encourages us in our local churches and brings us closer to God.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

What does the persecuted church have to teach us? Most of us are blissfully ignorant of the true extent and nature of the persecution of Christians today. On top of that, we don't know how to effectively help our suffering brothers and sisters. Now Faith That Endures stands as the most comprehensive and authoritative guide on the persecution of the church today to help you answer these important questions: -What does contemporary persecution look like? -What is a persecuted Christian? -Where is the persecuted church? -How can we best assist the persecuted church? -What does the persecuted church have to teach us? Through true stories from the author's many years of work supporting the persecuted church, you will see how God is building His kingdom all around the world. And as you become more connected to the experiences of the persecuted, you will discover new spiritual truths that will transform your own faith and witness. "Ronald Boyd-MacMillan helps us see behind the stories, evaluate the effectiveness of various types of engagement with the persecuted church, and deepen our understanding as Westerners of the significance of persecution for our own contexts. If readers begin by asking what they can do for the persecuted church, by the end they recognize the important insights they need to receive from their uncomplaining, suffering brothers and sisters."--Eddie Gibbs, Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth, Fuller Theological Seminary "Ron has the knowledge, experience, and insight to guide us in learning and appreciating the persecuted church in our time, and it shows in this excellent and moving book. He gives us a comprehensive guide, enriched with personal profiles and stories from around the world, and also shows the complexities of the issues that we desperately need to understand if we are to do more good than harm."--Paul Marshall, senior fellow, Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom; author, Their Blood Cries Out

About the Author

Ronald Boyd-MacMillan (M.Div., Fuller Theological Seminary) has more than twenty-one years of experience interacting with the persecuted church as a researcher, minister, and journalist. He began serving with Open Doors International in 1982 and has worked as the associate director of research for Eastern Europe, the Asia bureau chief for News Network International, and the Asia bureau Chief of Compass Direct, the only news agency in the world dedicated exclusively to reporting the plight of persecuted Christians worldwide. He is now writer-at-large for Open Doors International and resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Revell (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800731190
• ISBN-13: 978-0800731199
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,249,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, January 3, 2007

By 

Linda Clary (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faith That Endures: The Essential Guide to the Persecuted Church (Paperback)

The author does an excellent job sharing the realities of the persecuted church in layman's terms. Not only does he inform but he challenges and explains the many complications of helping the persecuted church. It is an informative read for anyone but a must read for all Christians.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A valuable addition to the library of any pastor, seminarian, missionary or mission candidate, June 5, 2007

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faith That Endures: The Essential Guide to the Persecuted Church (Paperback)

Most of us have heard the stories in our churches --- stories about the suffering endured by Christians around the world because of their faith. We call these believers the "persecuted church," and many of us would like to do something, anything, to help them out. But before we make a move, we would all do well to set aside a few hours and read Ronald Boyd-MacMillan's FAITH THAT ENDURES, one of the most comprehensive books about religious persecution that I have ever come across. It truly is "the essential guide to the persecuted church."

Boyd-MacMillan, a writer with Open Doors International, a ministry that assists persecuted believers, has been reporting on and ministering to suffering Christians for some 20 years. In that time, he has acquired not only a wealth of information but also a wealth of wisdom about what persecution is, who is being persecuted and why, and what the rest of us can, and should not, do about it. Part investigative journalism, part exposé, part rallying cry, his book covers an extraordinary amount of territory.

That territory includes an examination of what persecution looks like in places such as Muslim Kurdistan, Hindu India and communist China, among others; an extensive and thorough discussion on the legal and biblical definitions of persecution (the author's definition: "any hostility, experienced from the world, as a result of one's identification with Christ...[including] hostile feelings, attitudes, words, and actions"); a description of the primary places where persecution is found today and the forms that persecution takes; analysis of the lessons we can learn from the persecuted; and a vitally important section on how we can help the persecuted church that in my view should be required reading for anyone who wants to help, especially those who feel called to share the gospel in areas that are hostile to the Christian faith.

As the author continually emphasizes, the issues and situations are often so complex that well-intended Christians who do not understand the complexities and nuances often end up doing more harm than good --- and in the aftermath, the already persecuted believers end up paying an even higher price.

Throughout, the author offers anecdotal examples of the varieties of persecution that exist, from outright assassination to loss of family support as a result of a person's conversion to Christ or Christian activities. But while so many other books focus on either those who were martyred or those who triumphed, this one gives equal time to those who, without any recognition, have endured unimaginable hardship and cruelty. "If all you focus on is the story of the martyrs, you will never understand the story of the persecuted church," Boyd-MacMillan writes. "Martyrdom is the dazzling tip of the iceberg that hides the dark bulk of the body."

FAITH THAT ENDURES should prove to be a valuable addition to the library of any pastor, seminarian, missionary or mission candidate, as well as those Christians whose eyes and hearts have been opened to the plight of those who are oppressed because of their faith. Highly recommended.

--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford.

5.0 out of 5 stars Faith That Endures: The Essential Guide to the Persecuted Church, February 23, 2010

By 

David Bennett (Trenton, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Faith That Endures: The Essential Guide to the Persecuted Church (Paperback)

I love this book. I have taught on "A Theology of Persecution" around the world, from Brazil to India. I have used the book in my studies and enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend it to you.