Introduction

Biography

Son of a Bap­tist min­is­ter, Shields was or­dained to the Bap­tist min­is­try in 1897.

He earned Do­ctor of Di­vi­ni­ty de­grees from Tem­ple and Mc­Mas­ter Uni­ver­si­ties, and served pas­tor­ates in Flor­ence, Del­hi, Ham­il­ton and Lon­don, On­tar­io, Ca­na­da, and at the Jar­vis Street Bap­tist Church in To­ron­to (1910–55).

He wrote se­ver­al books and book­lets, and in 1922 founded The Gos­pel Wit­ness, a week­ly ma­gazine.

He served as pre­si­dent of Bap­tist Bi­ble Un­ion (1923–30), found­ed the To­ron­to Bap­tist Se­mi­na­ry in 1927, and was pre­si­dent of the Un­ion of Re­gu­lar Bap­tist Church­es of On­tar­io and Que­bec.

In 1948 he be­came vice-pre­si­dent of the In­ter­na­tion­al Coun­cil of Chris­tian Church­es.