Indelible Ink: 22 Prominent Christian Leaders Discuss the Books That Shape Their Faith

by Scott Larsen

Book Overview

A collection of essays identifies 22 key works of Christian literature that have had a significant influence on some of the faith's most prominent leaders. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578565545
• ISBN13: 9781578565542
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Waterbrook Press
• Length: 321 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A Treasury of Information and Inspiration

Scott Larsen provides a great treasury of information and inspiration in his classic titled Indelible Ink. While perusing my copy of Indelible Ink, I read with great interest the books that influenced many Christian leaders. The accounts of the late Stephen F. Olford and the legendary Major W. Ian Thomas are well worth the price of the book. This book encourages me as a writer to press on into print. Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor, teacher, mentor, writer, author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice

Compulsive Readers Rejoice!

People who read books about reading share an obsession so compelling that they can't help but judge another person's "favorite books" list against their own. Or in this case, "faith-shaping books," which I assume also qualifies them for favorite status. In any event, INDELIBLE INK provides enough fodder to keep compulsive readers engaged in arguments in their heads for some time to come. The 22 featured essayists range from the venerable J.I. Packer (whose name appears as an author of influence in more than one essay) to relative newcomer Liz Curtis Higgs. Supplementing the main essays is an appendix listing the two or three favorite books of some 130 other Christian leaders. Both sections are filled with surprises, not the least of which is essayist Gary R. Collins's choice of a book about a caterpillar named Stripe titled HOPE FOR THE FLOWERS by Trina Paulus. (I can relate; a children's book titled LITTLE THINGS by Anne Laurin describes my marriage better than any psychologist ever could.) Another surprise is the frequency with which the names of novelists, poets and dramatists appear. The likes of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Dumas, Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, Dante and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (whose GULAG ARCHIPELAGO and ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH, I'm convinced, paved the way for my own conversion to Christ in the 1970s) share ink with some of the greatest theologians ever --- St. Augustine, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Søren Kierkegaard and others. My favorite essay is "My Three Best Friends ... Maybe" by Calvin Miller --- a fellow "narcolibric," a term Miller coined to describe the "print-addicted" among us. Except for his fondness for Emily Dickinson, whose poems I once deemed worthy of Good Housekeeping (seriously offending my high school literature teacher), Miller's essay, especially his observations on what I call bookaholism, mirrors my own approach to reading and integrating into my life the things I've read. In the appendix, Elisabeth Elliot cited Amy Carmichael as her single choice --- which seems unusual, except that Carmichael wrote 40-plus books. Who knew? I doubt that even those Christians who are familiar with her and her work are aware that she was such a prolific writer. Another surprise: Fernando Ortega's choice of THE HABIT OF BEING: Letters of Flannery O'Connor. O'Connor as an author is not such a curious choice --- it's the collection of her letters that is surprising. His description forced me to add yet another title to my ever-growing list of must-reads. (An aside: A current bestselling book on heaven suggests that we'll be able to customize our afterlife experience. If so, I'm putting in a bid for a library of all the books I wanted to read before my untimely demise. I'm guessing it won't include a copy of Hubert P. Yockey's INFORMATION THEORY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, one of Hugh Ross's favorites.) About three chapters into the book, I decided it would be a great idea to start keeping track of the authors to s

Interesting but light

This is a book of writers' readings. Twenty-two names familiar on the Christian speaking and writing circuit tip their hats to the authors that shaped their faith, including essays from Chuck Colson, Dallas Willard, J.I. Packer, Luis Palau, John Stott, Josh McDowell and Phil Johnson. The strength of the book was in its inception: what a creative idea! Larsen has tickled the bibliomania of chronic readers who pause at every turn-of-phrase to muse about its origin. If you're one who says, "Hmm, I wonder if he's getting this from Mere Christianity," here's your chance to find out (and yes, in fact, nearly everyone has apparently been influenced by C.S. Lewis). We find out that the poetic Calvin Miller reads Shakespeare (and 100 books a year), that Michael Card liked the manly Monte Cristo, and that J.I. Packer was comfortable enough with Calvin to write the long-gone theologian personal letters. It also feeds our natural obsession with the fairly accessible world of Christian stardom. For those who keep a working biography of significant, public mentors, this is a tour of their own self-reflections. Furthermore, there's a catalogue of another 130 Christian authors', speakers', and ministers' paragraph-long reviews in the back. The only nuisance of the book is that Larsen has requested reviews of non-professional reviewers. It's less than compelling to hear that Colson gives "high marks" to Tolstoy. But if we embrace this collection of essays as a profile of influences rather than a thoroughly informative critique of the sources, the book fulfills its purpose. Once you've done that, the few letters within are truly well-crafted writings which stand out as fun surprises in an already interesting book. Perhaps the best review comes from Jill Briscoes' recommendation at the close of her contribution which can appropriately serve as a description of the whole of Indelible Ink; "Happy reading."

Grand slam home run

General editor Scott Larsen and publisher WaterBrook have hit a grand slam home run with this highly readable, repeatedly rewarding volume. Larsen's Introduction is a brilliant essay on the importance of books. In turn, each of the 22 contributors invites the reader into his or her private study, then one by one talks about the two or three books that have made the most profound impact on their lives through the years. Several times, upon finishing a chapter, I found myself thinking, "That essay alone was worth the price of this book." Note to Larsen and WaterBrook: More volumes like this, please! Highly recommended.