Marcus and Elva Mae Bakke

Marcus and Elva Mae Bakke: On Divine Assignment, by Virginia Dohms. Minot, ND: Grace Publishing, 2008.

North Dakota has produced many outstanding leaders within the Assemblies of God, and Marcus Bakke is one of them. After almost sixty years in ministry, Marcus and Elva Mae Bakke continue to let their lights shine brightly for Jesus. On Divine Assignment is an engaging account of this Norwegian-American couple’s life and ministry in North Dakota, with stories of changed lives and miracles, and vignettes of life in the rural Great Plains worthy of Garrison Keillor. In our age of impermanence and rootlessness, it is remarkable that the Bakkes have had only three ministry assignments: thirty years in pastoral work in Bowman County, nineteen years as District Superintendent, and their current ministry in Selfridge. The Bakkes have served their communities, the Assemblies of God, and their family well, demonstrating warmth, humor, and faithfulness.

–George O. Wood, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God

Paperback, 221 pages. $14.95, plus $4 shipping. Order from dakotabooknet.com or from the author: Virginia Dohms, 701 46th Ave NE, Minot, ND 58703. Contact the author by phone (701-852-2339) or email (dohms@srt.com).

Assemblies of God Missionaries in the Philippines

Led by the Spirit: The History of the American Assemblies of God Missionaries in the Philippines, by Dave Johnson. Pasig City, Philippines: ICI Ministries, 2009.

Dave Johnson, an Assemblies of God missionary to the Philippines, has written an impressive account of the development of Assemblies of God missions work in the Philippines from 1926 to the present. Johnson’s 676-page book, Led by the Spirit, is arranged chronologically into five sections: 1) 1926-1946, detailing the arrival of the first missionaries through the internment of missionaries by the Japanese during World War II; 2) 1946-1959, describing the regrouping of the missions efforts following the war; 3) 1960-1979, including the development of educational institutions and media ministries; 4) 1980-2000, documenting the further development of national programs and educational institutions; and 5) 2001-2008, showing the maturation of the institutions within the Assemblies of God of the Phillipines and the relationship of American missionaries with the national church. Each section provides extensive documentation of the lives and work of the American Assemblies of God missionaries active in the Philippines. This is an important addition to the literature on Pentecostal missiology and should be in the library of every seminary and university.

Paperback, 676 pages, illustrated. Available from the author for $22.95 postpaid to U.S. addresses. For more information or to order the book, see: http://www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com

Slavic-American Pentecostal History

The Pentecostal Heritage of Slavic-Americans (Пятидесятнические истоки Славян-Американцев), by Anton Goroshko. [English and Russian language versions both in one volume]  Renton, WA: National Slavic District Council, 2009.

What is the future of Christianity? Demographers predict that it will look more Pentecostal and less Western. While Western Europe and North America long viewed themselves as the center of the Christian world, cultural and religious decline among people of Western European origin, combined with the robust growth of Christianity (and in particular Pentecostalism) among non-Westerners, portend a significant shift in the religious landscape.

American observers do not have to travel overseas to witness these changes. Most U.S. cities are now home to large immigrant communities, and these immigrants have added their own languages, churches, and values to America’s cultural mix.

Slavic immigrants from the former Soviet Union are among those who have been growing in visibility and influence in the United States. Since the 1980s when Mikhail Gorbachev began to allow Pentecostals – who long suffered persecution in the Soviet Union – to leave, many put down roots in America. For the most part, these Slavic Pentecostals initially kept to themselves and did not integrate into the broader American society. They grappled with their newfound freedoms and cultural challenges, reasserting their cultural boundary markers as a means to retain their religious and familial values. Many of these immigrants are now well-established in their communities, and their children who were born and raised in America often feel just as home in America as they do in their ancestral communities.

An estimated 300,000 Slavic Pentecostals now live in the U.S., mostly in congregations that are either independent or loosely affiliated with one of several Slavic Pentecostal unions. Increasing numbers of Slavic Pentecostal leaders are recognizing the value of being in fellowship with non-Slavic Pentecostals in America. In 2002, several Slavic Pentecostal churches in California joined the Assemblies of God and formed the Slavic Fellowship, which provided both a structure for Slavs to organize themselves within the Assemblies of God and also representation on the Fellowship’s General Presbytery. In September 2008, the leaders of the Slavic Fellowship, in addition to other Slavic Pentecostals interested in affiliating with the Assemblies of God, came together in Renton, Washington, and organized the National Slavic District. This new district gives greater strength and visibility to Slavic Pentecostals, both within the Assemblies of God and within the broader society.

Slavic Pentecostals have an important story to tell. American evangelicalism is at a crossroads – its close identification with declining American cultural and political themes has led some to question evangelicalism’s identity and future. However, the character of Slavic Pentecostalism has developed along a quite different trajectory. This story has been largely inaccessible to English-speakers. To help remedy this, Anton Goroshko, a Slavic Pentecostal minister and historian who emigrated from the Ukraine to America in 1990, has written a small book, The Pentecostal Heritage of Slavic-Americans, published by the National Slavic District, in conjunction with the Intercultural Ministries Department of Assemblies of God US Missions and the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

The Pentecostal Heritage of Slavic-Americans includes Goroshko’s account in Russian and translated into English, written “at the request of the many Slavic Pentecostals in North America who have expressed a desire to learn about the origins of the faith and ministry of their forefathers” (p. 5). Goroshko begins by placing Pentecostalism within the context of Christian history in the Ukraine. He proceeds to tell the stories of two heroes of the faith – Gustav Herbert Schmidt and Ivan Efimovich Voronaeff.  Both men were born in Slavic lands, immigrated to America about 100 years ago, and returned to Europe as Assemblies of God missionaries. Schmidt helped to organize the Russian and Eastern European Mission and

And the Latter Days…

And the Latter Days…: A History of Oak Cliff Assembly of God…, by J. Naaman Hall. Springfield, MO: the author, 2009.

Oak Cliff Assembly of Dallas, Texas (now The Oaks Fellowship) holds a significant role in the history of the Assemblies of God. Beginning in 1909, evangelists such as F. F. Bosworth, Elias Birdsall, and Maria Woodworth-Etter held revivals in Dallas which helped to lay the foundation for the Oak Cliff congregation. Some of the early members of the church had earlier connections with Charles Parham’s Apostolic Faith movement, the Azusa revival, John Alexander Dowie’s movement, and the organizational meeting of the Assemblies of God.

The church officially began in 1921 under the ministry of evangelist Bill Barney Boland. Some of the later pastors included George Washington Pitts; Milton Summers; Finis Dake; Eddie Coyle; Clifford Andrews; J. C. Hibbard; Carl Alcorn; the much-beloved H. C. Noah, who pastored the church for more than three decades; David Godwin; Allen Groff; and current pastors Tom Wilson and his son, Scott Wilson.

Key people such as evangelists Aimee Semple McPherson, Anna B. Lock, Mildred Wicks, O. L. Jaggers, William Branham, Raymond T. Richey, W. V. Grant, Morris Cerullo, Oral Roberts, Gordon Lindsay, Jack Coe, and A. A. Allen each had an influence on the Oak Cliff congregation in its early years. Musical groups, missionaries, and evangelists such as David Nunn, Sara Sharp and Jerry B. Walker ministered at the church in more recent times.

The church has always been one of the top in Sunday school attendance and world missionary giving. Oak Cliff also helped to host the 1935 and 1969 General Councils which were held in Dallas.

The author has done a thorough job of researching the history of this vital congregation which has connections and ties with many important people in the Assemblies of God and the broader Pentecostal movement. The book is full of interesting testimonies as well as sketches of pastors and founding families of the church. It also includes photographs, bibliographical references, and an index.

Reviewed by Glenn Gohr

Paperback, 424 pages. Available for $20.00 each plus $3.00 shipping and $1.90 sales tax. Send $24.90 by check or money order to: John Hall, 209 North Summit St., Red Oak, TX 75154.

Mission Possible

Mission Possible: Paul Williscroft’s Epic Christian Struggle Against Nazi & Communist Oppression, by Gladys L. Williscroft. Enterprise, OR: Biography Press, 2000.

Paul and Gladys Williscroft were newlyweds when they left the U.S. as missionaries to Eastern Europe in January 1938. In less than 2 years they were leaving Europe as World War II plunged the continent into total disorder, change, and unbelievable bloodshed.

As German troops massed on the Polish border, the couple caught the last trains out of two stations and were assigned the last cabin in a ship out of Oslo bound for the U.S. They returned almost as refugees to the United States, yet they lived for the time when they could return to Germany and pursue their mission.

During the 1940s they pastored in the Montana District. They returned to Europe after the war where they ministered for a total of 37 years, producing Sunday school materials, introducing Royal Rangers, and teaching in the German Bible School in Erzhausen. Paul died in 1987, and Gladys in 2002.

Excerpts from the book are included in “Fleeing an Explosive Europe as Adolph Hitler Begins World War II” in the Fall 2003 issue of Assemblies of God Heritage.

Paperback, 414 pages, illustrated. $15.95, plus $2.00 postage. Order from: R. G. Williscroft, P.O. Box 1087, Studio City, CA 91614-0087.

Stanley M. Horton: Shaper of Pentecostal Theology

Stanley M. Horton: Shaper of Pentecostal Theology, by Lois E. Olena with Raymond L. Gannon. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 2009.

The second half of the twentieth century has seen Pentecostal scholarship emerge and thrive. Out of that emergence, few names are more recognizable than Stanley Horton. Called to teach Bible while a chemistry student at UC Berkeley, Horton did the unthinkable and went to Harvard to prepare for ministry as a Pentecostal scholar. The long shadow of Horton’s influence among Pentecostals began humbly and now stretches around the world and into the first decade of the twenty-first century. You may have read his books, but Stanley Horton: Shaper of Pentecostal Theology will tell you “the rest of the story.” As you read, be encouraged and see what a long obedience in the same direction can yield.

–Dr. Byron Klaus, President, Assemblies of God Theological Seminary

I am very happy to see in print this tribute to Stanley Horton, one of my esteemed professors, a model of godliness, sacrifice, and scholarship. I am also delighted to learn more about his life, and through it the history of the Pentecostal movement in North America. All who have been touched by this rich heritage will appreciate this work.

–Dr. Craig Keener, Professor of New Testament, Palmer Theological Seminary

Who has been a greater luminary in the twentieth-century Pentecostal galaxy than Dr. Stanley M. Horton? Many make their mark on but one island of ministry, but heroes impact many. This book shows how this scholar-saint set the standard for Pentecostal scholarship as a model professor, left a unique Gospel witness across the globe, and kept on “getting it right.” In a nation of conflicted social policies and in a church of confusing racial standards, he showed how one man’s life could clearly reveal Christ’s Church. May this volume inform others as much as my teacher Dr. Horton reformed me. Paul said in 1 Timothy 5:17 to give double honor to the elders who rule well; this read is just a portion of such honor.

–Bishop Lemuel Thuston, Kansas East Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, Church of God in Christ

Paperback, 318 pages, illustrated. $19.95 retail. Order from: Gospel Publishing House

No Place for Plastic Saints

No Place for Plastic Saints: Earthquakes, Chicken Feet, and Candid Confessions of a Missionary Wife, by Margaret A. Register. Xulon Press, 2009.

In this delightful memoir, Margaret Register speaks in a conversational tone, drawing the reader first into her early years as a Methodist “preacher’s kid” who, with her parents, became Pentecostals while she was still young. She is authentic in describing, sometimes with great humor, the struggles, setbacks, and joys of her preparation for ministry—first as a pastor’s wife and then in answer to her missionary call—and the unexpected traumas of life as a “foreign” missionary for the Assemblies of God.

From language study to the country of Chile, and later in Paraguay, Register rejoices in miracles of provision, in miraculous healings in a tent church, in protection on steep Andean mountain roads. We cry with her as she describes disappointing resistance by some whom they went to serve. She recounts vividly an earthquake and many other unusual happenings (including dead bodies, chicken feet, and outhouses) as they ministered first in Temuco and then in Viña, Chile, and later in Paraguay, where, in addition to pastoring and teaching, they began a very successful television ministry that would eventually reach all of Latin America.

“But sometimes I felt false because ‘on stage’ [at American churches] my holy-self was demonstrated with wonderful stories from Viña,” writes Margaret Register, who with her husband, Joe, served Latin America as missionaries for 38 years starting in 1967. “Missionaries never talked in public about the painful times. I dared not mention the pain of Temuco. I felt like a plastic saint.”

Intrigued with Register’s transparency, a pastor states, “I could hardly put the book down to do other things. I laughed, sometimes had tears, and was amazed at the stories. I learned of the tremendous struggles that missionaries go through—finances, sickness, rejection, etc. I guess to us here in the States, missionary life looks a little too glamorous.”

“Who knew that missionary life was more than love offerings and extended vacations to exotic places?” says another reader.

Margaret Register has done a great service to the body of Christ in writing No Place for Plastic Saints. She excels in painting delightful and vivid word pictures so that you, the reader, feel you are there with her as she walks through each dramatic story. This is truly an authentic account of the good, the bad, and the miraculous in the life of a dedicated Pentecostal missionary family. This book is a must read!

Reviewed by Juanita Cunningham Blackburn, AGWM missionary

Paperback, 440 pages, illustrated. $22.99 retail. Order from: amazon.com

Out Behind the Barn

Out Behind the Barn, by Jon Liechty. Jamestown, ND: the author, 2008.

The Liechty family has been a fixture in the Assemblies of God in North Dakota since before the North Dakota District Council was organized. Spirit-baptized in the Egeland Free Mission (Egeland, ND) in the 1910s, John H. Liechty helped to organize a small but sturdy independent Pentecostal congregation, Minnewaukan Gospel Tabernacle. Of Liechty’s seven children, Jon, Paul, and Silas went on to become ministers or layleaders in the North Dakota District, using their business acumen, work ethic, and heart for ministry to build the church in the state.

In Out Behind the Barn, Jon Liechty tells his heart-warming testimony, which demonstrates the provisions and faithfulness of God. Liechty reminisces about people, places and events that will be familiar to many in his corner of the world. This book will be welcomed by the numerous people whose lives have been impacted by the Liechty family and by those who are interested in learning more about the development of Pentecostalism in North Dakota.

Reviewed by Darrin J. Rodgers

Paperback, 232 pages, illustrated. $12.99 postpaid. Order from: Jon Liechty, PO Box 758, Jamestown, ND 58402.

Wayne and Evelyn Pitts biography

Touching Lives the Jesus Way!: Sixty-nine Years of Ministry, Wayne and Evelyn Pitts, Stories of Lives Changed by the Gospel, by Wayne and Evelyn Pitts with Londa Duncan. Xulon Press, 2008.

From stories of their childhood in Texas in the 1920s and 1930s, to memories of God’s provisions during the Great Depression, to accounts of healing and early Pentecostal revivals, Wayne and Evelyn Pitts’ new book will be warmly welcomed by the thousands who have been touched by their lives and ministry. Wayne Pitts, ordained by the Assemblies of God in 1943, and his wife Evelyn enjoyed long-term pastoral ministry in Florida.

Hardcover, 284 pages, illustrated. $25.99 retail. Order from: amazon.com

My first 100 years

My First 100 Years: Counting My Blessings, by Frances Etta Wilson. N.p.: the author, 2008.

When Frances Eastes Wilson was in her 80s, she felt inspired to write a short biography to acquaint her children and grandchildren with her family history. The writing was slow and tedious at times. But eventually she took her scattered notes, organized them, and came up with a book.

She grew up on a farm near Wylie, Texas. In 1921, her father, George Eastes, attended a revival conducted by Aimee Semple McPherson at Fair Park Coliseum in Dallas. At that meeting, he went forward for prayer and was saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and healed of an arthritic back condition. Because of his new-found Pentecostal faith, he was excommunicated from the Christian Church he had faithfully attended.

For awhile the Eastes family attended a church that was the beginning of First Assembly of God in Dallas. Later Frances’ father helped to establish a church in Sachse, Texas, near where they lived. Frances was converted in 1938 and started attending Gospel Tabernacle (later First Assembly) in Dallas. There she met Evangelist Vernon Wilson who was known as “the Baptist preacher who received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.”

Vernon Wilson and Frances were married in 1939, and went forward in ministry. Vernon evangelized in Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and other places. He also pastored Assemblies of God churches in Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida. They had three children. Vernon passed away with a heart attack in 1965. Their daughter, Mary, was only 15 at the time of Vernon’s death. Frances worked as a secretary to make ends meet, and the Lord provided.

Interspersed with personal memories of her own life and of extended family members, Frances Wilson shares testimony after testimony of answered prayer within her family and people she has known through the years. She is the mother of Dr. Tom Wilson, longtime pastor of The Oaks Fellowship in Red Oak, Texas.

Rev. Scott Wilson was elected as senior pastor of The Oaks Fellowship in 2003, and Dr. Tom Wilson has continued ministry in The Oaks Fellowship as Senior Pastor of Development. He founded Life School, a public Charter School housed in The Oaks Fellowship facilities, in 1998. The enrollment has grown to over 3000 students in the 2008-2009 school year.

Her son Eddie is also an Assemblies of God minister. Her daughter, Mary Wilson Keener, is a soloist and a prayer minister. Frances Wilson is still very active, having made several trips to the Holy Land, Europe, and other places. She recently went on a bus trip to Branson and Springfield, Missouri. This volume is informative and inspirational, and a real testimony for all to read.

Reviewed by Glenn W. Gohr

Softcover, 221 pages. $20.00. Order from Mrs. Frances Wilson, Apt. 2200, 1020 Pecan Crossing Dr., De Soto, TX 75115