God's Generals: Why They Succeeded and Why Some Fail (Spiritual Biographies of Smith Wigglesworth, Aimee Semple McPherson, William J. Seymour, and Kathryn Kuhlman)

If you are into ministry then this book serves as a guide on what to do and what not. Bible is surely the foundation, but then this book shows how the Gods Generals brought the word of God into its true form of manifestation...

Influential ...and a gr8 bookGBU Mr. Roberts Liardon

A wonderful book which has increased my faith a lot .A wonderful book and will say you how to live a life with Jesus in every situation.With the examples of wonderful Generals of God!!

Received the book in one week and item is in good condition. Haven't started reading but was recommended by a good friend.

So encouraging and uplifting.

What I have looked at, used and quoted from is volume I of Roberts Liardon series of books called “Gods Generals.” my comments concern volume 1 of this series only, God's Generals: Why They Succeeded and Why Some Fail.My review of this book is mostly centered on the chapter concerning John G Lake. Why? Because I have researched Lake extensively and found him to be a fraud. From my viewpoint this book certainly doesn’t pass academic muster. Despite all the glorious endorsements there is no vigorous scholarship here. From my standpoint this book isn’t written like a professional historian. According to his bio on Amazon he is supposed to be a leading Protestant Church historian. Really?From my perspective this book carries the intellectual heft of a high school student copying a report from an encyclopedia. Why do I say this?First, just look at his footnotes, according to my way of thinking he shows no real research. He uses only a handful of sources. When looking at the footnotes for each chapter the author seems to only use fawning works or resources that propagate the myths, he wishes to promote for each of the subjects.And now my specific objections to the chapter concerning John G Lake. Again, look at the footnotes. According to the notations he relies heavily on John G Lake especially Lake’s book “Adventures in God” what is wrong with that you may ask. Nothing per se as that would be considered primary source material. But read on to my conclusion below.But the problem is we are all human and when using autobiographical information, it should be taken with a heavy dose of salt. I don’t care who the subject is, very few people are completely objective about themselves. And that’s true for each of us when telling our own personal history whether it is written or oral. That is not unique to John G Lake it's just human nature to always tell our story in the most favorable light possible. And often we conveniently forget to include things about ourselves or our story that are not so flattering.Therefore, the job of the historian is to separate fact from fiction and to tell the whole story no matter where it leads. Another source Roberts Liardon relies on is Gordon Lindsay, of the books listed are pretty much just more of John G Lakes in his own words. For example, “The Astounding Diary of John G Lake.” And a diary after all is nothing more than another source of yet even more autobiographical material. Nothing wrong with that per se as diaries are considered primary source material and can be excellent sources.Then there are two more sources listed by Liardon from Lindsay that are sermons by John G Lake. Listed as number 15 and number 25 in the footnotes. Again, using his sermons is nothing more than yet even more autobiographical material. To be clear I am not rendering any judgement on his sermons. If you like them fine. Rather my point here is again this is more autobiographical material. And once again as with the previous items mentioned above nothing wrong about using such materials. In fact, you couldn’t write a book about Lake without using these materials.Then there are 3 more books used by Liardon. One more from Gordan Lindsay, one from Wilford Reidt and one from Ken and Gloria Copeland. The problem with all these works is they present a fawning one-sided largely uncritical view of John G Lake. Again, no problem with these works per se. However, in my view they are nothing more than sycophantic hero worship of John G Lake.Unless engaging in shameless hero worship, no reputable biographer blindly accepts one-sided views of the subject in question as fact. Nor do they rely completely on such sources. To be clear autobiographical information whether a diary or memoirs or whatever form are generally very valuable material and are considered primary sources. But we do know through human nature such writings can be rather self-serving. A good historian knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff and present a balanced view. Sometimes more can be gleaned from what a person doesn't say as opposed to what he does say. Silence can be indeed deafening. And a discerning historian knows how to point that out.To be clear I am not criticizing Liardon for using the diary, the sermons or any other autobiographical material mentioned above. As I said earlier you couldn’t, wouldn’t or shouldn’t endeavor to write a biography without reviewing all known communications of the subject being discussed.Here is where I do have a problem. Liardon seems to accept everything John G Lake said about himself at face value. No questions are asked. No accounts of any third-party contemporaries of Lake or even other researchers since Lake’s time are used to confirm or question the authenticity of any, of Lake’s stories and claims.For example, on page 180 kindle edition the author tells of Lake boasting about how he was filled with the spirit of God. Apparently, Lake and another man were burying the dead and a doctor was amazed that Lake didn’t get the contagious disease. Apparently, the doctor asked Lake what was his secret. Lake told him that as long as he (Lake) was connected to the spirit of God any “germ” (Lake’s term) that tried to attach itself to him (Lake) would die. Because the spirit of God would kill it. Liardron then goes on to repeat the myth that Lake told the doctor to take foam from the lungs of a plague victim and place it on Lake’s hand. Then he (Lake) directed the doctor to look at the “germs” on Lake’s hand using a microscope. And per Lake to the doctor’s astonishment the “germs” died.This absurd claim is so easy to debunk. First, there is no microscope in Lake’s time or at the present time where “germs” or more properly bacterial can be seen by holding a human hand under a microscope. There were no electronic microscopes in Lake’s time. Then as now samples are placed on glass slides. Non-electronic microscopes depend on mirrors to reflect the light up through the glass slide and thus to the eye piece. A human hand would block the light. Thus, you couldn’t see anything!I am not a scientist or a medical professional nor do I play either one on TV. Even with my rudimentary knowledge of science I know Lake’s claims are ludicrous. Much more could be said about the whole process of using a microscope electronic or mirror type, to see bacteria and the protocol involved with how to prep slides etc. Another issue concerns the proper magnification needed to see bacteria which didn’t exist in Lake’s time. Amazingly, such simple facts elude Mr. Liardon.If John G Lake had such a healing ministry, why was he burying the dead instead of getting people healed? Or raising the dead for that matter. There are other issues about what plague or disease was present during Lake’s time in South Africa. Simply put Lake’s statements about himself are sheer and total nonsense! Suffice it say what I have presented are prime examples of Liardron taking things at face value. No inquiry of any kind! Liardon’s lack of checking for or verifying even the simplest of facts is incredible and breathtaking for someone billed as a “top "historian!Through my research I can also debunk Lake’s statements concerning his time in Spokane Washington. Way too much information to include here. Once again Liardon just unquestioningly accepts at face value Lake’s claims and merely parrots them. It angers me a great deal that the information in this volume has been uncritically accepted as fact by so many. To me being a good Berean not only means searching the scriptures to see if these things be so but to also search for historic, scientific or any other facts to buttress the truth. And in my opinion, there is precious little truth found in this work.The only fault of Lake’s that I could find that Liardon writes about is found on pages 185-186 of the kindle edition. Where Liardon correctly discusses Lake’s neglect and alienation of his children by his first wife. But Lake was embroiled in so many controversies and all are ignored by Liardon. And the death of Lakes first wife being one of them.What Liardon does is like having somebody on trial for a serious crime. And when the defendant gets on the witness stand, he is allowed to tell his side of the story. And whatever witness are called are friends of the defendant and merely parrot what the defendant said. But then no other witnesses are called and no other evidence is submitted. Nor is there any cross-examination of the defendant or the witnesses. And after hearing only the defendant’s side of the story the judge pronounces the defendant not guilty.To me the job of a historian writing a biography is like having 3 jobs. The historian is a 1) a detective 2) a defense attorney and 3) a prosecuting attorney all rolled into one in order to give a fair and balanced view of the subject. A historian seeks out witnesses and evidence both hostile and sympathetic. Then the historian marshals their evidence and lays out their case.In addition to all the autobiographic information available it is the job of the historian to seek out any other extraneous material etc. that may be available. In order to give supporting evidence. And that evidence may be in favor of the subject or material that may call into question the veracity of the subject at hand. Supporting evidence, the outrageous claims about Lake are sorely lacking. And certainly, Liardon doesn’t present any alternative point of view. In my example Liardon serves only as a defense attorney. As I said earlier this work reminds me of high school or middle school students who thought that they could fool the teacher by rewording an article they found in the encyclopedia. But at least the encyclopedia is based on truth. In my view Liardon’s work seems to be merely a rewrite and/or edit of the small consortium of all the limited sources he used. On the face of it he never sought out other sources if he did then they should have been listed.Lake was a shameless self-promoter, liar, con man and a fraud among other things. I could say about same for the other largely unsavory individuals Liardon delineates in this volume. Liardon does provide some mild rebuke to most of these individuals. But he fails to address in any serious manner the serious controversies surrounding these people. Again, just look at the footnotes as in Lake’s case the sources are largely autobiographical or fawning sycophants. And for nearly all of those individuals I could present antithetical information such as I have provided here for Lake.You may like his style of writing and enjoy reading his works. But as far as I am concerned this work is slipshod, sloppy scholarship that borders on dishonesty.Again, the unproven claptrap Liardon details and promotes in this book is in my opinion propaganda not history! This work of so-called history appears to be more concerned with doctrine rather than documentation. Those profiled in this book are more like a rogue’s gallery rather than God’s best. “God’s Generals”? Balderdash! I don’t think hardly any of these individuals even enlisted as privates!Please consider my book "John G Lake a Bodyguard of Lies".

I never thought that a book would ever change the course of my life that was stagnated to now forward ever backwards never. This book has done that and move. Thank you Roberts for putting together this masterpiece of a book.

I love this book. It is a great history of the strong women and men of faith. It is very inspiring!