Aiden Wilson Tozer (1897–1963) was man of contradictions. He was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania but spent the bulk of his ministry in Chicago. He ministered in the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination yet pursued mysticism. Despite having no higher education, he wrote bestselling books. The saddest contradiction of all was in temperament. In the midst of a large family and even larger ministry, he lived a very lonely life.

Lyle W. Dorsett raises the contradiction at the heart of Tozer’s spirituality. On the one hand, he was passionate for God. He spent hours in prayer, seeking the fellowship of the Spirit. His single-mindedness and determination to share what God inspired him to say led him into a ministry that was prophetically-oriented.

The problem with prophets is that they tend to run roughshod over people. Although he served as a pastor, churches built pastoral teams around him to make up for his lack of interest in caring for the individual lives of those in his congregation. He accepted a post in Toronto after decades in Chicago because the board promised his only responsibilities would be to speak twice on Sundays. “You won’t have to attend board meetings, visit the sick, lay any cornerstones, attend any picnics, cut any ribbons or anything else. Just preach twice a Sunday, that’s all” (153).

The most difficult part of the biography to read was the lack of attention Tozer paid to his own family—his wife and kids. They suffered greatly for his piety. He made decisions unilaterally, dragging his family along.

Dorsett does not resolve the tension between piety and the lack of familial love. Tozer was a massively gifted preacher with the ability to prophetically cut to the core of any matter. It’s difficult to think poorly of a legend. However, after reading the evidence Dorsett presented, I’m left wondering along the lines of Paul—If I have prophetic powers and the ability to speak, but have not love …

Dorsett, Lyle. A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer. Moody Publishers, 2008.