Pentecostals and Racial Reconciliation

We’ve Come This Far: Reflections on the Pentecostal Tradition and Racial Reconciliation, edited by Byron Klaus. Springfield, MO: Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, 2007.

The history of racial unity and division within the Pentecostal movement has been addressed in a recently-published book, We’ve Come This Far: Reflections on the Pentecostal Tradition and Racial Reconciliation, edited by Byron Klaus. The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary has been a leader within its denomination in its efforts to better include voices of ethnic and racial minorities. This has been evidenced by its increasingly multicultural and international student body, the dedication of the William J. Seymour Chapel, and — now — the publication of We’ve Come This Far.

We’ve Come This Far contains the proceedings of a 2006 lecture series at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary that encouraged reflection about the “missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential” for the Assemblies of God to be an agent of racial reconciliation. The volume notes that the Assemblies of God — like many predominantly-white Pentecostal denominations — “has experienced some challenges in acknowledging its multicultural roots,” as well as its “years of ambiguity about the inclusion of African-Americans in its ministerial ranks” (back cover).

We’ve Come This Far juxtaposes the lives of two notable 20th century American religious leaders — William J. Seymour and Martin Luther King, Jr. — while reflecting on the lessons that can be drawn from them concerning African-American preaching and leadership. The book also features a selection of historical materials — including an account of Assemblies of God minister Robert Harrison (who successfully challenged a policy denying ordination to African-Americans) and a history of the struggle to overcome racism within the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa.

The Sparkling Fountain

The Sparkling Fountain, by Fred T. Corum and Hazel E. Bakewell. Windsor, OH: Corum & Associates, Inc., 1989, c1983.

The Sparkling Fountain is a 278-page book with eyewitness accounts of the beginning of Pentecostalism in the Ozarks. The book was started by Fred T. Corum and his sister Hazel E. Bakewell. Then James and Kenneth Corum, sons of Fred Corum, helped to preserve this slice of history and see it through to production. First marketed in 1983, it is offered again on the 100th anniversary of Central Assembly in Springfield, Missouri.

The Azusa Street Mission story is recapped in beginning chapters, but for our purpose here the story begins in 1905 when Fred and Hazel moved to the Ozarks from Oklahoma with their parents, James and Lillie Harper Corum.

James and Lillie were never credentialed ministers but are considered the pioneers of Pentecost in Springfield — holding together a nucleus for several years until a church was set in order. I have an idea many other lay people throughout our history deserve special recognition for beginning and/or keeping local congregations together (including unfortunate splits) until a pastor assumed the leadership.

The Corums soon became active in a Baptist church where Mr. Corum served as Sunday school superintendent. But in the fall of 1906 they heard about the Pentecostal outpouring and became interested. Then in May 1907 they were introduced to this new experience which would dramatically put their lives on a new course.

The Azusa Street Papers

The Azusa Street Papers: A Reprint of The Apostolic Faith Mission Publications, Los Angeles, California (1906-1908), William J. Seymour, Editor. Foley, AL: Together in the Harvest Publications, 1997.

Have you ever wondered what the participants at the Azusa Street revival were thinking? Would you like to read their testimonies and discover for yourself what this interracial revival which promoted a restoration of Biblical spiritual gifts was all about?

You can do just that with The Azusa Street Papers, a reproduction of the tabloid papers used to herald the events of the phenomenal Azusa Street revival during its first two years (1906-1908). In this high quality reprint of 13 issues of The Apostolic Faith, you’ll read the same stories that early Pentecostals read one hundred years ago. As a result of the reports in The Apostolic Faith an amazing thing happened. Readers became hungry for the same Pentecostal experience. They believed that the promise Jesus made to his followers 1900 years earlier was also for them.

Azusa East: The Life and Times of G. B. Cashwell

Azusa East: The Life and Times of G. B. Cashwell, by Doug Beacham. Franklin Springs, GA: LSR Publications, 2006.

“It has long been acknowledged that G. B. Cashwell played a significant role in the spread of the Azusa Street revival across the United States. Coming as he did to Dunn, North Carolina, fresh from the revival in Los Angeles, Cashwell’s message had a powerful impact upon a number of Holiness pastors and congregations. Until now, however, the story of G. B. Cashwell has been largely elusive. We are all in debt to Doug Beacham’s new account of this man and the role he played in taking the revival east. Beacham has unearthed previously unknown sources, which he has skillfully and carefully used to weave the story of Cashwell with color and vitality. Where he lacks the evidence that would clinch his account, he has employed his imagination in ways that are fully consistent with the known facts. I am pleased to recommend this volume to you for study. It goes far in helping us to understand a number of the early developments that took place in the churches that are heirs to Azusa East.” — Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., Fuller Theological Seminary

The Azusa Street Revival and Its Legacy

The Azusa Street Revival and Its Legacy, edited by Harold D. Hunter and Cecil M. Robeck, Jr. Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 2006.

The Azusa Street Centennial (Los Angeles, 2006) brought together approximately 45,000 Pentecostal pilgrims who traveled from all corners of the globe to celebrate, worship and reflect on the paths that led them to where they are in their spiritual journeys. Right in the heart of the celebration, historians gathered in an academic track where they presented a series of papers highlighting the most up-to-date scholarship on the history and legacy of the Azusa Street revival. Two leading Pentecostal historians, Harold D. Hunter and Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., assembled the majority of these papers, now available in The Azusa Street Revival and Its Legacy.

Skeptics and Scoffers: The Religious World Looks at Azusa Street

Skeptics and Scoffers: The Religious World Looks at Azusa Street, 1906-1907 (The Complete Azusa Street Library, Vol. 8), compiled and edited by Larry E. Martin. Pensacola, FL: Christian Life Books, 2004.

Dr. Larry Martin has been my friend for many years and I have nothing but good things to say about him. We have been prayer partners, and one time we attended the Smithton Revival together. Another time Larry and I traveled to Indianapolis and Anderson, Indiana, tracing the footsteps of William J. Seymour and other early Pentecostals who sojourned there for awhile. Although now separated by distance, we have ongoing communication through emails and sharing of historical materials.

Larry has an outstanding ministry as an evangelist, teacher, and writer. He also has a profound interest in revival and its origins, which has led him to a deeper study of historical revivals such as the Topeka Outpouring, the Welsh Revival, and Azusa Street.

The Life and Ministry of William J. Seymour

The Life and Ministry of William J. Seymour: And a History of the Azusa Street Revival (The Complete Azusa Street Library, Vol. 1), by Larry Martin. Joplin, MO: Christian Life Books, 1999.

Having read through this manuscript when in its formative stages, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is researching the Pentecostal movement or the Azusa Street revival of Los Angeles that began in the spring of 1906. It is also a good sourcebook for those interested in Black history as William Seymour figures prominently among African-Americans of the 20th century. Larry Martin has done an excellent job in ferreting out little known facts about William J. Seymour, the leader of the Azusa Street revival. He has also uncovered information regarding Seymour’s family and his early life in Louisiana and other places he traveled before arriving in Los Angeles in 1906.

The Azusa Street Mission and Revival

The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement, by Cecil M. Robeck, Jr. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006.

If you only read one book on the Azusa Street revival, this should be it. Written by the leading authority on the subject, The Azusa Street Mission and Revival is the result of over twenty years of research. Its engaging prose and careful attention to detail bring the story to life. This book is a joy to read.

Nearly twenty-five percent of the world’s Christians count themselves among the Charismatic and Pentecostal family of Christian movements, yet few know how Pentecostalism began. The Azusa Street Mission and Revival tells the story of the small racially-inclusive group that gathered in Los Angeles in 1906 and changed the world of Christianity. With little more than a printing press, a trolley stop and a powerful message, the revival that began at Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street, rapidly crossed more than race lines — into Mexico, Canada, Britain, Scandinavia, western and southern Africa, India, and China — and began to change the landscape of Christianity. The complete story of the Mission has finally been recorded.

Azusa Street and Beyond

Azusa Street and Beyond: 100 Years of Commentary on the Global Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement, edited by Grant McClung. Gainesville, FL: Bridge-Logos, 2006.

Grant McClung, in his timely volume, Azusa Street and Beyond, provides a valuable collection of 21 essays exploring the robust growth experienced by the global Pentecostal movement. McClung, a veteran missions leader and professor at the Church of God Theological Seminary, identifies missions as central to the identity of the Pentecostal movement and traces this missiological focus from Azusa Street through the ensuing century of Pentecostal history.