Aiden Wilson Tozer (April 21, 1897 – May 12, 1963) was an American Christian pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor.[1] For his accomplishments, he received
honorary doctorates from
Wheaton and
Houghton colleges.
In 1919, five years after his conversion and without formal education in
Christian theology, Tozer accepted an offer to serve as pastor of his first church. That began 44 years of ministry associated with the
Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), a Protestant
Evangelical denomination, 33 of them serving as a pastor in several different congregations (his first, a small storefront church in
Nutter Fort, West Virginia). Later, he served thirty years (1928 to 1959) as the pastor of Southside Alliance Church in Chicago; the final years of his life he spent as pastor of
Avenue Road Church in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Observing contemporary Christian living, Tozer felt that the church was on a dangerous course toward compromising with "worldly" concerns.
Tozer began writing in 1931 for the denominational magazine of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Alliance Weekly (now Alliance Life),[4] which became the platform from which his writing career emerged. He later wrote the monthly column “There's Truth in It” (1936–37) and “A Word in Season” (1944–46). In May 1950, he became the editor of the Alliance Weekly, a position he filled until his death in 1963.[5]
At the urging of David W. Fant, publications secretary of the C&MA, Tozer wrote biographies of
A. B. Simpson (1943) and
Robert A. Jaffray (1947).[6] It was the publication of his third book, The Pursuit of God (1948), that made Tozer a household name among evangelicals.[7] In addition to the 12 books he published in his lifetime, more than 40 other books have been compiled from his magazine features, editorials, and transcribed sermons.
During his lifetime, Tozer's works were published by Christian Publications, Inc., the denominational press operated by the C&MA. The publishing house declared bankruptcy in 2006 and was purchased by WingSpread Publishers of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.[8] In November 2013,
Moody Publishers acquired Wingspread from parent company Zur Ltd., a transaction that included more than 60 Tozer books and pamphlets.[9] Some of Tozer's works are now in the public domain and have been issued by multiple publishers.
Personal life
Tozer had seven children, six sons and a daughter.[10] Living a simple and non-materialistic lifestyle, he and his wife, Ada Cecelia Pfautz, never owned a car, preferring bus and train travel. Even after becoming a well-known Christian author, Tozer signed away much of his royalties to those who were in need.
Tozer's work, however, led him to neglect his family. His biographer,
James L. Snyder, notes,[11]
The scope of Tozer's ministry militated against a wholesome family life. Speaking engagements meant that he was away more than he was home. When he was actually in the house, he was in his bedroom study reading or writing.
Death and legacy
Tozer died on May 13, 1963, in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, after suffering a heart attack. He was buried in Chicago, and later the family had his remains reinterred at Ellet Cemetery,
Akron, Ohio. A simple marker reads: A. W. Tozer—A Man of God.[12] The Alliance Weekly ran a memorial issue with numerous tributes and excerpts.[13] The same issue also featured “God's Greatest Gift to Man," a transcription of his final sermon.
A few months prior to his death, Tozer had submitted the manuscript to The Christian Book of Mystical Verse, which was released in 1964 as his final book. His official publisher, Christian Publications, released many titles after his death, based on his magazine articles and sermon transcriptions. These continue in print with Moody Publishers. Several other publishers have released his public domain works.
In 2000, The Pursuit of God was named to Christianity Today's list of 100 “Books of the Century.”[14] In 2006, Knowledge of the Holy was named in “The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals.”[15] Contemporary Christian music artist Lauren Barlow of
BarlowGirl later published a compilation of stories told by 59 artists, writers, and leaders about A.W. Tozer's personal inspiration.[16]
Published works
Books written or compiled by A. W. Tozer during his lifetime:
Paths to Power (1940)
Wingspread: A. B. Simpson: A Study in Spiritual Altitude (1943)
Let My People Go: The Life of Robert A. Jaffray (1947)
The Pursuit of God (1948)
The Divine Conquest (1950)
The Purpose of Man (1951) - First version
How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit (1952)
The Crucified Life (1953) - First version
The Root of the Righteous (1955)
Keys to the Deeper Life (1957)
Born after Midnight (1959)
Of God And Men (1960)
The Knowledge of the Holy (1961)
Christian Book of Mystical Verse (1963)
Booklets, undated:
The Praying Plumber Of Lisburn: A Sketch of God's Dealings with Thomas Haire
Echoes from Eden: The Voices of God Calling Man (1981)
ISBN0-87509-227-6; originally published as The Tozer Pulpit Vol. 8: Ten Sermons on the Voices of God Calling Man
Leaning Into The Wind (1985) STL Books, Bromley, Kent
ISBN0-903843-98-6
Whatever Happened to Worship? (1985)
Faith Beyond Reason (1987) OM Publishing, Bromley, Kent
ISBN1-85078-025-0
^Tancordo, and James Joshua. “A. W. Tozer: A Mystical and Confessional Evangelical.” Handle Proxy, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 19 Feb. 2018,
http://hdl.handle.net/10392/5527.