Evangelism as Exiles: Life on Mission as Strangers in Our Own Land by Elliot Clark (2019)

It’s been nearly two years since I stood neck-deep in my dissertation research on the topic of hospitality. In fact, I think I’ve only reviewed a tiny handful of the countless books on hospitality that I read during that season of life—books like God’s Welcome by Amy G. Oden (2008) and The Gospel Comes with a Housekey by Rosaria Butterfield (2018).

One book I enjoyed enough to re-read, though, is this, Evangelism as Exiles. In it, missionary Elliot Clark works his way through the themes of 1Peter to show how we believers facing social exclusion in our rapidly changing cultures (1Pet 4:12) must recognize it as an honor to experience what Jesus experienced (p.12; see Acts 5:41 and John 15:18-25) and to embrace it as our calling—to be in the world but not of it (23).

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In this review, I’d like simply to summarize some of the key takeaways I drew from each chapter. I hope it whets your thirst to read the book in its entirety, as it’s one of the more convicting books I’ve read these past several years.

Chapter 1: The Hope of Glory

Christian alarmists are everywhere, those who decry the direction of our culture and who long for “the good old days.” Clark compares them to annoying car alarms, their noise all but useless, because our culture has never been holy and never will become so simply by changing nation’s politics or policies. We’ve got something way better upon which to cast our vision than the good ol’ days: future glory! (38-39) “Hope for the Christian…is that God‘s plans can’t be thwarted by local authorities or irate mobs, by unfriendly bosses are unbelieving husbands, by Supreme Court rulings or the next election.” (43) Clark then helps us get a better perspective:

We may be strangers and sojourners in uncomfortable or less-than-desirable conditions. We may have had our rights and privileges stripped away from us. We may have neither the community nor the personal comfort we want. We may have been forced into unpleasant situations or relationships, we never choose. But what if God‘s providential hand has put us right where we are with a specific purpose – bring the salvation of his own? (45)

Chapter 2: Fighting Fear with Fear

Americans don’t really think of themselves as having a “shame culture” like China or the East, but we’re mistaken: we do have a shame culture, but we simply call it “anxiety,” “fear,” or “embarrassment, the very elements that keep us from sharing the Gospel with others! (50; see Luke 9:26) Success in overcoming such shame begins when we first refuse to fear others and second honor Christ as holy. (52; see 1Pet 3:15) Clark writes:

Fearing others more than God usually demonstrates itself in trying to please them more than God. To put it another way, you know you fear someone when you desire their approval and live for their praise… We nurture relationships with unbelievers for years without approaching the subject of Christ. Why? To please people. In our twisted understanding, we reason such people-pleasing efforts are for the sake of future gospel opportunities. But in reality, we’re often just fearing others instead of God. (60-61)

Chapter 3: With Respect for All

The key passage for this idea of respecting or honoring all people is 1Pet 2:13-17, yet Peter’s whole letter is filled with such directives. (See p.70-72) One of my favorite passages in the epistle is 1Peter 3:13-17, where Peter writes that the Christian’s response to slander and worse is not arguing or fighting but good behavior, gentleness, and respect—tools that will put our enemies to shame! Yes, suffering will intensify, but “it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (v.17). What a perspective! Clark adds: “As much as people can be won to Christ through our witness, they can also be lost by our words.” (75-79) He also names one particularly strong secret weapon, on-the-spot prayer:

Nothing demonstrates gentleness and respect quite like praying for someone else in their presence. It shows care for them. It honors them. And doing so we bless rather than curse… When you don’t know what else to say, you can always ask the question, ’Can I pray for you?’, then do it right there with them. (84)

Chapter 4: Declaring His Praises

Clark contrasts our passively waiting for comfortable “witnessing opportunities” to the bold stand-amidst-danger that Peter describes, that the Apostles exemplified, and that Christians in far more difficult places today courageously live out. Mustafa’s example was enlightening, that he rehearses Jesus’ promises of rejection and danger in order to get the proper perspective, before asking God for boldness in his witness. This way he’s never surprised, no matter the responses he gets. Of particular poignancy was Clark’s dissection of our Christianese—that “sharing the Gospel” suggests the passive, comfortable witness where we give charity to those willing to receive it rather than actively preaching the Good News and boldly proclaiming the Gospel to a lost and hostile world! This can happen when we begin with praise: Jesus is the focus, not me, and not even the lost soul. Clark closes his chapter with 3 practical suggestions about being willing to offend, viewing others’ response as urgent, and keeping the Savior as our focus.

Chapter 5: Visibly Different

Once again, Clark hits an American nerve in this chapter, writing that our false modesty is a new form of hypocrisy: we want the inward change without the external, because it’s hip to be broken and weak. We’re hiding Christian reality under a bushel (120, Matt 5:15), because we want the world to know it’s cool to be a Christian! He then makes this insightful claim about our being exiles in an ever changing world:

Anthropologists have observed that immigrants and refugees sometimes have a greater love for their national identity and a greater commitment to cultural preservation than those who remain in the homeland. That’s because when you have everything stripped away, you cling to what makes you who you are. We too, as we experience increased isolation and shame in our country of origin, have an opportunity to embrace the foreignness that comes with being like God and a citizen of his kingdom. (123)

Chapter 6: The Good News of Home

This is the chapter that first drove me to the book, the chapter on hospitality, which in the Greek means “love + other.” (135) Opportunities to share Christ with others over the dinner table are endless, not because we’re gluttons, but because we eat generally 3 times per day, and we can share this love without grumbling about the cost in finances or time. (136) Clark writes:

“The greatest hope for our unbelieving neighbors isn’t them coming to us, but God sending us to them. It’s us living on mission in their neighborhoods, and our home becoming a place where they can meet the Savior.” (137)

He adds that ”Our private homes will long remain the haven of free speech, the perfect place for reasoning with others about the Gospel,” (138) even when freedoms in the public arena are stolen away—which those of us living in Asia know better than anyone. Finally, I absolutely love his definition of Christian hospitality, which I myself should have used in my dissertation but missed:

“Christian hospitality is the reward of the gospel. It’s a foretaste in this life of a shared inheritance in the next. It’s a seat at the table, now, the shadow of a future feast were we’ll recline at table in the kingdom.” (142)

Conclusion

This is an incredibly convicting book that I think every Christian should read, particularly those who find themselves making excuses for not telling others about their faith in Christ. It’s invigorating to remember what Jesus promised to the faithful: hatred and mistreatment at the hands of unbelievers! He shared this not to scare us but to inspire us that the only way He will spread His church throughout His creation is through us. So why aren’t we doing it like we ought?

This book reminded me a touch of The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken and Gregg Lewis (2013), but something else that might help inspire you towards greater service besides these amazing books might be my list of “50 Great Songs about Missions”, which I posted recently. Savor the lyrics, let the Holy Spirit convict you through his Word and books like this, and then get out there and Do!

©2024 E.T.

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