Evangelism's First Modern Media Star
Reverend Bill Stidger
Evangelism's First Modern Media Star
Reverend Bill Stidger
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Publisher: Cooper Square Publishers Inc.,U.S.
ISBN: 9780815411871
Number of Pages: 400
Published: 15/06/2002
Width: 16.2 cm
Height: 23.3 cm
Bill Stidger was the most famous preacher in America in the 1930s and the model for Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry. Norman Vincent Peale and Cardinal Sheehan acknowledged their friend Stidger as the source of many of their ideas. Stidger was the first person to realize the potential of modern media promotional techniques for evangelizing. A fervent preacher with a social conscience, he invented and patented an electric revolving cross to adorn church roofs and attract worshippers. He used advertising and wrote newspaper columns to publicize his services and even supported bowling alleys on church grounds. He brought religion to the radio with his program "Getting the Most Out of Life." His tactics aroused controversy and changed the way we worship in America.
An excellent piece of work...a remarkable accomplishment. -- Brendan Gill, Author of Here at The New Yorker and Many Masks: A Life of Frank Lloyd Wright Bill Stidger was a fearless and creative preacher...{He} used the latest in journalism, advertising, showmanship, and the radio and adapted his message to what most effective. Yet, he quite consistently retained the integrity of his message...He never forgot he was a christian preacher. -- Walter G. Muelder, From his afterword Reverend William Leroy Stidger (1885-1949) was a dynamic Methodist preacher with a social conscience who was known for his innovative use of the media. He served in World War I, provided for the destitute in the great depression, and performed missionary work in China, Korea, Japan, and the Phillipines. This biography by his grandson is illustrated with 24 photographs. Theology Digest
