Books, Bio, and Such: Nancy Guthrie

During the summer I’ll be posting micro interviews on Fridays (mostly). I’ve asked some of my friends in ministry–friends you probably already know–to answer questions about “bio, books, and such.” My hope is that you’ll enjoy getting a few more facts about these folks and getting a few good book recommendations.

Today’s interview is with Nancy Guthrie, prolific writer, conference Bible teacher and graduate student at Covenant Theological Seminary.

1. Where were you born? Kansas City, Missouri

2. When did you become a Christian? I remember going to meet with the pastor when I was four or five and he asked me if I knew what it meant to be lost. I thought about being lost in a forest or a shopping mall. So they decided I might not quite be ready. I’m not sure I know when in my childhood I went from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. But I know it happened. When I was 8, my grandfather, who had worked for years in the oil fields of Canada and then became a Christian, went to Bible college, and became a Southern Baptist pastor, (now he would be called a “church planter”) baptized me.

3. Who is one well known pastor/author/leader who has shaped you as a Christian and teacher? I started working in Christian publishing right out of college with many incredible preachers and teachers so it is hard to name one. Perhaps the biggest influence, however, was when I began working with Anne Graham Lotz. I remember standing in the back of the room the first time I heard her teach with tears stinging in my eyes as God impressed his greatness upon me through her message. I had never before heard a woman teach the scriptures like she did.

4. Who is one lesser known pastor/friend/mentor who has shaped you? Easy. My BSF teaching leader for 7 years, Sue Johnson. Over those years, as God used her teaching of the word to bring me to repentance and as I began to change, and saw women around me changing through the power of the word, I began to think that I couldn’t imagine doing anything more meaningful with my life than teaching the Bible.

5. What’s one hymn you want sung at your funeral? My Jesus, I Love Thee. “I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death; And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
 And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
 If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.”

6. What kind of nonfiction do you enjoy reading when you aren’t reading about theology, the Bible, or church history? You’ve taken away my primary categories. But I do enjoy memoir or autobiography. The most recent one I read is Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber and I couldn’t put it down. Before that it was Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield. And I recently re-read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom.

7. Other than Calvin’s Institutes, what systematic theology have you found most helpful? Wait a minute. You are assuming I’ve read Calvin’s Institutes.

8. What is one of your favorite non-Christian biographies? Personal History by Katherine Graham, the former owner of The Washington Post. I spent twenty-five years as a publicist in publishing, so this inside story of how things work inside a big newspaper, as well as the story of her personal life, was fascinating to me.

9. What is one of your favorite books on parenting? Easy. And I’m still kinda ticked at my friend who borrowed it and then lost it. Anne Ortlund visited me at my house about 3 weeks after my son, Matt was born and gave me a signed copy of her book, Children Are Wet Cement, which is all about how our words impact our children. I recently bought a used copy, but it just isn’t the same without her sweet note.

10. What music do you keep coming back to on your iPhone (or CD player, or tape deck, or gramophone)? I put in my headphones a couple of years ago when we were standing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem with people of so many nations and faiths all around us, and I wept as I listened to Paul Baloche sing, “Your Name is a strong and mighty tower. Your name is a shelter like no other. Your name, let the nations sing it louder. ‘Cause nothing has the power to save . . . but your name.”

11. Favorite food? It is hard to beat our Friday night dinner from the freezer section of Trader Joes—Japanese Style Fried Rice, potstickers with gyoza sauce, and sautéed shrimp. Come over sometime.