Arthur F. Glasser Oral History Interviews
Scope and Contents
Oral history interviews with Arthur Frederick Glasser (1914-2009) in which he discusses his family background; conversion to Christianity at a Keswick conference; his education at Moody Bible Institute and Faith Seminary in Wilmington, DE; service as a chaplain during World War II; marriage, work with Dawson Trotman and the Navigators; service as a missionary in China with China Inland Mission; the Communist revolution in China; the 1951 Bournemouth conference to determine CIM's future; and Commission on World Evangelism & Missions (WCC). Other topics include: Glasser’s experiences as a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary and other schools; views on ecumenicalism; involvement in Evangelical conferences, especially those of the Lausanne movement; contrasting World Council of Churches and Lausanne Congress; and involvement in Christian evangelism to the Jewish community; and serving as the home director of the United States branch of Overseas Missionary Fellowship (formerly China Inland Mission). The time period covered by the interviews is 1914-1998.
Arthur Glasser was interviewed by Robert Shuster for the Billy Graham Center Archives at Glasser's office at Fuller Theological Seminary on September 14 and 18, 1989; April 17 and 18, 1995; and April 21, 1998.
Dates
- Created: 1989-1998
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
Biographical Information
Full Name: Arthur Frederick Glasser
Birth Date: September 10, 1914 in Paterson, New Jersey
Death Date: December 8, 2009 in Seattle, Washington
Family:
Parents: John Emil Glasser and Clara (Weise) Glasser
Married: Alice M. Oliver on September 13, 1942
Children: Samuel M., Anne, Carol A.
Conversion: June 1932 while attending an American Keswick conference in New Jersey
Education:
Attended public schools in Patterson and Augusta Military Academy in Virginia
1936 Graduated Cornell University, engineering degree
1939 Graduated Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois
1942 Graduated Faith Theological seminary with a Bachelor's of Divinity Degree
1966 Graduated Covenant Theological Seminary with a Doctor of Divinity
1970 Graduated Union Theological Seminary of New York City with an S.T.M.
Career:
1936-37 Worked as an engineer for the Dravo Corporation in Pittsburgh, PA
1942-44 United States Naval Reserve chaplain in the South Pacific
1944-46 Stationed as a chaplain in southern California; after leaving the service assisted Dawson Trotman and the Navigators
1946-50 Missionary with his wife for China Inland Mission in Yunnan Province
1951 Attended CIM's Bournemouth Conference
1951 Taught Old Testament at Columbia Bible College in Columbia, South Carolina
1955-69 Assistant home director, then home director of the United States branch of Overseas Missionary Fellowship (formerly China Inland Mission). When he rejoined the staff, it was the North American branch of OMF. Canada set up its own board during his administration.
1965 Taught at Covenant College and Theological Seminary
1966 Attended the Congress on the Church's Worldwide Mission in Wheaton, Illinois
1967-69 Lectured on missions at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia
1970 Joined missions faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California
1971-1980 Dean of the School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary 1972 Attended the meeting of the World Council of Church's Commission of World Mission and Evangelism in Bangkok, Thailand
1972 Founding member of the American Society of Missiology
1974 Attended the International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland
1976-1982 Editor of the ASM's journal, Missiology
1980 Attended the meeting of the World Council of Church's Commission of World Mission and Evangelism in Sydney, Australia
1982-1983 President of the American Society of Missiology
1999 Retired from the faculty of Fuller and moved with his wife to Seattle, Washington
Actively involved in Jewish evangelism efforts and in the founding of Zweimer Institute for Islamic studies
Extent
8 Audio Tapes
507 Minutes
Language of Materials
English
Accruals and Additions
The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by Arthur Glasser in September 1989 and April 1995 and April 1998.
Accession 89-98, 95-66, 95-69
February 20, 1996
Robert Shuster
Accession 98-19
May 5, 2011
Bob Shuster
- Booth-Clibborn, Catherine, 1860-1955.
- China -- History -- 1949-
- China -- History -- Civil War, 1945-1949.
- China Inland Mission.
- Christian leadership.
- Church and state -- China.
- College students -- Religious life.
- College students -- United States -- Religious life.
- Communism -- China.
- Ecumenical movement.
- Evangelistic work -- China.
- Evangelistic work -- Congresses.
- Explorers.
- Fuller Theological Seminary.
- Fundamentalism.
- Indigenous church administration -- China.
- Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.
- League of Evangelical Students.
- McGavran, Donald A. (Donald Anderson), 1897-1990.
- Military chaplains -- United States.
- Missionaries -- Appointment, call, and election.
- Missionaries -- Training of -- United States.
- Missionaries, Resignation of.
- Missions -- China.
- Missions -- Congresses.
- Missions -- Finance.
- Missions -- Study and teaching.
- Missions to Jews.
- OMF International.
- Stern, David H., 1935-
- Stott, John R. W.
- Three-self movement -- China.
- Trotman, Dawson E.
- World Council of Churches.
Creator
- Glasser, Arthur F. (Arthur Frederick), 1914- (Person)
- Shuster, Robert D. (Person)
- Title
- Collection 421 Oral History Interviews with Arthur F. Glasser
- Author
- Bob Shuster
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository