This week’s author interview is with Clay Werner, author of On the Brink: Grace for the Burned-Out Pastor.

• Question #1 – Tell us a little bit about yourself: where you’re from, family, job, personal interests, unique hobbies, what you do in your spare time, etc.

I’m from a beautiful little town nestled in the hills of southern Indiana, named Nashville. I went to college at Ball State University (famous for coining the incredible phrase “Boom Goes the Dynamite!”). During the summers of college and seminary I was a mountaineering and rafting guide in Buena Vista, CO, which is where I also met my wife, Liz. We’ve been married for a decade and have been changing diapers for a decade because we have 5 children. With our twins just turning 3, we’re excited to no longer see the word “Pampers” in our house very soon. Other than changing diapers, we enjoy spending time outdoors, especially hiking in the Smoky Mountains. When my children are asleep and the evening is drawing to a close, I love to read. Currently, I am planting a church in Athens, GA.

• Question #2 – What inspired you to write this book, about this topic?

I write about this in my book, but I experienced my own season of brutal burn-out in ministry, even to the point of questioning the validity of Christianity. I also chaired a committee that oversaw 50+ churches and their pastors. Sadly, we regularly saw pastors who were going through very rough scenarios and I was also simultaneously watching some of my closest friends leave the ministry or even have to step down for moral failure. In the end, and after doing more research on pastoral burnout, I wanted to encourage others with the living and sustaining waters of the Gospel, through the ups and downs and joys and sorrows of ministry.

• Question #3 – What book are you reading now?

I’m currently reading a book by Dr. Alan Lightman called The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew. He is writing from a very committed atheist position, but writes with great appreciation for other Christians in academia (an increasingly rare approach). He is the first person in the history of MIT to hold a dual chair of both the Humanities and Physics. What I find most interesting is that he longs for something to transcend our material world but cannot believe that there is based on his scientific conclusions. At the same time he admits that much of science believes things that cannot be proven. Very interesting read.

• Question #4 – Do you have a favorite author? Who is it and why?

My favorite author is John Owen. His focus on the person and work of Christ, along with the centrality of the Gospel in Christian growth is continually refreshing. His theological precision along with his experiential insight is, in my mind, unmatched. When I was in college, I heard John Piper recommend to young men studying for ministry, “Pick someone who is dead, and read everything they ever wrote. Master their writings.” I chose John Owen and continue to slowly wade through his vast amount of writing and much of it multiple times.

• Question #5 – Do you have a favorite quote? What is it and why?

I’ll never forget reading through Eugene Peterson’s book, Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ, as I prepared to preach through Ephesians. In it there is the following sentence: “In matters of God’s grace, hyperboles are understatements.” It hit me that human language, even Paul’s inspired language in his epistles, strains to even get close to adequately express the greatness of God’s love and the vastness of His mercy. That single sentence led me to quietly close his book, and privately pray and passionately worship.

• Question #6 – What Is Your Favorite Food? 

Anyone who attended my wedding knows my favorite food is M&M’s, since they all got a free bag. When I was 9, my mom went outside for a little bit and I shoveled down a 2lb bag of them. She came in and saw me groaning, thought I had the plague, and took me to the doctor. He immediately knew it was a case of “too much of a good thing isn’t always a good thing,” and told me to chill out on the whole M&M scene. If you come visit me in my study, I’ll give you some M&M’s out of my stash.

How can readers discover more about you and your work?

• Facebook Page: facebook.com/claywerner