Becoming Elisabeth Elliot

by Ellen Vaughn, Joni Earekson Tada (Foreword by)

Overview

Elisabeth Elliot was a young missionary in Ecuador when members of a violent Amazonian tribe savagely speared her husband Jim and his four colleagues. Incredibly, prayerfully, Elisabeth took her toddler daughter, snakebite kit, Bible, and journal . . . and lived in the jungle with the Stone-Age people who killed her husband. Compelled by her friendship and forgiveness, many came to faith in Jesus.  

This courageous, no-nonsense Christian went on to write dozens of books, host a long-running radio show, and speak at conferences all over the world. She was a pillar of coherent, committed faith; a beloved and sometimes controversial icon. In this authorized biography, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, bestselling author Ellen Vaughn uses Elisabeth’s private, unpublished journals, and candid interviews with her family and friends, to paint the adventures and misadventures God used to shape one of the most influential women in modern church history. It’s the story of a hilarious, sensual, brilliant, witty, self-deprecating, sensitive, radical, and surprisingly relatable person utterly submitted to doing God’s will, no matter how high the cost. For Elisabeth, the central question was not, “How does this make me feel?” but, simply, “is this true?” If so, then the next question was, “what do I need to do about it to obey God?”
 
“My life is on Thy Altar, Lord—for Thee to consume. Set the fire, Father! Bind me with cords of love to the Altar. Hold me there. Let me remember the Cross.” –Elisabeth Elliot, age 21
 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781535910934
Publisher:	B&H Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	65,238
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Ellen Vaughn is a New York Times bestselling author and speaker who has written or co-written 23 books.  Former vice president of executive communications at Prison Fellowship, she collaborated with the late Chuck Colson on a number of his seminal works.  She speaks at conferences, often travels to interview Christ-followers in hostile parts of the world, and serves on the board of directors for ICM, the global church developer.  With degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Richmond, Ellen lives in northern Virginia with husband Lee, a regional pastor for McLean Bible Church, a daughter and two grandchildren, and one clueless dog. She enjoys reading, hiking, drinking coffee, and staring pensively at the ocean.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword Joni Eareckson Tada xiii

Part 1 Beginning

Chapter 1 Death in the Afternoon 3

Chapter 2 Discovering the Story 8

Part 2 Becoming

Chapter 3 G. M. T. 19

Chapter 4 At Any Cost 28

Chapter 5 Cutting Diamonds 31

Chapter 6 A Very Small Frog 42

Chapter 7 "Let Me Not Sink to Be a Clod" 48

Chapter 8 A Refrigerated Rose 52

Chapter 9 Eunuch for Christ 60

Chapter 10 Patience in Alberta 67

Chapter 11 "You Made a Universally Horrible Impression …" 72

Chapter 12 Sitting Still 79

Chapter 13 "I Don't Feel Much like a Missionary" 84

Chapter 14 "I Wonder Sometimes If It Is Right to Be So Happy" 90

Chapter 15 The Colorful Colorados 98

Chapter 16 The First Death of Elisabeth Elliot 102

Chapter 17 Finally! 113

Chapter 18 In the Company of Saints 126

Chapter 19 What Might Have Been 129

Chapter 20 Cast of Characters 134

Chapter 21 Countdown to Contact 142

Chapter 22 The Second Death 151

Chapter 23 Christ the Beginning; Christ the End 159

Chapter 24 Through the Gates 165

Chapter 25 A Blank Wall 175

Chapter 26 "The Eyes of the World Are on That Tribe" 182

Chapter 27 "If They Killed Me, Better Still" 190

Chapter 28 A Missionary Hag 195

Chapter 29 "To Hell with My Zeal!" 201

Chapter 30 Child Lives among Her Father's Killers 210

Chapter 31 "Madness, Sheer Madness" 220

Chapter 32 Home but Not Home 227

Chapter 33 In the Pit 234

Chapter 34 Two Women at the End of the World 240

Chapter 35 The Bridges Burn 246

Part 3 Being

Chapter 36 What Happened Next 257

Chapter 37 The Irrelevant Question 259

Chapter 38 The Relevant Question 263

Chapter 39 The Dust and Ashes 265

Chapter 40 The Next Thing 268

Chapter 41 The Problem of Pain 270

Epilogue: A None from the Author 277

With Gratitude 279

Notes 283

Photo Credits 299

Editorial Reviews

07/06/2020

In this striking biography, Vaughn (Time Peace) sets out to discover the heart and soul of missionary and author Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015). In the 1950s, Elliot served as a missionary to the Waodani tribe of Ecuador after her husband, Jim Elliot, and four others were killed by the tribe while trying to make contact. Vaughn recounts that story, bringing to light the deep desires, anguish, and imperfect life of Elliot, including her tense relationship with Rachel Saint, sister to another one of the missionaries who had died, who isolated herself from other missionaries among the Waodani. A deep thinker and lover of poetry who wanted nothing more than to do God’s will, Elliot eventually found her calling in ministry to Christians rather than to those outside the faith. The biography’s second half largely deals with challenges of navigating a life of biblical faith at odds with cultural Christianity: Elliot “chafed at the disparity between what she saw in the gospel and what she saw in the organized church,” Vaughn writes. “She was quick to pick up the scent of hypocrisy and legalism, but she always applied such analysis to herself first.” Even those well-acquainted with Elliot’s works will find fresh perspective and revealing insights here. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"In this striking biography, Vaughn (Time Peace) sets out to discover the heart and soul of missionary and author Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015). In the 1950s, Elliot served as a missionary to the Waodani tribe of Ecuador after her husband, Jim Elliot, and four others were killed by the tribe while trying to make contact. Vaughn recounts that story, bringing to light the deep desires, anguish, and imperfect life of Elliot, including her tense relationship with Rachel Saint, sister to another one of the missionaries who had died, who isolated herself from other missionaries among the Waodani. A deep thinker and lover of poetry who wanted nothing more than to do God’s will, Elliot eventually found her calling in ministry to Christians rather than to those outside the faith. 

The biography’s second half largely deals with challenges of navigating a life of biblical faith at odds with cultural Christianity: Elliot 'chafed at the disparity between what she saw in the gospel and what she saw in the organized church,' Vaughn writes. 'She was quick to pick up the scent of hypocrisy and legalism, but she always applied such analysis to herself first.' Even those well-acquainted with Elliot’s works will find fresh perspective and revealing insights here."

- Publisher's Weekly Review

From the Publisher