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    Current Issue cover of Plough Quarterly Issue: Why We Work
    Plough Books Faith and Spirituality Discipleship
    everyone belongs to god front cover Look Inside

    Everyone Belongs to God

    Discovering the Hidden Christ


    Foreword by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
    Edited by Charles E. Moore

    4.17 Stars on Goodreads Read Reviews

    How can Christians represent the love of Christ in an age when Christianity has earned a bad name from centuries of intolerance and cultural imperialism? Is it enough to love and serve your neighbor? Can you be a missional Christian without a church?


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    About The Book

    Gold Medal, 2015 Illumination Book Awards

    How can Christians represent the love of Christ to their neighbors (let alone people in foreign countries) in an age when Christianity has earned a bad name from centuries of intolerance and cultural imperialism? Is it enough to love and serve them? Can you win their trust without becoming one of them? Can you be a missional Christian without a church?

    This provocative book, based on a recently uncovered collection of 100-year-old letters from a famous pastor to his son-in-law, a missionary in China, will upend pretty much everyone’s assumptions about what it means to give witness to Christ.

    Blumhardt challenges us to find something of God in every person, to befriend people and lead them to faith without expecting them to become like us, and to discover where Christ is already at work in the world. This is truly good news: No one on the planet is outside the love of God.

    At a time when Christian mission has too often been reduced to social work or proselytism, this book invites us to reclaim the heart of Jesus’ great commission, quietly but confidently incarnating the love of Christ and trusting him to do the rest.

    Read the foreword by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.

    Read excerpts from chapter three: See How Christ Is Already at Work.

    View Table of Contents
    Read the foreword Read an excerpt

    About The Author

    ChristophFriedrichBlumhardt2
    Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt

    A German pastor and religious socialist, Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt influenced theologians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Eberhard Arnold, Emil Brunner, Oscar Cullman, and Karl Barth. Read More

    Acclaim

    • This is ultimately a book about hope, about transformation and about a revolutionary way to live out the gospel of Christ in our daily lives… It’s a book that encourages, challenges and provokes.

      Gill Robbins, Christians in Education, Patheos

    • Our gospel has been too small. It is, indeed, too small a thing to think that the hope of the world rests in our ability to recruit others into our religion. Blumhardt calls us to embrace the revolutionary notion that everyone belongs to God. He is a prophet for our time.

      Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author, Strangers at My Door

    • Everyone Belongs to God is one of the best books on mission and the kingdom of God that I have read in years. It's simple and clear enough to be understood by anyone. It's also the kind of book that I could give to my friends who are unbelievers. I wish that more Christians (especially missionaries) would read these radical, prophetic books that put the emphasis on the kingdom (rather than the church) as the true goal and starting point of mission and that give a vision of following Christ in a way that isn’t “religious.”

      Joshua T. Searle, Spurgeon’s College, London

    • Drawn from a series of 100-year-old letters to his missionary son-in-law serving in China, the wisdom of German pastor Christoph Blumhardt is timeless, not at all erudite but suffused with parental care and rooted in his unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ… This book is a challenging consideration for anyone faithfully attempting to incarnate God’s love in the world.

      Liguorian Magazine

    • This is ultimately a book about hope, about transformation and about a revolutionary way to live out the gospel of Christ in our daily lives… It’s a book that encourages, challenges and provokes.

      Gill Robbins, Christians in Education, Patheos

    • Our gospel has been too small. It is, indeed, too small a thing to think that the hope of the world rests in our ability to recruit others into our religion. Blumhardt calls us to embrace the revolutionary notion that everyone belongs to God. He is a prophet for our time.

      Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author, Strangers at My Door

    • Everyone Belongs to God is one of the best books on mission and the kingdom of God that I have read in years. It's simple and clear enough to be understood by anyone. It's also the kind of book that I could give to my friends who are unbelievers. I wish that more Christians (especially missionaries) would read these radical, prophetic books that put the emphasis on the kingdom (rather than the church) as the true goal and starting point of mission and that give a vision of following Christ in a way that isn’t “religious.”

      Joshua T. Searle, Spurgeon’s College, London

    • Drawn from a series of 100-year-old letters to his missionary son-in-law serving in China, the wisdom of German pastor Christoph Blumhardt is timeless, not at all erudite but suffused with parental care and rooted in his unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ… This book is a challenging consideration for anyone faithfully attempting to incarnate God’s love in the world.

      Liguorian Magazine

    • This is ultimately a book about hope, about transformation and about a revolutionary way to live out the gospel of Christ in our daily lives… It’s a book that encourages, challenges and provokes.

      Gill Robbins, Christians in Education, Patheos

    • Our gospel has been too small. It is, indeed, too small a thing to think that the hope of the world rests in our ability to recruit others into our religion. Blumhardt calls us to embrace the revolutionary notion that everyone belongs to God. He is a prophet for our time.

      Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author, Strangers at My Door

    • Everyone Belongs to God is one of the best books on mission and the kingdom of God that I have read in years. It's simple and clear enough to be understood by anyone. It's also the kind of book that I could give to my friends who are unbelievers. I wish that more Christians (especially missionaries) would read these radical, prophetic books that put the emphasis on the kingdom (rather than the church) as the true goal and starting point of mission and that give a vision of following Christ in a way that isn’t “religious.”

      Joshua T. Searle, Spurgeon’s College, London

    • Drawn from a series of 100-year-old letters to his missionary son-in-law serving in China, the wisdom of German pastor Christoph Blumhardt is timeless, not at all erudite but suffused with parental care and rooted in his unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ… This book is a challenging consideration for anyone faithfully attempting to incarnate God’s love in the world.

      Liguorian Magazine

    PrevNext

    Reader Reviews Write a Review

    • This is an unusual and extraordinary book. It gets past all the unfortunate church posturing and marketing to the heart of the Gospel: the love of... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      This is an unusual and extraordinary book. It gets past all the unfortunate church posturing and marketing to the heart of the Gospel: the love of ALL of our neighbors. "Businessmen, church workers, the military -- all in their own way want to put people into their own pocket, instead of into God's hands" (page 25). Jesus irritated and offended all of the pious and reached out to each and every person that crossed his path with compassion, regardless of reputation.

    • I'm reading the book now. Blumhardt's words transcend time, political parties, and religious "lines in the sand". It is shaping my thinking in a... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      I'm reading the book now. Blumhardt's words transcend time, political parties, and religious "lines in the sand". It is shaping my thinking in a fresh, compassionate, non-judgmental way. Thanks for putting this out there for us lovers of Christ, who don't really fit into much of what is called "Christian" today.

    • This remarkably ecumenical viewpoint has become a strong stream today, but in his time Blumhardt was certainly swimming against the current of the... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      This remarkably ecumenical viewpoint has become a strong stream today, but in his time Blumhardt was certainly swimming against the current of the established church. His deeply felt convictions shine through every word, and can become an inspiration for those trying to follow a Christian path based in humility and reverence, rather than spiritual arrogance and closed-mindedness.

    • Reading the book EVERYONE BELONGS TO GOD and I truly believe we can hope for healing, transformation and restoration when the Holy Spirit indwells in...
    • A sample collection of Pastor Blumhardt's letters addressed to his missionary son-in-law. It is a challenging book for those who tend to put distance... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      A sample collection of Pastor Blumhardt's letters addressed to his missionary son-in-law. It is a challenging book for those who tend to put distance between themselves as Christians and those who are considered as not. It places focus not on how we as Christians actually practice the love God demands but how God himself actually loves, and that he loves everybody, as demonstrated in Christ: "For God so loved the world..." It is an example that demands emulation. At the same time, his theology can be a bit difficult to pin down. At times, his comments tend to suggest universalism, that everyone will eventually be saved. or even vaguely implies "ultimate reconciliation," which includes the salvation of the Satan and demons. Even the idea that men can be saved without necessarily knowing Christ is hinted. At times, his writings sound more like a social gospel, a message against political oppression and social injustice, and the exhortation is to resist and obtain deliverance from worldly powers and structures.

    • This is an unusual and extraordinary book. It gets past all the unfortunate church posturing and marketing to the heart of the Gospel: the love of... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      This is an unusual and extraordinary book. It gets past all the unfortunate church posturing and marketing to the heart of the Gospel: the love of ALL of our neighbors. "Businessmen, church workers, the military -- all in their own way want to put people into their own pocket, instead of into God's hands" (page 25). Jesus irritated and offended all of the pious and reached out to each and every person that crossed his path with compassion, regardless of reputation.

    • I'm reading the book now. Blumhardt's words transcend time, political parties, and religious "lines in the sand". It is shaping my thinking in a... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      I'm reading the book now. Blumhardt's words transcend time, political parties, and religious "lines in the sand". It is shaping my thinking in a fresh, compassionate, non-judgmental way. Thanks for putting this out there for us lovers of Christ, who don't really fit into much of what is called "Christian" today.

    • This remarkably ecumenical viewpoint has become a strong stream today, but in his time Blumhardt was certainly swimming against the current of the... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      This remarkably ecumenical viewpoint has become a strong stream today, but in his time Blumhardt was certainly swimming against the current of the established church. His deeply felt convictions shine through every word, and can become an inspiration for those trying to follow a Christian path based in humility and reverence, rather than spiritual arrogance and closed-mindedness.

    • Reading the book EVERYONE BELONGS TO GOD and I truly believe we can hope for healing, transformation and restoration when the Holy Spirit indwells in...
    • A sample collection of Pastor Blumhardt's letters addressed to his missionary son-in-law. It is a challenging book for those who tend to put distance... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      A sample collection of Pastor Blumhardt's letters addressed to his missionary son-in-law. It is a challenging book for those who tend to put distance between themselves as Christians and those who are considered as not. It places focus not on how we as Christians actually practice the love God demands but how God himself actually loves, and that he loves everybody, as demonstrated in Christ: "For God so loved the world..." It is an example that demands emulation. At the same time, his theology can be a bit difficult to pin down. At times, his comments tend to suggest universalism, that everyone will eventually be saved. or even vaguely implies "ultimate reconciliation," which includes the salvation of the Satan and demons. Even the idea that men can be saved without necessarily knowing Christ is hinted. At times, his writings sound more like a social gospel, a message against political oppression and social injustice, and the exhortation is to resist and obtain deliverance from worldly powers and structures.

    • This is an unusual and extraordinary book. It gets past all the unfortunate church posturing and marketing to the heart of the Gospel: the love of... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      This is an unusual and extraordinary book. It gets past all the unfortunate church posturing and marketing to the heart of the Gospel: the love of ALL of our neighbors. "Businessmen, church workers, the military -- all in their own way want to put people into their own pocket, instead of into God's hands" (page 25). Jesus irritated and offended all of the pious and reached out to each and every person that crossed his path with compassion, regardless of reputation.

    • I'm reading the book now. Blumhardt's words transcend time, political parties, and religious "lines in the sand". It is shaping my thinking in a... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      I'm reading the book now. Blumhardt's words transcend time, political parties, and religious "lines in the sand". It is shaping my thinking in a fresh, compassionate, non-judgmental way. Thanks for putting this out there for us lovers of Christ, who don't really fit into much of what is called "Christian" today.

    • This remarkably ecumenical viewpoint has become a strong stream today, but in his time Blumhardt was certainly swimming against the current of the... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      This remarkably ecumenical viewpoint has become a strong stream today, but in his time Blumhardt was certainly swimming against the current of the established church. His deeply felt convictions shine through every word, and can become an inspiration for those trying to follow a Christian path based in humility and reverence, rather than spiritual arrogance and closed-mindedness.

    • Reading the book EVERYONE BELONGS TO GOD and I truly believe we can hope for healing, transformation and restoration when the Holy Spirit indwells in...
    • A sample collection of Pastor Blumhardt's letters addressed to his missionary son-in-law. It is a challenging book for those who tend to put distance... Read More

      Review of Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ

      A sample collection of Pastor Blumhardt's letters addressed to his missionary son-in-law. It is a challenging book for those who tend to put distance between themselves as Christians and those who are considered as not. It places focus not on how we as Christians actually practice the love God demands but how God himself actually loves, and that he loves everybody, as demonstrated in Christ: "For God so loved the world..." It is an example that demands emulation. At the same time, his theology can be a bit difficult to pin down. At times, his comments tend to suggest universalism, that everyone will eventually be saved. or even vaguely implies "ultimate reconciliation," which includes the salvation of the Satan and demons. Even the idea that men can be saved without necessarily knowing Christ is hinted. At times, his writings sound more like a social gospel, a message against political oppression and social injustice, and the exhortation is to resist and obtain deliverance from worldly powers and structures.

    PrevNext

    Write a Review

    Table of Contents

    1. Keep the Kingdom in View
    2. Avoid Being Religious
    3. See How Christ Is Already at Work
    4. Remain among the People
    5. Open Wide Your Heart
    6. Make God’s Love Known
    7. Show the Gospel
    8. Allow the Spirit to Work
    9. Always Hope

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