Introduction
The infant church of the first century rocked the mighty Roman Empire because men whose lives had been miraculously changed preached a miracle working gospel. For example, Paul had once been the chief persecutor of Christianity but was transformed by Christ into the chief preacher of the faith he once vowed to stamp out. It was he who declared, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone. Look! the new has come" (2 Corinithians 5:17, Berkeley).
As Paul and his comrades spread the miracle gospel throughout the world, the new came again and again as others experienced the transforming miracle of new birth in Christ. These converts carried the good news to others who, in turn, continued to spread the word. So it has been throughout almost twenty centuries as a miraculous chain has been forged that reaches to the space age.
This book contains the true stories of how forty of Christianity's greatest leaders were transformed miraculously. Before conversion, they were a motley crew — most of them hardly the type that could be expected to become spiritual leaders. But by God's grace, a foul-mouthed sailor became the author of "Amazing Grace"; an alcoholic became a preacher of hope; a famous athlete buried his life in China; and a mocker of ministers became a world-famous evangelist.
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Here are the true stories of the conversions of such greats as Augustine, Luther, John Wesley, Newton, Spurgeon, Muller, Fuller, and Graham.
Their careers span almost twenty centuries; their experiences defy human understanding; their influence has been greater than that of kings and generals.
