MethodistThinker.com will be on hiatus from posting new material for the next several weeks. During this time, we will showcase podcasts from the fall of 2009.
The premiere podcast of our fall 2009 season featured one of the most influential Methodists of the 20th century: the Rev. Dr. Sir Alan Walker.
Sir Alan Walker
Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1911, Alan Walker was the 13th person in his family tree to become a preacher.
In the 1950s, he became known for leading evangelistic meetings across the Australian continent. Later, he came the United States to work briefly with the Board of Evangelism of The Methodist Church (a predecessor denomination of The United Methodist Church).
Returning to Australia in the late 1950s, he became the superintendent of the Sydney’s famed Central Methodist Mission (now known as Wesley Mission), a post he held for 20 years. During that time, he founded Lifeline, an innovative telephone counseling ministry that continues today.
In 1978, Alan Walker became the first World Director of Evangelism for the World Methodist Council. In that position, he traveled to more than 75 countries to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
He was honored with knighthood in 1981. In 1986, he and his wife, Lady Winifred Walker, received the World Methodist Peace Award.
In his 70s, he founded what is now known as the Alan Walker College of Evangelism in Sydney.
The Rev. Dr. Sir Alan Walker died in January 2003 at the age of 91.
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This podcast features a recording of Sir Alan Walker from the 1980 United Methodist Congress on Evangelism, held in Tulsa, Okla. Listen using the audio player below (27 min.) — or download an mp3 file (12.3 MB; on a PC, right click and choose “save as”).
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Related information |
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| • | Honoring Sir Alan Walker | Gordon Moyes, successor to Alan Walker as superintendent of Wesley Mission (from an address originally presented in June 2001) |
| • | Theologian, leader, champion of the poor: Sir Alan Walker dies aged 91 | Wesley Mission news release (Jan. 30, 2003) |
| • | Sir Alan Walker, World Methodist evangelist, dies at 91 | Linda Bloom, United Methodist News Service (Jan. 30, 2003) |
| • | Remembering Sir Alan Walker | Sunday Nights radio program (transcript), Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Feb. 2, 2003) |
| • | A study in word and deed: A eulogy at Rev. Sir Alan Walker’s Thanksgiving Service | Harold Henderson, author, Reach for the World: The Alan Walker Story (Feb. 11, 2003) |
Books by Alan Walker |
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| • | Standing Up To Preach: The Art of Evangelical Preaching |
| • | Breakthrough: Rediscovery of the Holy Spirit |
| • | The Whole Gospel for the Whole World (The Wieand Lectures in Evangelism) |
| • | The Promise and the Power (The 1980 Harry Denman Lectures) |
