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Saturday, July 5, 2008

A.W. Tozer, an Evangelical Saint...

The illustrious Aiden Wilson Tozer was a pastor and writer of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, one of the churches of my youth. However, like C.S. Lewis (and long before both, St. Isaac of Nineveh), his influence reaches far beyond the boundaries of his particular tradition and denomination. I am convinced that had Tozer lived a few more years, been born a few year later, he, like Peter Gillquist, Jack Sparks, Gordon Walker, Scott Hahn, Thomas Howard, Frank Schaeffer, etc. would have been led by the Lord to Christian Orthodoxy, in one form or another. Tozer was certainly familiar with the medieval Christian mystics and was unafraid to quote them in his writings. In googling him for a reason unrelated to this post, I found the following, a prayer he offered (in private) on the day, in 1920, when he was ordained to the ministry of the C&MA.

"For Pastors only: A Prayer by A.W. Tozer"

May our Lord raise up many more like him!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, A.S. Tozer was a powerful man of God. I believe many like him would have come to the Christian Orthodox Faith if they had the opportunity. This seems to be a time in history where the flames of Orthodoxy are very strong.

Stratiotes said...

Tozer was a favorite of my early Christian years as well and his writings on worship and works/faith made me question the false dichotomies created by so many other evangelical teachers. It was, in part, that deeper thinking driven by Tozer that led me eventually to the Catholic church. Surely it would have led Tozer himself there with time.