Background

Glenn Clark was born on March 13, 1882, in Des Moines, Iowa. He was the son of James and Fannie Clark.

Education

Glenn Clark graduated from Grinnell College in 1905.

Career

After graduation, Glenn Clark worked as a high school principal in Des Moines for three years. Then he started to teach at William and Vashti College. After four years, Clark served as an educator at Macalester College. For thirty years, he was a professor of literature and athletic coach.

Additionally, Glenn Clark was a writer. Also, he was a founder of a Macalester Park Publishing and, with his sister, Helen Clark Wentworth, founded a Clear Horizons magazine in 1940.

When Glenn Clark's first book, Soul's Sincere Desire, became a religious bestseller, a group of men at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis asked Glenn Clark to lead an adult Bible class. One Sunday, he shared, with the class, that he wished to be in a place where time and interruptions would not interfere with thoughts of the Kingdom. Such a place where they would not only talk about love and faith and a life of prayer but would learn how to put these Christian virtues into practice. A place where young and old, rich and poor, could go more deeply into the heart of the Christian message. They began to visualize such a group going "farthest out," away from their daily distractions while spiritually exploring the length, height, and breadth of God's Kingdom. So, a group of businessmen from that class agreed to underwrite such a project, and the first Camp Farthest Out met at Lake Koronis, Paynesville, in 1930. The name, Camps Farthest Out, was derived from Clark's experience on an island farthest out from his vision to take people farthest out in loving, forgiving, believing, trusting, and obeying the teachings of Jesus Christ for kingdom living. The Camps Farthest Out multiplied from the original one until, in 1961, there were forty-one of them meeting in almost every section of the country. In 1956 Glenn Clark resigned his position as Director of the Camps Farthest Out and, two months later, he passed away.

Achievements

• Glenn Clark was well known as a writer and educator. He also was widely known as the founder of the Camps Farthest Out in 1930. As one of the most widely published authors on the life of prayer in the twentieth century, Glenn Clark has left an unforgettable mark on the spiritual life of our day. He has influenced all kinds of people: the sick at heart, the discouraged, the unchurched, and those who were angry at the church. Through such books as The Soul's Sincere Desire, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, and many others, Clark enriched the lives of millions.

Works

More photos

• book

  • I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes

    (Discusses the power of prayer to transform a person's dai...)

    1937
  • The Man Who Talks with the Flowers

    (George Washington Carver was an American scientist, botan...)

    1939
  • The Third Strike

    (Glenn Clark was an editor of The Third Strike.)

    1949
  • A Manual of the Short Story Art 1922
  • The Soul's Sincere Desire 1925
  • Fishers of Men 1928
  • The Thought Farthest Out 1930
  • Water of Life 1931
  • Personality in Essay Writing 1932
  • The Lord's Prayer 1932
  • A Grain of Wheat 1936
  • How to Find Health Through Prayer 1940
  • The World's Greatest Debate 1940
  • The Third Front through the Paths of Faith 1944
  • The Way, The Truth And The Life 1946
  • The Man Who Walked in His Steps 1946
  • A Man's Reach 1949
  • What Would Jesus Do 1950
  • God's Reach 1951
  • Come Follow Me 1952
  • Be Thou Made Whole 1953
  • Windows of Heaven 1954
  • On wings of prayer 1955
  • God's Voice in the Folklore 1956
  • Power of the Spirit on the Athletic Field 1929
  • The Land We Vision 1934

Religion

Glenn Clark was deeply religious and a great believer in prayer. He also believed that men and women should become "Athletes of the Spirit." By this, he meant participating in and experiencing the Fatherhood of God, the Sonship of Jesus, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the power of prayer, the love of God in one another, the co-creativity with God in all facets of people's lives, and the total giving of ourselves to the loving and perfect God.

Views

Quotations: "Do not pray to bring things to pass. Pray to see things that are already in the Kingdom."

Interests

• Writers

  Frank Rawson, Walter Lanyon

Connections

Glenn Clark married Louise Miles in 1907.

Father:

James S. Clark

Mother:

Fannie Clark

Fannie Clark's maiden name was Page.

Sister:

Helen Clark Wentworth

Wife:

Louise Miles