Dale Fiers : A Twentieth-Century Disciple

Many call A. Dale Fiers the most significant figure in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of the twentieth century. Raised in a devout family—his mother was ordained—in Kankakee, Illinois, and West Palm Beach, Florida, Fiers went on to have major impact not only on his denomination but on American Protestantism in general, particularly its approach to such social issues as missionary work and civil rights. Fiers served as executive secretary of the International Convention of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), president of the United Christian Missionary Society, administrative secretary of the Commission on Restructure, and was the first general minister and president of the church. Restructure was the process by which thousands of scattered Disciples congregations became an expression of one Church. This 1960s development towers over the landscape of Disciples history like a great mountain range, and Fiers looms over the era as its central figure. In this biography, commissioned by the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, D. Duane Cummins crafts a picture of a remarkable church leader and chronicles the way a significant religious body dealt with the ambivalences of its own existence, how missionary work developed into less paternalistic relationships, how a church struggled between attempts to minister on the local scene and throughout the world. Fiers lived in Florida and remained active in Disciples affairs until his death at age ninety-six in 2003.