On My Shelf helps you get to know various writers through a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their lives as readers.
I asked Elliot Clark—author of Evangelism as Exiles: Life on Mission as Strangers in Our Land (TGC), released at the 2019 TGC National Conference—about what’s on his nightstand, his favorite fiction, books that have most influenced his thinking about evangelism and missions, and more.
What books are on your nightstand?
I’m not nearly the recreational reader that my wife and children are, so if you see stacks of books around the house, it’s not likely they belong to me. That said, I do have a few on the nightstand. The Pastor by Eugene Peterson boasts the longest bedside tenure. I’m slowly puttering through it. On top of it is Curt Thompson’s The Soul of Shame, which my wife and I are reading (separately) and discussing together. I’ve also begun Roland Bainton’s classic biography of Luther, Here I Stand. It’s replacing A Nation Forged by Crisis by Jay Sexton that I just returned to the library today.
Since I’ve been teaching and preaching from the Gospels recently, my desk at Training Leaders International is cluttered with relevant books, including:
- Stories with Intent by Klyne Snodgrass—an intro to Jesus’s parables on loan from a friend.
- Reading the Gospels Wisely by Jonathan Pennington—instructor from my seminary days.
- The Gospel of Mark by R. T. France—one of my favorite commentaries, hands down.
- Preaching with Cultural Intelligence by Matthew Kim—the title alone sold me.
- The Gospel according to John by Don Carson—I’ve benefited much from this work.
What are your favorite fiction books?
When I have space to read outside of work and study, I’m most naturally drawn to historical non-fiction from an author like Erik Larson or to topics that interest me such as World War II or Central Asian culture. However, since I’m new to living in Minnesota, I’ve recently picked up a local fiction author, Leif Enger, and enjoyed the unpredictable prose of his newly released Virgil Wander, though I don’t think it can compare to his Peace Like a River.
What books have most influenced your thinking about evangelism and global missions?
On evangelism, three books stand out: Tell the Truth by Will Metzger, Marks of the Messenger by Mack Stiles, and Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J. I. Packer (all published by IVP, I’m now noticing).
More broadly, I would say that I’ve been deeply affected by Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. Its sheer number of dog-eared pages bears witness to the paradigm-shifting influence it had on me a dozen years ago. As a younger Christian, missionary biographies also inspired me, with Basil Miller’s concise Ann Judson: Heroine of Burma holding pride of place in my memory.
On the missionary task more generally, there are so many wonderful resources. But the biblical theology in Salvation to the Ends of the Earth by Kostenberger and O’Brien undoubtedly was most formative for my understanding of God’s purpose in the world. More recently, I’ve benefited much from Rosaria Butterfield’s writing, in particular: The Gospel Comes with a House Key.
What’s the last great book you read?
I’m not sure if this question is about the last book I thought was great, or the last book that I read that has, over time, been recognized as great literature. Either way, I would unquestionably list Harriet Ann Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself. Her harrowing account of slave life in the antebellum South left me eviscerated. I also recently reread On the Incarnation by Athanasius on a plane ride to Romania; it was helpful preparation before teaching John’s Gospel.
Is there a page from a book that changed your life?
There probably isn’t one page that I could point to as having changed my life. Though, as soon as I write that, the thought comes that every page I’ve ever read (and understood) has changed my life somehow, however incrementally.
Without a doubt, though, I can point to a chapter that still rests heavy in my consciousness. My older brothers gave me a copy of Knowing God on my wedding day back in 2000. Reading that book on a starless night outside Chattanooga, Tennessee, I remember being struck by Packer’s beautiful chapter on the fatherhood of God. He opens it with these words: “What is a Christian? The question can be answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father” (200).
What’s one book you wish every pastor read?
I answer this without hesitation. In fact, I just recommended it to some pastors in Moldova last month: The Cross and Christian Ministry by Don Carson. Succinct. Straightforward. Biblical. Helpful.
What are you learning about life and following Jesus?
I suppose I’m still trying to learn and relearn the lessons Carson lays out in that book, those sticky truths about the cross and costly discipleship that Bonhoeffer himself uncovered. The call to follow Christ is a call to die. And live. To follow in the footsteps of the Suffering Servant is to serve and suffer like him. But if we die with him, we will rise with him. If we suffer with him, we will reign with him.
If we call God our Father, who is himself the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, then we shouldn’t be surprised when he allows us, his children, to suffer like his Son. The servant is not greater than his Master.
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
