"Tozer for the Christian Leader" (Compiled by Ron Eggert)

TITLE: Tozer for the Christian Leader: A 365-Day Devotional
AUTHOR: AW Tozer (compiled by Ron Eggert)
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014, (432 pages).

Aiden Wilson Tozer is one of my favourite spiritual writers of all time. He is bold, passionate, and staunchly biblical. He is not afraid to be tough when it comes to God's truth. Having written many books, he has impacted many people not only when he was a pastor at Chicago's Southside Alliance Church, but many more around the world. From individual books, publishers have compiled "The Best of AW Tozer" and other combinations. Due to his insightful writings, publishers have also put together devotionals based on themes from his many books. This devotional contains 365 excerpts from the many books and booklets written by Tozer. While the writings are Tozer's, the collection of articles according to the leadership them is owed to Ron Eggert, a regional representative for Mastermedia International. Limited to one page per day, each devotional as a title for the Christian leader, a Bible passage, a prayer, and an excerpt from one of Tozer's many writings.  They are arranged in monthly leadership themes that cover a wide range of areas.

1. January: The Leader's Personal Life
2. February: The Holy Spirit in the Leader's Life
3. March: Pastoral Ministry and Leadership
4. April: Prayer
5. May: Preaching 
6. June: Worship
7. July: The Church
8. August: Evangelism
9. September: Revival
10. October: Failure and Success
11. November: Spiritual Warfare and Sin
12. December: Trials and Pain

All of these themes are commonly faced by any Christian leader. Every day is covered, including February 29th. Even though the passages are extracts, the spiritual impact is there. Tozer always has a word of wisdom and warning to those in positions of leadership. Right from the start, leaders must start with God. That is why Eggert begins with the personal life. Leaders need to be worshipful of God; obedient to the call of God; meditate often; pray regularly; and hunger for God's Word and God Himself. Leaders need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. They are to be led toward greater holiness; to use their spiritual gifts; and to lead people according to the Holy Spirit. For preachers, he reminds us to be reliant on the Holy Spirit rather than human knowledge and wisdom. The May 8th reflection is a reminder that even the most familiar John 3:16 passage should not be taken lightly. Tozer refused to preach on it until he can feel the love of God for people in it. On the pulpit, it is important for the preacher to be the true man before God and before the congregation. On the Church, Tozer even issues the challenge for churches to be a model of obedience to God so that they can lead the way for others to do the same. Any revival must be on God's terms, not man's.

On some days, I feel that the reflection is way too brief. I am reminded that a devotional must be brief. This devotional is one of those books which I feel is suitable for eBooks. As individuals become more mobile, having the devotional delivered to their cell phone device is an added bonus. Maybe, the publisher can include this as an additional electronic resource for purchasers of the printed book.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me courtesy of Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.