The life of A.W. Tozer : in pursuit of God PDF
Preview The life of A.W. Tozer : in pursuit of God
© 2009 James L. Snyder Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014 ISBN 978-1-4412-6720-7 Previously published by Regal Books Ebook edition originally created 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Other version used is: KJV—King James Version. Authorized King James Version. Photos courtesy of the Christian & Missionary Alliance archives. CONTENTS FOREWORD by Gary M. Benedict FOREWORD by Leonard Ravenhill INTRODUCTION 1. Just Tozer 2. To Be Born Right 3. The Tozertown Farm PERSONAL GLIMPSES : CHILDHOOD 4. The Pursuit Begins 5. Tozer Begins to Preach 6. Indianapolis—Apprenticeship in Earnest 7. A Reluctant Candidate PERSONAL GLIMPSES : THE PERSONAL SIDE 8. Chicago 9. Preacher 10. Writer PERSONAL GLIMPSES : ADVICE 11. Editor 12. A Man of Prayer PERSONAL GLIMPSES : PREACHING 13. Mystic and Prophet 14. Poetry and the Poets 15. Family Man PERSONAL GLIMPSES : COUNCIL 16. The Pearls and Perils of Christian Humor—Tozer Style 17. Toronto PERSONAL GLIMPSES : EFFECTIVE MINISTRY 18. The Goal APPENDIX BIBLIOGRAPHY FOREWORD In a time when there seems to be no end to the number of books published, most are of little enduring value. However, a book about A. W. Tozer is in a category by itself. No matter how often I read the same words, Tozer’s message always speaks to my heart in a fresh way. While some writers serve a niche, a denomination or even a generation, few impact the Kingdom to the extent that Tozer has. His roots and development were within the Alliance family, yet today he belongs to all Christians. Few authors have demonstrated such a profound impact as this man and his writings. Tozer has a gift to make the complex simple and the simple profound. He holds nothing back as he exhorts and encourages us to walk so as to bring glory to our God and Savior. His communication is simple eloquence spoken from his heart to ours. In his own words, “What I believe about God is the most important thing about me.” The Life of A. W. Tozer: In Pursuit of God gives a behind-the-scenes look at the man and his message. We see God at work with hammer and chisel to shape Tozer’s life into a vessel capable of influencing all who desire to walk with God. No single author has influenced me personally more than A. W. Tozer. I thank God for his influence on my life. Gary M. Benedict PRESIDENT, THE CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE FOREWORD I am often asked, “Was Dr. Tozer the greatest preacher you ever heard?” No, but he redeemed the time and hence had an intimacy with God beyond any other man I ever met. He was a modern mystic who had given priority to the lost art of meditation. To enter into Dr. Tozer’s presence was an awe-inspiring event. He was not just a prominent author but also an eminent one. His writings still reflect the “anointed ability to speak to the present need of men’s hearts.” He could articulate wisdom in an amazing economy of words. On one occasion he said to me: “I have to account to God not only for what I have done, but for why I did it.” His most memorable words to me: “There are occasions when for hours I lay prostrate before God without saying a word of prayer or a word of praise—I just gaze on Him and worship.” I advise every Bible student with whom I have contact by phone or by letter or in person: Buy all the books Dr. A. W. Tozer has written and digest them. To know Dr. Tozer was a great blessing. To pray with him was to be in the Holy Place! Leonard Ravenhill EVANGELIST (1907–1994) I NTRODUCTION THE ART AND STEALTH OF CHRISTIAN BIOGRAPHY Anyone who picks up the biographer’s pen enters into sacred territory. Chronicling the life of a person demands the strictest of discipline. To take a person’s life in your hand and present it to the public carries with it a great deal of responsibility for the simple reason that many people’s ideas and conclusions about the subject will be made because of your efforts. To lead the reader to a wrong conclusion is the unpardonable sin of the biographer. Of all writers, the Christian biographer should be the most truthful, and present to the best of his ability the fundamental facts of a person’s life. Unfortunately, the public, including the Christian public, has developed an appetite for celebrity. More often than not, a biography is simply celebrity propaganda. And this is true even in the Christian realm. The Christian reading public is just as interested in celebrities as the secular world. There is not a large audience for a biography of just a good person. A person has to be great for his biography to be read by a large readership. Even more important, if that person is a celebrity, according to the definition propagated by the secular world, the book will sell. The biographer is tempted to turn his subject into some kind of a celebrity in order to gain a readership. But to try to turn A. W. Tozer into a Christian celebrity would surely invoke the wrath of that holy man of God, not to mention promote a total misunderstanding of the man. The biographer has the awesome responsibility to understand the subject of his biographical muse, present him as accurately as possible and not violate the subject’s integrity.
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