A Passion for Souls [Paperback]

Lyle Dorsett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Moody was a model of biblical passion, vision, and commitment. Examine the life of this great evangelist probing his strengths and weaknesses, virtues and faults, triumphs and struggles, to find a man after God's own heart.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"D.L. Moody was a towering giant of the faith, an anointed and powerful communicator of the gospel, and, most of all a man exemplifying the humility and love for Christ. He is truly a model for all age groups. This book is an insightful look at a great man of God." -- -Bill Bright Founder and President Campus Crusade for Christ --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

About the Author

LYLE W. DORSETT (Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia) holds the Billy Graham Chair of Evangelism at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. He is the author of numerous books, among them biographies of Joy Davidman (Mrs. C.S. Lewis), E. M. Bounds, Dwight L. Moody, and Billy Sunday. Keenly interested in the life and writings of C. S. Lewis, he has published a volume of Lewis’s Letters to Children, The Essential C. S. Lewis, and Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C.S. Lewis. His most recent book is A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A.W. Tozer. His book on Military Chaplains of World War II will be published in 2011.

Product Details

• Paperback: 494 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802451810
• ISBN-13: 978-0802451811
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dorsette's work is well-researched and very readable, September 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Passion for Souls: The Life of D.L. Moody (Hardcover)

Any time spent reading about the life and work of D.L. Moody is well worth it. Moody impacted his generation for Christ the way Billy Graham has impacted ours. Details of Moody's Spirit anointed ministry are well researched and clearly presented in this excellent work by Lyle Dorsette. If you want to see what God can do through a person who is totally committed to Him, buy this book and read it carefully. Then, put it in your Church library for others to enjoy!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Steps and Words of a Powerful Evangelist, February 2, 2010

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Passion for Souls (Paperback)

"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." -- Matthew 28:18-20

Of evangelism's household names from the last few centuries, I had heard more of D. L. Moody but knew less about him than any of the others. While researching a devotional for our church's Web site, one of our pastors encouraged me to look up how D. L. Moody was saved. Finding that story to be moving, naturally I went back and read the rest of the book. I was glad I did. I had no idea of the institutional influence that D. L. Moody has had on American Christianity.

I was again struck by how the Holy Spirit can bring someone to Salvation with only a little involvement by believers. It's more important to be serious about following the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) than it is to be a great Bible scholar, debater of Christian doctrine, or organizer of meetings for the saved.

Surveys show that 95 percent of American Christians never share their faith outside of their families, even though those who regularly share their faith take great joy in the activity.

In addition to reading and learning from A Passion for Souls, I recommend you take your own passion for souls as a way to follow Jesus and learn how to apply it in being a continual witness for Him.

May God bless you, your family, and all you do in the name of Jesus to help the lost to learn about Salvation.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a challenging insight into the life of a man with a mission, December 3, 2009

By 

R. Bailey "www.biblebase.com" (Reading, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Passion for Souls (Paperback)

I had a free download of this and have listened to over 17 hours narrated by Jonathan Marosz. It has been a real eye-opener for me although I thought I knew a bit about Moody. The author, Lyle W. Dorsett, is an affectionate recorder of the Moody phenomena but not without attempting to measure the man and his work.

I had no real idea of the way that the Moody years have shaped what became the consensus of evangelicalism for the whole of the 20th century. Moody's son commented that Moody's single ambition was 'to proclaim the good news of the gospel through multiplied agencies'. It was the 'multiplied agencies' that I had missed. He stamped his personality and pattern on the whole evangelical world, for good or ill. Evangelistic agencies, YMCAs, Bible colleges, schools, missionary outreaches, international travel were all part of the multiplied agencies. There can be no doubt that he brought millions of individuals face to face with their need for a personal encounter with Christ. How successful those encounters were cannot be measured. His fund raising abilities were legendary and he used what have now become stock in trade methods of mail hits and newspaper publicity. He never appealed for his own financial needs but never hesitated to use his powers and influence to raise huge sums of money for evangelistic campaigns and agencies.

Moody comes through as a man with a genuine gift for loyal friendship and a large heart. His fame gave him access to wide ranges of society and his burden was always to point them to their need for Christ. His energies were also legendary, as was his ability to conscript others into his campaigns.

Dorsett has a final chapter called 'a retrospect' in which he attempts to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Moody as a man and as a model. I have listened to this chapter 4 times. It is challenging, humbling and disturbing but perhaps an honest account of any man would be the same.

I leave this account feeling I have met Moody and warmed to him in a way that has surprised me although my apprehensions of his methodologies have been confirmed. This is a valuable account of a man whose life and manner continue to impact the world of evangelicalism. I give this a solid 4 stars out of 5.

Publisher: Moody Publishers (October 1997) 491 pages.
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802451942
ISBN-13: 978-0802451941