Who Else … But God!

Who Else … But God!, by Fred Smolchuck. Springfield, MO: The Author, 2006.

Almost eighty years ago, Fred Smolchuck felt God’s call to the ministry. Following that call led him around the world, and he became a leader within Slavic Pentecostalism, both in the United States and in eastern Europe. Smolchuck’s strong voice and mind, his smoldering passion for souls, and his leadership gifts continue to make their mark on the Pentecostal landscape.

Smolchuck, the son of Ukrainian immigrants to America, was a founding member of the Ukrainian Branch of the Assemblies of God (USA), he served as a pastor and district official in Michigan, and he authored sixteen books. Most of his books, published in the Ukrainian and Russian languages, offer practical advice and theological training to believers in eastern Europe and to immigrants in North America. His 1992 book, From Azusa Street to the U.S.S.R.: A Brief History of Pentecost Among Slavic Immigrants, 1900-1991, provides a valuable overview of the people, places, and themes in Slavic-American Pentecostal history. Now, in Who Else … But God!, he has told his own story, which is inextricably intertwined with the emergence of the Slavic churches in the Assemblies of God. His story is significant, as he traces not only his family’s spiritual pilgrimage, but the development of Pentecostalism among the Slavic peoples in the U.S. from the 1920s until the present. Importantly, Smolchuck has served as a bridge between an earlier generation of Slavic Pentecostals and the more recent waves of Slavic Pentecostal immigrants to North America.

The Old Path to Peace

The Old Path to Peace: A Cruger Family Journey, by Carolyn Cruger Williams. Enumclaw, WA: Pleasant Word, 2003.

This well-documented family history contains a treasure trove of information about early Pentecostals in Spokane, Washington, including stories of John G. Lake, Aimee Semple McPherson, the Philadelphian Church, and Bernard Hebden.

Paperback, 438 pages, illustrated. $22.99 retail. Order from: Amazon.com

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Biography, History, Spokane, Washington, Pentecostal, John G. Lake, Aimee Semple McPherson, Philadelphian Church, Bernard Hebden
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Is There a God?

Is There a God?: The Life and Times of Frank Reynolds, by Frank Reynolds with Joan Kruger. Lenexa, KS: 3Cross Publishing, 2006.

Filled with anger after his father deserted his family in the midst of the 1930s Depression in rural New York, Frank Reynolds was determined to graduate from high school and go to college. He became an atheist early in life, was convinced success was in wealth and education, and graduated from Cornell University. However, after an extended period of research and reflection, he came to believe in God and accepted Christ. He immediately felt a call to the ministry, was ordained by the Assemblies of God, and became one of the early leaders in Teen Challenge, a Christian drug and alcohol treatment program. He ultimately served as the first National Representative for Teen Challenge. In Is There a God?, Reynolds shares his own faith-building story, which provides an insider’s perspective concerning the early years of Teen Challenge.

Paperback, 139 pages, illustrated. $12, plus $1.60 shipping. Order from: Frank Reynolds, 4626 S. Crescent Ave., Springfield, MO 65804.

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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

An Adventure in Faith

An Adventure in Faith, by Palmerine Pratt. San Diego, CA: Aventine Press, 2006.

Russell and Palmerine Pratt served as ministers of music in large Assemblies of God churches in Washington, D.C., Denver, and Oklahoma City. In An Adventure in Faith, Palmerine recounts their journey, highlighting God’s faithfulness through physical and mental obstacles. She also tells of the miraculous deliverance, healing and restoration of their family, which led them overseas as musical missionary evangelists traveling solely on faith without pledged support from home for a period of several years. An Adventure in Faith will evoke memories for those who have counted the Pratts as pastors and friends.

Paperback, 201 pages, illustrated. $14.50 retail. Also available with cloth binding. Order from: Amazon.com

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The Essential J. Philip Hogan

The Essential J. Philip Hogan, edited by Byron D. Klaus and Douglas P. Petersen. Springfield, MO: Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, 2006.

Few missions leaders during the latter half of the twentieth century made a greater impact on the worldwide spread of Pentecostalism than did J. Philip Hogan. Indeed, European Pentecostal leader Peter Kuzmic has deemed Hogan to be “a Churchill in the arena of the post-World War II history of missions” (Wilson, Strategy of the Spirit, p. x). The extent of Hogan’s contributions to Pentecostalism — and by extension, to the broader Christian movement — is only now beginning to be recognized by the scholarly community. Under his leadership as Director of the Division of Foreign Missions (1960-1989), the Assemblies of God grew to be one of the world’s largest associations of national indigenous churches. It is precisely this success that now causes scholars and church leaders to take another look at J. Philip Hogan and to ask how it all happened.

My Life with God

My Life with God, by Gordon H. Matheny. Plant City, FL: The Author, 2005.

Gordon H. Matheny, long-time Assemblies of God pastor and district leader, has touched many lives in over 60 years of ministry. In My Life with God, he recounts the people, places and varied experiences from his life of service. Matheny, converted as a child in the Woodworth-Etter Tabernacle in Indianapolis, matriculated at Central Bible Institute in 1941 and went on to serve as an evangelist, pastor, district official in two states, as well as being active in mission work in over 25 nations. He began his ministry in Indiana, where he pastored four churches and served as District Secretary for ten years. He moved to Tampa, Florida, where he pastored Bethel Temple for nineteen years and served as Assistant Superintendent for seventeen years. He retired in 1990, only to be elected Superintendent of the Peninsular Florida District. My Life with God will evoke memories for those who have counted Matheny as a pastor and friend.

Paperback, 131 pages, illustrated. $10, postage included. Order from: Gordon Matheny, P.O. Box 3604, Plant City, FL 33563. Ph. 813-754-0050.

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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.