Evangelism's First Modern Media Star: Reverend Bill Stidger - Hardcover

Jack Hyland, an investment banker, is Reverend Bill Stidger's grandson. He lives in New York City.

Written by his grandson, this is a well-documented and personal biography of Methodist evangelist Bill Stidger (1885-1949). Stidger experienced conversion at a Methodist revival and went on to become an ingenious innovator whose marketing abilities filled churches wherever he pastored: San Francisco, San Jose, Detroit, Kansas City, and Boston. He wrote 52 books, ran FDR's radio reelection campaign in 1936, and taught techniques for sermon writing at Boston University's School of Theology. He also actively addressed social issues, traveled abroad to mission stations, and volunteered and served with the YMCA on the front lines in France during World War I. Hyland, who incorporates Stidger's personal correspondence into the text, discusses how Stidger pioneered in preaching techniques, in creating news events that appeared in the daily papers, and in advertising. Though the book's appeal may seem limited to those seeking information on evangelism or Methodist preachers, it has a broader human interest, particularly in light of its historical setting, with accounts of World War I, Roosevelt, and Stidger's meetings and friendships with other notables. Nevertheless, because of its subject matter, general public library patrons may not seek it out; recommended for theological collections and large libraries. George Westerlund, formerly with Providence P.L., Palmyra, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.