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Mother of Modern Evangelicalism: The Life and Legacy of Henrietta Mears (Library of Religious Biography
Although she was never as prominent as Billy Graham or many of the other iconic male evangelists of the twentieth century, Henrietta Mears was arguably the single most influential woman in the shaping of modern evangelicalism. Her seminal work What the Bible Is All About sold millions of copies, and key figures in the early modern evangelical movement like Bill Bright, Harold John Ockenga, and Jim Rayburn frequently cited her teachings as a formative part of their ministry. Graham himself stated that Mears was the most important female influence in his life other than his mother or wife. Mother of Modern Evangelicalism is the first comprehensive biography of Henrietta Mears. Arlin Migliazzo uses previously overlooked archival sources and dozens of interviews with Mears associates to assemble a detailed portrait of her life and legacy, including the way she helped steer conservative theology between fundamentalism and liberal modernism with her relentless focus on the Christian life as an act of consecrated service. Readers will find here a religious leader worthy of emulation in today’s world—one who sought an alternative to the divisive polemics of her own day, staying fiercely committed to the faith while fighting against the anti-intellectualism and cultural parochialism that had characterized the fundamentalist movement of the early twentieth century. While she never technically delivered a Sunday morning message from the pulpit and refused to be called a preacher, Henrietta Mears’s life stands here as a sermon about graceful leadership and faithful engagement with the world.
320 pages, Paperback
Published November 17, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 4, 2021
Summary: The first comprehensive biography on Henrietta Mears that focuses on her early life, her Christian Education ministry at Hollywood Presbyterian Church, and her national impact on a nascent evangelical network of leaders, on Christian publishing and retreat ministry.
She had been dead for almost a decade when I received a copy of What the Bible is All About. I was a young Christian, still in high school, trying to read the Bible. The book started me on a lifelong habit of reading scripture through its clear explanations of the layout of the Bible, the world of the Bible, and the central figure of scripture, the Lord Jesus. In a small way at least, I was one more person in whose life Henrietta Mears had an impact. I had no notion of the breadth of impact the grandmotherly woman on the back cover had during her life on American evangelicalism.
Mears established the largest Sunday School in the country and headed up the National Sunday School Association, raising the standards of Christian education throughout the country. She hosted a ministry to some of the leading men and women in Hollywood during the 1950’s. She was a catalyst in the ministries of Bill Bright, Dawson Trotman, and Billy Graham as well as many others. The need for Christ-centered and biblically sound Sunday School materials led to establish Gospel Light Publishing, which she headed up for many years. She purchased a Christian conference center, Forest Home. Her college class turned out a generation of leaders who became pastors, missionaries, and leaders in a number of professions across the country, creating a network that served for the expansion of a theologically conservative but culturally engaging evangelicalism.
All this in spite of a very obvious fact. Mears was a woman in an era where gender roles were very well defined and men preached and led. She never challenged this gender framework. She simply led with excellence and expected that of those around her. She sought out men especially for her college ministry who would be leaders, mentored them, sometimes in demanding terms. She poured herself into others with a kind of tough and yet utterly supportive love that led to their blossoming.
Working at the intersection of the entertainment industry and a center of education, she both hued to theological orthodoxy and adopted an open and generous stance to the intellectual and entertainment world of her day, establishing a model for a culturally winsome evangelicalism that contrasted with the fortress mentality of some fundamentalists (though not all, as Migliazzo notes).
While the work of Mears between 1928 and her death in 1963 was fairly well known, Arlin Migliazzo draws on various archival materials and interviews to show the depth and breadth of that work. He also introduces us to the young Henrietta Mears, growing up in the upper Midwest. She grew up in a devout Baptist family. Her father traveled extensively for his business and so her mother Margaret played a significant role in her upbringing, imparting her faith, as well as a keen work ethic, and high standards of responsibility.
He also traces her college training in education and early teaching experience, where almost immediately, she was made principal of a small rural Minnesota high school. Returning to Minneapolis, she took up leadership of the Sunday School under leading fundamentalist pastor William Bell Riley. She built a girls ministry called Fidelis that reached over 500 in number. She turned her back on marriage. After almost ten years came the call to Hollywood Presbyterian Church.
She had a husky voice, weak eyes, and was described as “built like a fireplug.” She could be demanding. When she felt betrayed, she could be unforgiving. She liked the finer things, including fur collars. Migliazzo notes her weak record on issues of race. Yet when she began to speak in a class or convention, she commanded attention for the clarity of her teaching and passion for Christ. How else to account for her influence on the likes of Graham, Bright, and others?
Migliazzo’s outstanding biography not only helps us to take the measure of her life in full but also sets her in the larger framework of the emergence of evangelicalism from its fundamentalist roots. She played a vital role in that emergence, and “showed” the capabilities of women given over to Christ in a time when “telling” wasn’t possible.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
She had been dead for almost a decade when I received a copy of What the Bible is All About. I was a young Christian, still in high school, trying to read the Bible. The book started me on a lifelong habit of reading scripture through its clear explanations of the layout of the Bible, the world of the Bible, and the central figure of scripture, the Lord Jesus. In a small way at least, I was one more person in whose life Henrietta Mears had an impact. I had no notion of the breadth of impact the grandmotherly woman on the back cover had during her life on American evangelicalism.
Mears established the largest Sunday School in the country and headed up the National Sunday School Association, raising the standards of Christian education throughout the country. She hosted a ministry to some of the leading men and women in Hollywood during the 1950’s. She was a catalyst in the ministries of Bill Bright, Dawson Trotman, and Billy Graham as well as many others. The need for Christ-centered and biblically sound Sunday School materials led to establish Gospel Light Publishing, which she headed up for many years. She purchased a Christian conference center, Forest Home. Her college class turned out a generation of leaders who became pastors, missionaries, and leaders in a number of professions across the country, creating a network that served for the expansion of a theologically conservative but culturally engaging evangelicalism.
All this in spite of a very obvious fact. Mears was a woman in an era where gender roles were very well defined and men preached and led. She never challenged this gender framework. She simply led with excellence and expected that of those around her. She sought out men especially for her college ministry who would be leaders, mentored them, sometimes in demanding terms. She poured herself into others with a kind of tough and yet utterly supportive love that led to their blossoming.
Working at the intersection of the entertainment industry and a center of education, she both hued to theological orthodoxy and adopted an open and generous stance to the intellectual and entertainment world of her day, establishing a model for a culturally winsome evangelicalism that contrasted with the fortress mentality of some fundamentalists (though not all, as Migliazzo notes).
While the work of Mears between 1928 and her death in 1963 was fairly well known, Arlin Migliazzo draws on various archival materials and interviews to show the depth and breadth of that work. He also introduces us to the young Henrietta Mears, growing up in the upper Midwest. She grew up in a devout Baptist family. Her father traveled extensively for his business and so her mother Margaret played a significant role in her upbringing, imparting her faith, as well as a keen work ethic, and high standards of responsibility.
He also traces her college training in education and early teaching experience, where almost immediately, she was made principal of a small rural Minnesota high school. Returning to Minneapolis, she took up leadership of the Sunday School under leading fundamentalist pastor William Bell Riley. She built a girls ministry called Fidelis that reached over 500 in number. She turned her back on marriage. After almost ten years came the call to Hollywood Presbyterian Church.
She had a husky voice, weak eyes, and was described as “built like a fireplug.” She could be demanding. When she felt betrayed, she could be unforgiving. She liked the finer things, including fur collars. Migliazzo notes her weak record on issues of race. Yet when she began to speak in a class or convention, she commanded attention for the clarity of her teaching and passion for Christ. How else to account for her influence on the likes of Graham, Bright, and others?
Migliazzo’s outstanding biography not only helps us to take the measure of her life in full but also sets her in the larger framework of the emergence of evangelicalism from its fundamentalist roots. She played a vital role in that emergence, and “showed” the capabilities of women given over to Christ in a time when “telling” wasn’t possible.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
March 20, 2023
Досега си мислех, че имам доста добри познания за историята свързана с отделянето на неоевангелското от фундаменталисткото движение около средата на миналия век в Америка. Тази книга ми показа, че не е съвсем така. Тя представя един човек, който има огромна заслуга за формирането на новата парадигма, взаимодейства тясно с основните "играчи," участва по някакъв начин в ключови институции като Фулър, Уитън, Асоцицията на евангелските църкви и Асоциацията на неделните училища, оказва силно влияние върху някои от най-важните представители като Бил Брайт и Били Греъм, но за който аз не знаех нощо. Възможно е да съм срещал веднъж или два пъти името на Мейърс споменато мимоходом в немалкото литература, която съм чел по темата, без то да ми е правило впечатление, но като цяло- нищо особено конкретно.
Книгата е много добро изследване, стилът е лек и четлив - в по-голямата част дори занимателен и интересен.
Едно от най-големите открития за мен през тази година.
Книгата е много добро изследване, стилът е лек и четлив - в по-голямата част дори занимателен и интересен.
Едно от най-големите открития за мен през тази година.
June 17, 2025
Maybe a 3-1/2.
Such fine examples and inspiration for leadership and service to the Lord.
I got bogged down with names and organizations sometimes but this is an excellent historical record of Miss Mears’s life of service to lead others to Christ and her influence to many impactful evangelists.
I underlined quite a bit for personal guidance in leading Sunday Schools and Bible studies.
So, it actually should be a 4. ☺️
Quotes:
“Since her worldview asserted that God authored all truth no matter who discovered it, Mears held to the inherent virtue of knowledge irrespective of its source.”
“The emphasis on evangelism and biblical literacy, a dedicated and well-trained teaching staff committed to establishing personal relationships with each student, and the introduction of the new closely graded curriculum with activities for all ages had almost instantaneous effects.”
“She never allowed any cause, no matter how valuable, to supplant the importance of evangelism and obedience to the Bible.”
“We merely preach, it's all positive. It's nothing negative.
We don't dig at anybody else.
We just talk about Christ. And if they want to join Him, why, they join us, and we have great fellowship one with the other.”
“. . . when counseling one of her former collegians about how to address a criticism, Mears advised him to "forget about it; for every fire you put out they'll light ten more."
"It's so much easier to be swallowed by a whale than to be picked at by minnows."
Such fine examples and inspiration for leadership and service to the Lord.
I got bogged down with names and organizations sometimes but this is an excellent historical record of Miss Mears’s life of service to lead others to Christ and her influence to many impactful evangelists.
I underlined quite a bit for personal guidance in leading Sunday Schools and Bible studies.
So, it actually should be a 4. ☺️
Quotes:
“Since her worldview asserted that God authored all truth no matter who discovered it, Mears held to the inherent virtue of knowledge irrespective of its source.”
“The emphasis on evangelism and biblical literacy, a dedicated and well-trained teaching staff committed to establishing personal relationships with each student, and the introduction of the new closely graded curriculum with activities for all ages had almost instantaneous effects.”
“She never allowed any cause, no matter how valuable, to supplant the importance of evangelism and obedience to the Bible.”
“We merely preach, it's all positive. It's nothing negative.
We don't dig at anybody else.
We just talk about Christ. And if they want to join Him, why, they join us, and we have great fellowship one with the other.”
“. . . when counseling one of her former collegians about how to address a criticism, Mears advised him to "forget about it; for every fire you put out they'll light ten more."
"It's so much easier to be swallowed by a whale than to be picked at by minnows."
November 2, 2024
Mother of Evangelicalism Indeed
Being a Fuller Seminary alumnus and church historian I knew of Henrietta Mears and her influence but there is much more to her story than I imagined. The ministers and leaders who emerged from her ministry spread her vision far and wide. Though conservative in her theology she engaged the world with an unexpected openness. Reading her story also helps one better understand west coast evangelicalism, especially as it is present in mainline churches.
Being a Fuller Seminary alumnus and church historian I knew of Henrietta Mears and her influence but there is much more to her story than I imagined. The ministers and leaders who emerged from her ministry spread her vision far and wide. Though conservative in her theology she engaged the world with an unexpected openness. Reading her story also helps one better understand west coast evangelicalism, especially as it is present in mainline churches.
April 22, 2023
Henrietta Mears was a remarkable lady and I did not
know much about her. This book read more like an academic publication than most biographies I read. I learned a lot but I found the writing a bit dry and I think there was more repetition in places than was needed.
know much about her. This book read more like an academic publication than most biographies I read. I learned a lot but I found the writing a bit dry and I think there was more repetition in places than was needed.
September 29, 2021
Well documented biography that digs into Mears influence both directly and indirectly.
March 6, 2023
Really well-done biography of an important figure for 20th century religious history and American evangelicalism. I learned a lot.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews