Review of A. W. Tozer Selections From Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey

A.W. Tozer is considered one of the greatest pastors and evangelists from the first half of this century. Many of his sermons and personal writings have been published and have edified many a pastor and serious -minded Christian thinker ever since.


Surprisingly, Tozer lacked college and seminary training but became one of the most influential Christian educators of the twentieth century. How could this be? Well, if you read this book, containing selections of writers that Tozer read, you will see how extensive reading of substantial literature and studying the thoughts of great minds, is as good an education as can be acquired through any formal education.

In A. W. Tozer: Selections From Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey, the author, James Stuart Bell has comprised a collection of works by some 200 authors whose works were studied by Tozer and impacted his own ministry. In the introduction, Bell asks a rhetorical question: Why should you read the material in this book by some of the “most famous and influential minds in Church history?” His answer: “Because Tozer read them.”

In this book you will read excerpts “representing the pinnacle” of writings by St. Augustine, Thomas A kempes, Martin Luther, John Bunyan, John Milton and D. L. Moody to name a few. At the back of the book is a short biography of each writer. Most excerpts are a page long, two at the most, but the material is so meaty and thought-provoking that the book should be read like a devotional, just one selection a day.

The book is also divided up into eight chapters that, according to Bell, each emphasize an important theme of Tozer's own life and writing. These sections include: Worship, Prayer, Prophetic Words, Reflections on the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Christian Doctrine and Living the Christian Life.

A couple of gems I found in the book were John Wesley's Covenant prayer and Martin Luther's small catechism on sin. It also includes a portion of the beautiful, “Paradise Lost” by John Milton.

In conclusion, this book is a valuable supplement to any Bible study and quiet time. If one wants to meditate on the thoughts of great spiritual thinkers that allowed a man such as Tozer to deepen his own spiritual walk with the Lord, this book is a good choice.
I received this book as a complimentary copy from Bethany Publishing House for my honest review.