A New Look at Elisabeth Elliot

While many people are familiar with the name Elisabeth Elliot, her story is not as familiar among a younger generation of Christians. The new biography Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn intends to change that.

Becoming Elisabeth Elliot is the first of a two volume biography. This work stands out as Vaughn has made extensive use of Elliot's own journals which she began keeping as a teenager and her husband Jim Elliot's journals. Vaughn also uses interviews with numerous others who worked with Elisabeth or are related to those who did and photographs. These journals had not been published before and offer a new, personal, unfiltered look at Elliot and her life. Vaughn deftly uses excerpts from the journals, interviews, and other materials to create an immensely readable and enjoyable glimpse into the human behind the legend that Elisabeth Elliot became.

Starting as a child, Elliot focused fully on obeying God's word. Going into all the world to preach the Gospel was not a suggestion but God's command. Although Elliot is often seen as a spiritual giant, Vaughn's use of her journals indicates that Elliot struggled with many normal young adult issues and provides an unique look at her experiences dating and her courtship with husband Jim as well as other relationships. A particularly intriguing aspect of Becoming Elisabeth Elliot is the up close and personal look at the interaction between various missionaries and mission agencies as they worked to carry out their desire to carry the Gospel to unreached people groups. While working towards the same goal, readers are reminded that the missionaries and mission agencies mentioned are indeed humans who wrestled with a variety of human traits and foibles.

Becoming Elisabeth Elliot is highly recommended to anyone who is interested in world missions or missionaries. Reading this will inspire many to follow God more closely. I look forward to reading the second volume and learning more about this missionary giant.

I received a complementary copy from Broadman & Holman via NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I am not required to provide a positive review.

Mission 3:16

When I spotted Mission 3:16: God's One-Verse invitation to Love the World, I knew I had to read it for several reasons. First, it combines world missions , a subject I'm passionate about, and John 3:16 a verse everyone knows. Second, Mission 3:16 is the newest book by Paul Borthwick. I have read many of his other books such as A Mind for Missions, Six Dangerous Questions to Transform Your Worldview, and How to Be a World-Class Christian. Being familiar with these books, I knew this title would be wonderful and I was not disappointed.

Since nearly everyone is familiar with the verse John 3:16 and in some ways it is referenced so often that it feels overdone, you may wonder what more could be said or written about it. Borthwick shows that a great deal can be written about it! He breaks John 3:16 down phrase by phrase and in so doing explodes your common understanding of this verse. The central theme of this exposition of John 3:16 as you can tell from the title is missions. However, even more than missions Borthwick unpacks that God's love should inspire and encourage us go out to love the world and share God's love with others. By the end of the book, you will add John 3:15 to your list of favorite mission verses and realize that you didn't know quite as much as you thought.

While Mission 3:16 is thoroughly researched and footnoted, Borthwick has a conversational tone which makes this book very readable and enjoyable. He shares many stories, often from his own experiences, demonstrating how the principles he shares can be lived out. As such, this book is appropriate for a wide audience ranging from college students to adults. I can see it being a great resource for a Sunday School class or Bible study or as background reading for a sermon series. As it is published by Intervarsity Press, I especially can see this book being featured at the upcoming Urbana 21 conference as a Book of the Day.

I received a complementary copy from IVP via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback.