A.W. Tozer’s impact for the kingdom of God is immeasurable. His sermons touched thousands through the years; his books—including The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy—reached millions and continue to sell. Yet few really knew this quiet, intensely private, deeply spiritual man.
Esteemed biographer Lyle Dorsett digs deep into the childhood, spiritual conversion, family life, and ministry of Aiden Wilson Tozer, who began life as a Pennsylvania farm boy with limited religious upbringing.
Dorsett doesn’t hide the realities of Tozer’s marriage and career. Instead he reveals Tozer as a flawed man whose one goal, until his death in 1963, was to grow closer to God regardless of the cost.
Don’t miss this detailed exploration of A.W. Tozer, whose life and work encourages, chastises, and energizes us today.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
9
Foreword
13
Chapter 1
"I've Had a Lonely
Life"
15
Chapter 2
"A Deep Strain of
the Country"
Early Years in Rural Pennsylvania
(1897-1912) 23
Chapter 3
"I Heard His
Voice--Ever So Faintly"
Called to Surrender, Preach, and Marry
(1912-1918) 41
Chapter 4
"I Got My First
Awful, Wonderful, Entrancing Vision of God"
Discovering God's Will
(1918-1928)
57
Chapter 5
"It May Be a Good
Thing I Never Went to Seminary"
The Chicago Years
(1928-1941)
83
Chapter 6
"A Growing Hunger after God Himself"
Ministry of the Deeper Life
(1941-1958)
111
Chapter 7
"I Do Not Believe
There Is Any Color Line in the Kingdom
of God"
Toronto and Beyond
(1958-1963)
145
Chapter 8
"If My Fire Is Not Large It Is Yet
Real"
Legacy 161
Notes
165
A Note on
Sources 175
Bibliography of A.W. Tozer's
Works 177
Appendix 1: "Restoring Dignity to Christian
Worship" 179
Appendix 2: "The Decline of Godly
Leadership" 185
A. W. Tozer was one of the great spiritual giants of the past
century, and he comes to life again in the pages of this masterful
biography by Lyle Dorsett. Here we see how the jewels from
Tozer’s pen were refined in the crucible of his life. This is
a book that will bring every Christian closer to
Christ.
-Timothy George, Founding dean of Beeson Divinity
School of Samford University, Senior Editor of Christianity
Today
Lyle Dorsett has done it again. I found myself absorbed with this
realistic biography of A.W. Tozer, a man whose writings have
blessed us all. In these pages we are invited to walk with a
man who passionately pursued God, but at the same time had obvious
faults, particularly in his relationship with his family. Tozer’s
life also introduces us to the various battles that the church was
fighting in the forties and fifties, and how evangelicals responded
to them. This book encourages us with the reminder that God uses
imperfect but God-focused people to bless His church and strengthen
the saints. Read this book and you’ll find yourself recommending it
to your friends.
-Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Pastor, Moody Church, Chicago
Lyle Dorsett has performed a great service in producing this
fascinating new biography of A. W. Tozer, a simple, self-educated
Midwesterner who began his working life in an Akron, Ohio, rubber
factory. It tells the remarkable story of how this young man came
in contact with the literature of Christian devotion, absorbed it
deeply, and then, with a uniquely engaging style (half Jeremiah,
half Mark Twain), passed along his discovered insights to countless
soul-hungry Americans. Two of his many works, The Pursuit of
God and The Knowledge of the Holy, remain classics
today. A Passion for God will be an essential companion to
all who wish to tap into a remarkable spiritual legacy.
-Glen G. Scorgie, PhD, Professor ofTheology, Bethel Seminary San
Diego, Author of A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality
(2007)
Lyle Dorsett's biography of my grandfather, A.W. Tozer, is the
complete source for anyone who would like to learn about and
understand the person, heart, and passion of Dr. Tozer. For my
first ten years of life I was able to know him as a grandfather. As
time went by I began to learn of and understand his public life and
his place among Christians. The more I knew the more I
realized I had only pieces of the story. Dr. Dorsett has
provided that and more in this wonderfully detailed look into Dr.
Tozer's life and ministry.
-Paul Tozer, Grandson of A. W.
Tozer
From Moses to Peter and Luther to Spurgeon, even the most
gifted and accomplished servants of the Lord have had their
blemishes (don’t we all?), and we can learn from them. This
book introduces us to some of the more private aspects of Dr.
Tozer’s life and ministry and, while it may disturb some, it should
also encourage each of us to examine our own lives and aim for
God’s best.
-Warren W. Wiersbe, Author, Former pastor of
Moody Church, Chicago
As with so many, A. W. Tozer's writings were a fiery
landmark in my spiritual growth and my love for God. Lyle
Dorsett's magnificent A Passion for God recalls and
rekindles those fires. This is a fascinating and pleasurable
and profitable read!
-R. Kent Hughes, Senior Pastor
Emeritus, College Church in Wheaton
Lyle Dorsett captures the heart of the man whose life was totally
focused on his pursuit of God. The opinions and feelings of
his contemporaries, of those in his churches, or of even his own
family, all took second place to his overwhelming passion to know
Christ. Through this carefully researched and objectively
written book, we have an intimate and unbiased look into the life
of a man whose writings have resonated with God seekers around the
world. A sidelight of the book is an inside look at the
history of the Christian and Missionary Alliance through a man who
catapulted the name of the Alliance around the world through his
writings. In Dorsett's writings we see Tozer, first and
foremost a man of prayer, a man oblivious to this world, a man with
an earnest desire to seek and know God above all else.
-Janet Kuhns Howard, Missionary with Christian and Missionary
Alliance in Indonesia and member of the Christian
and Missionary Alliance Board of Directors
For those who hunger to know the Lord in a deeper way, Lyle
Dorsett's masterful account of A. W. Tozer's spiritual
journey will encourage, inspire and challenge. This book is
simply a must read for serious Christians.
-John Woodbridge, Research Professor of Church History, Trinity
Evangelical Divinity School