The Unexpected Journey: Conversations with People Who Turned from Other Beliefs to Jesus

by Thom S. Rainer

Following Jesus is a journey none of the people in this book ever expected to take. Why did they?What difference did it make?The book you’re holding is dangerous. If you read it, you’ll see that God is still active in saving even the most unexpected An atheist woman who viewed Christians as “idiots.” A married couple high in the leadership ranks of the Mormon church. An African-American man who became a Black Muslim out of hatred for white Christians. You’ll be amazed, moved, and encouraged as you read their compelling stories and the stories of nine others who made The Unexpected Journey from non-Christian beliefs to faith in Jesus Christ. You’ll rediscover the power of the gospel. You might even be emboldened to tell others about Christ yourself.Unexpected journeys beyond• Mormonism• Judaism• Hinduism• Atheism• Jehovah’s Witness• Agnosticism• Wiccan Paganism• Buddhism• Unitarianism• Astrology• Islam• Satanism

Genres: Christian, Religion, Evangelism, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Christianity, Book Club

209 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Thom S. Rainer is the founder and CEO of Church Answers and Executive Director of Revitalize Network. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama where he received his degree in business administration. He received both the master of divinity and the Ph.D. degrees from Southern Seminary.

Dr. Rainer has served as pastor of four churches. He is the former president of Rainer
Group consulting. He served for twelve years as dean at Southern Seminary and for thirteen years as the president and CEO of LifeWay Çhristian Resources.

Dr. Rainer has authored or co-authored 33 books. Among his greatest joys are his family: his wife Nellie Jo; three sons, Sam, Art, and Jess; and eleven grandchildren.

Reviews

[Clark Goble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book chronicles Thom Rainer's one year journey with his wife to interview people who turned from other religions to Christianity. I enjoyed every page of the book. Admittedly, some of the stories left a bigger impression on me than others, but each proved to demonstrate how God works in people's lives. I would have have given it five stars, however, I felt that the writing got a little choppy toward the end of the book and I would have appreciated a little more detail in some of the stories.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

[Jesus Prado · Rating 5 out of 5]

An encouraging read for someone learning to share their Christian faith

The Good:
Every story is worth reading and challenges the reader to dossier what they might say to an individual who believes differently from them
The diverse collection of testimonials offer a broad view of non-Christian beliefs
It's pretty short
The notes and questions at the end make this book useful as a resource to church leaders. They are concise and invite the reader to dive deeper in their understanding of how to share Christ with others

Growth Points:
I do think the author interjected a bit more than necessary. It's a mild distraction but harmless to the heart of the book and its message

TLDR: Read this if you want a crash course in how Jesus reveals himself to others, with or without the help of the church.

[Fabio Nass · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books when it comes to world religion, not because it breaks every religion down and explains it all the inside and outs but because it makes it personal and relational. The people are the important thing in this book. Now you are studying world religion but also connecting with people while doing that. Also I love that in the end of every chapter there is a question on hoe to reach that people group. It reminds us that we must not study other religions just for the sake of being smart but to actually find a way to share the Gospel with them.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book lends itself to great discussion, but its shallow skimming of the surface bothered me.

[NinaB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an inspiring, enlightening, convicting and informative book. The author and his wife traveled throughout the United States to interview 13 Christians who came from diverse religious backgrounds - Mormonism, Islam, atheism, Satanism, etc. The author offers brief descriptions of their former beliefs and practical helps on how to evangelize the people groups they represented.

[Keisha Colson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book !!!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthwhile read, interesting and relevant. However, I found the author's need to insert himself into the personal narratives of the subjects--which was neither necessary or relevant--to be distracting in it's mildest form and obstructive at other points.

For example, in the midst of a compelling account of an ex-satanist on why he was drawn to satanism as a child (including an out-of-body experience), the author stops the narrative to talk about eating pizza. The experience of the interview intruded on the substance of the interview.

Nevertheless, there are some excellent facets of this book and I recommend it to all Christians who have heard the call of the great commission.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most important books I've personally read in a long time. I would recommend it to be read by anyone non Christian who is having doubts about their belief system or who would like to live as a Christian but is struggling with that as well.
Very worthwhile.Also there are some rare stories here.In today's increasingly secularized world you don't often hear of Satanists, Witches or Muslims converting to Christianity.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

First seek to understand.
Differences in Religion often separates people who are afraid of what they don’t understand. This book provides understanding and has the potential to bring people together across religions.
I first purchased this as an audio book. Now that I have listened I purchase it to add to my personal library to continue to read and understand. My thanks to the authors who took the time to seek, listen and understand.

[Khadijah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpected Journey should be read by every Christian that is trying to build their faith or help others (mainly to learn more than what you know about agape love). I learned a lot, I regret that I never finished it until now , but it's worth a read if your willing to understand why it's so important to love another.

[Shae28 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an easy read. Every Christian should be encouraged to read this book. So many people would come to church if we were to ask them. People with alternate beliefs are suffering and many have a poor view of Christians. So be kind, all the time, because people are watching.

[Sarah Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

From bungling around in the darkness and into the light of the Gospel. These Believers share their paths and the Savior they have found; they enlighten the audience as how to best approach others lost in religions.

[Karen Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Unexpected Journey

I don't think that I am as conservative a Christian as is the author; I admire his non-profit judgmental approach to all of the people he interviewed. Mostly, I admire his emphasis on Christian love.

[Tyrone Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I give it five stars because it is readable, friendly writing and great stories of those who came to faith from other religions.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories, great. For most of the people, all it took was a Christian to show then genuine interest and love, and to invite them to church.
Writing, meh

[Katie W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miraculous stories about how people came from all different backgrounds to know Christ and God's great love for them :)

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such interesting stories but mediocre writing.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorite books. should read it once a year :)

[Laura Weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book more quickly than I've read anything else since The Hunger Games 😄 There are 12 stories of 12 different people coming to know Jesus as their Savior, when their worldviews for years were completely different. It was helpful to hear them each explain what life was like in their former belief system. It strengthened my faith to hear about God saving such unlikely candidates. It was convicting to be reminded that so much hangs on believers sharing the love of Christ.
The only thing I think would have improved the book was leaving out the personal comments about the weather, restaurants, etc.... They felt a bit out of place or cheesey or something. But easy to skim over for the gold from the content of the interviews!

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great apologetics resource. This should be on every Christian leader’s reading list. I think we make sharing the gospel more difficult than it should be. The stories in this book will encourage you, and hopefully help you see that witnessing is pretty basic. Love unconditionally, be faithful in prayer, listen without judgment, share the gospel, live a life of integrity, invite them into your home and church.

Best quote: “We entered into the world of miracles, and we have no desire to return to a world of mediocrity.”—Thom S. Rainer, The Unexpected Journey

[Krista Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book! I could do without the authors commentary about driving and what he ate. To me it distracted from the main points. Nevertheless, this book is one of the best accounts of peoples conversion experiences I’ve read. It focuses on 12 different people from different faiths who made the unexpected journey to Christianity. This book has experts for each story that gives details about that religion. Fantastic and encouraging read for lay leaders, pastors, and teachers! It will encourage you to go and share your faith!

[Sydney Sexton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book that records interviews from twelve different belief backgrounds and their journey to Christianity. All of these stories are powerful, and a great reminder that Christians need to show love and speak the gospel to a world that is desperately looking for answers to satisfy their soul.

The only critique is the writing style of the author. In my opinion, I’d rather have more of the interviews and less of his personal journey or feelings during the process.

[Joshua Loftin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books that I have ever read! Each chapter is a Christian interviewing with someone who is a Christian convert from another religion. Not only was the book extremely interesting, it was helpful in learning how to share the Gospel with those from other religions. I highly recommend this book as a simple pleasure read, and/or a educational read on other world religions. An encouraging read awaits for those willing to take the time to read this book.

[Neil Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I expected it to be a slow reader and one that I would not recommend. However, if you are a Christian and are looking to be encouraged and also learn a little this is a wonderful book highlighting unique testimonies of those who turned from other religious beliefs to Jesus. If that sounds interesting to you I would certainly recommend it.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give this book 4.5 stars if I could. The stories told in it are definitely worth reading. I was not, however, impressed with the author's writing style. I wish he had simply recounted the amazing testimonies. Instead, he wove bits of his journey into it and I feel that was distracting and it did not add to the book in my opinion. In fact, I think it took away from the beautiful stories. But the testimonies themselves are amazing and show the power of a God who makes a way!

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story lines, although very vague. I wanted to know more about each of the people's/persons journeys, although that would make for a LONG book. Nonetheless, like someone else said, very relevant for Christians and very inspiring.

[Christy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t finish. Story is disjointed because the author’s ego is constantly throwing in pointless information about himself instead of his interviewees and the side bars make it even harder to follow. The people’s stories are interesting but you only get a surface level perspective. Disappointing!

[Melinda Willford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verified true stories of those who have left other religions or faiths and accepted Christ. Very interesting book and encouraging book. Shows Christians how much effect their lives have on those around us.

[Michael J. Rudzik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening & Inspirational

To all people seeking the truth, this books gives testimonials of coming to know who is the Truth. Good read for all of any belief.

[Nancy Teal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An encouraging book for the times.