Lyle W. Dorsett

Mr. Dorsett has accomplished the difficult task of crafting a respectful yet accurate biography of a notable Christian leader. The life of A. W. Tozer was complex. He was a faithful prophet, yet a woefully lacking husband and father.

Tozer was born into a stern family in the American frontier. He grew up in what would be considered poverty though he was probably unaware of the extent. His relationship to his family was stilted, and this carried into his marriage as well. Though not well show more educated, Tozer was a hard worker. While pursuing a series of opportunities, Tozer came into contact with God and with his future wife. His experience changed him quickly and deeply. His Christian life began in what could be called Second Blessing, or Keswick, Theology. This gave Tozer a burning desire to experience a deeper more intimate relationship with God beyond that of an ordinary Christian. The desire shaped Tozer's ministry for the rest of his life. His location changed from West Virginia to Indiana to Illinois to Canada. Though his ministry was notable, his family life was not. He was thoughtless concerning his wife and children though probably unaware of the depth of his selfishness. She and the children were hurt by his distance and lack of care. Instead, he poured his life into others. Undoubtedly many were greatly strengthened through his ministry. It is shameful that his family were not among them. They did not grow bitter at the treatment, but they could not ignore it either. Tozer's greatest contributions were his prophetic calls to the church to reject the business/Hollywood model of church growth, to reject the idolization of popular preachers, to love what is truly good and beautiful, and to pursue God with all the heart and soul. In this he was alone, yet he was faithful.

This book is a brave work. It is honest. There is much good in Tozer, and the author is always respectful and appreciative of the man. There is also much failure. The author does not ignore this neither does he overemphasize it. There is an admirable balance throughout. A bit more time devoted to Tozer's ideas would have been helpful, but that might have been outside of the scope of the author's intentions. Overall, this is an excellent biography. I wish more writers would consider this as a model. show less

This was a great introduction to the life of Tozer. It was a quick read and and thoroughly enjoyable. His use of sources was great as he was able to get files from other biographers and those close to him. I apprecieated that Dorset did not put Tozer on a pedestal, but showed us his flaws as well as his great and contagious love for God.

Recently someone petulantly asked me why the military even bothers to have chaplains? After all, pretty much all of our bases have plenty of churches around them and why couldn't the local churches take care of the spiritual needs of anyone that wanted to attend?

To give a short answer, military folks have to be ready to deploy to the other side of the world (if need be) and the military stands ready to send spiritual encouragers with them that know the military and get what serving is like. show more This book gives an overview of the different theaters of war and tells the stories of many of the chaplains deployed along with the US forces. Many of them did more than preach sermons. They wrote notification letters to the families of all member's who died in combat. They crawled along the front lines rescuing wounded and taking them to the medical help. Many of them were wounded and even killed. One Naval chaplain was awarded the Medal of Honor. Several were given Silver Stars or distinguished service crosses.

This book is an overview of what serving as a chaplain was like, the challenges it entailed, and shares a trove of anecdotes from servicemen who experienced the ministrations of a chaplain or were chaplains. show less

This is a great biography of the man's life and his influence through his books on prayer. I had read his books on prayer so I was familiar with his name. This book gave me a greater appreciation for who he was, when he lived, and how he lived. His experiences during the Civil War and his efforts in healing and reconciliation after the war, his personal life including 2 marriages and many children, and his dedication to his calling as evangelist were well conveyed in this book. I thought the show more treatment of his issues with the Methodist church and his employers was well done.

His books are encouraging and of great help in recognizing the importance of prayer. This biography is convicting as it demonstrates his devotion to Christ and his faith that God would take care of him and his family and could be trusted at every turn. show less