Safely Home [Paperback]

Randy Alcorn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2003

A soul-stirring story of two college friends who reconnect after 20 years. One is living life apart from God in comfortable corporate America, while the other is living for Christ under intense persecution in China. This challenging book will convict the heart of readers to live in the light of eternity.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Executive Ben Fielding hits upon a perfect plan: he will make his company millions of dollars by using Chinese labor to manufacture its electronic components. To kickstart his plan, he visits China, where he stays with college roommate Li Quan, whom he hasn't seen in over 20 years. From Li, Ben learns that his initial impressions of China from his research and from visits over the years are false, but Ben doesn't believe Li's stories of the persecution of Christians until Li is taken to jail. As Ben rediscovers Jesus through Li's faith, he discovers the truth that God does not promise an easy life on Earth, only eternal happiness after death. Part of this novel appeared as a short story in The Storytellers' Collection (LJ 9/1/00); here, its strength is magnified tenfold. Alcorn (Lord Foulgrin's Letters) lifts readers high with joy and casts them down in immeasurable sorrow as Ben and Li's story unfolds with intense emotional impact that recalls Sylvia Bambola's Refiner's Fire (LJ 6/1/00). Required for all collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Safely Home is not only a first-class story; it’s a bracing wake-up call about Christian persecution in China. You’ll be challenged. (Chuck Colson ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (February 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0842359915
• ISBN-13: 978-0842359917
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (215 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Randy Alcorn is an author and the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit ministry dedicated to teaching principles of God's Word and assisting the church in ministering to the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled, and unsupported people around the world. His ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity. He accomplishes this by analyzing, teaching, and applying the biblical truth.

Before starting EPM in 1990, Randy served as a pastor for fourteen years. He holds degrees in theology and biblical studies and has taught on the adjunct faculties of Multnomah University and Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon.

Randy has written more than forty books, including the bestsellers Heaven, The Treasure Principle, and the Gold Medallion winner Safely Home. His books in print exceed five million and have been translated into over thirty languages. Randy has written for many magazines including EPM's quarterly issues-oriented magazine Eternal Perspectives. He is active daily on Facebook and Twitter, has been a guest on more than 700 radio, television and online programs including Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Today, Revive Our Hearts, The Bible Answer Man, and The Resurgence.

Randy resides in Gresham, Oregon, with his wife, Nanci. They have two married daughters and are the proud grandparents of five grandchildren. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research, and reading.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

131 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Judge This Book By Its Title, September 10, 2001

By 

Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Safely Home (Hardcover)

Let's face it, the title "Safely Home" has a placid, unappealing sound to it. In fact, before seeing the cover, I thought perhaps Randy was delving into the Christian romance market.

That all changed when I saw the Chinese writing on the dust jacket. Having travelled in China, smuggling Bibles and sharing my faith, I was intrigued. Then, I peeled back the jacket to discover the amazing picture of a Chinese believer held in Jesus' arms. Standing there in the bookstore, I was hit with emotion, with moisture in my eyes. Suddenly, the title "Safely Home" made sense. The persecution of the Chinese church is real, and Alcorn shows clearly the difference between the state church and the underground church. I've met some of these underground believers. Alcorn captures their heart for God in ways that I've never seen in fiction before. He captures much of the Chinese believers' humility and struggle in this heartfelt novel.

The contrast between two former college friends, one a Chinese doctor, the other an American businessman, is credible and lends itself perfectly to the contrast in their levels of faith. Through the looking glass of this story, Alcorn forces us to weigh our own faith. Do we know what it means to stand for our beliefs? Do we know what it means to pay a price for our integrity?

Although Alcorn can come across as preachy at times, he always has something worth saying. By mixing a fascinating cultural and spiritual struggle in a fictional form, he opens our hearts to hear the truth...The response is up to us.

130 of 137 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too many late nights!, December 27, 2003

By 

Jacob Hantla "hantla.com" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Safely Home (Paperback)

We could not put it down. My wife and I read this book in about a week. That week was one of the hardest weeks of our lives simply because of the fact that we couldn't wait to read some more. Even though we are asleep most of the time by 10 pm, we were up until 3 am on at least two occassions. If the un-put-down-ableness were the only thing going for this book, it would be occassion enough for the five-star rating. However, the fact that this book stirred up in us both a passion to share the Gospel, instilled a greater love for God, and humbled us greatly makes me want to give it six stars. Amazon, unfortunately won't let me.
I don't normally read Christian fiction...I don't normally read fiction at all. I usually would prefer books like Piper's "Desiring God", Stott's "Cross of Christ", and Mahaney's "Cross-Centered Life," but this book has made me aware of a whole genre of life-changing books which I would have downplayed had it not been for my encounter with this one. Please read it, enjoy it, and then pass it on.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, captivating, and challenging, September 7, 2001

By 

Oliver Tseng "otseng" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Safely Home (Hardcover)

An insightful look into Christian persecution in China (and in the US, if you can call it persecution). The book presents a look into the life of the Chinese house church Christians and wraps it in a fictional, but very believable, story. As an Asian-American, I appreciated how well Randy Alcorn immersed the reader into the Chinese culture. The use of pinyin for key phrases throughout the book really made me believe I was there listening to them speak (though I believe "Zhen jin bu ba huo lian" should be "Zhen jin bu PA huo lian"). There's a lot of interesting information throughout the book about Chinese history and culture, language appreciation, persecution, and governmental corruption. It also takes on addressing several issues such as human rights, civil disobedience, God allowing suffering, and what is heaven like. While reading the book, it was apparent a lot of research and prayer went into it.

The book has personally challenged me to live a life of picking up the cross daily and to pray for those around me and the persecuted Christians throughout the world.

If you want to learn more about China and be challenged in your Christian walk, I'd highly recommend Safely Home.