The giants of the Kingdom who live and wrought a generation or two ago are now gone home. While they lived among us, they led the Church by the sheer power of their gifts and the admitted superiority of their personal characters. But strange as it may be, while they themselves were might [sic] men and men of renown, they were not able to sire a spiritual progeny equal to themselves, so that, as they left us one after one, their mantles fell upon men very much inferior to them in ability, learning, and piety. The generation now in charge consists of sons and grandsons of the old spiritual heroes, and great has been the decline from year to year.

Though it may seem a gloomy conclusion, we must assume either that the race of spiritual giants is now extinct within the borders of evangelical orthodoxy, or that, if some do exist, they are for some reason strangely articulate, for it is hardly an uncharitable deduction that spiritual greatness is not discoverable in the lives and labors of our modern gospel propagandists.

One of the woes pronounced upon Israel at one time was that their princes should be children. God said that He would take away from Jerusalem and Judah the mighty man, the judge, the prophet, the prudent and the ancient, the honorable man and the counselor, and would give children to be their princes and make babes to rule over them. However much it may be deplored, it is yet not a singular nor uncommon thing for the more worthy to be led by the less worthy, for it is often true that the mighty in a given field are silent while the quasi-great are loud in their outcries.  Of course, the public, being neutral, will usually follow the most persistent voice. Plato said that the penalty good men pay for failure to take part in politics is to be ruled over by bad men. Sound, God-honoring believers in our day have to a large degree surrendered their leadership to lesser men who are not their equal in godliness but who are hungry for power and so are ready to take over at the first opportunity.

[...]

It may be justly said that the writer of these lines is of all men the least worthy to call Jesus Lord or to speak in His sinless Name. Amen. So be it. Nevertheless I have a soul to save, a God to glorify, and no one can stand sponsor for me before that great assize. There I must stand alone; and if it should be necessary that I stand alone for a little while here, I shall not wish it had been otherwise when the day comes. If my fellowship is worth asking, then it will be given to the saintly man, the humble man, and the holy. He who would call me to his side must have garments that smell of myrrh and loes and cassia out of the ivory palaces. Let him show me his scars and then command my service. I shall not withhold it. Gladly will I toil beside the man who reminds me of my Saviour. As for others, let them not trouble me. I am trying to show forth the glory of Him who called me out of darkness into his marvelous light. It is a great work and I cannot come down.

--- A. W. Tozer, Alliance Weekly, May 11, 1946

That excerpt comes from Appendix Two in A Passion for God.

If you have any sense at all you will read this book, and when you do read it, I’d suggest you read the entire column [reproduced on page 185] before starting with the first chapter.

Tozer said this kind of thing often; no one listened. No one is listening today. Imagine how Tozer might express his appreciation for the work of Camerin Courtney, Reggie McNeal, Frank Garlock, Mark Van Steenwyk, Ted Haggard, Tony Jones…and you’ll get a sense of the price we have paid. Tozer spoke the truth and only now do we begin to sense the consequences.

Where is the mighty man, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, the ancient, the honorable, and the counselor?

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A Passion for God, the Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer
Lyle Dorsett
Moody Publishers, 2008
ISBN: 13-978-0-8024-8133-7