The Azusa Papers

Spiritual Warfare

2011-01-02T00:42:00.001-08:00

There are two primary errors when it comes to spiritual warfare—over-emphasis and under-emphasis. Some blame every sin, every conflict, and every problem on demons that need to be cast out. Others completely ignore the spiritual realm and the fact that the Bible tells us our battle is against spiritual powers. The key to successful spiritual warfare is finding the biblical balance. Jesus sometimes cast demons out of people and sometimes healed people with no mention of the demonic. The apostle Paul instructs Christians to wage war against the sin in themselves (Romans 6) and to wage war against the evil one (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Ephesians 6:10-12 declares, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” This text teaches some crucial truths: we can only be strong in the Lord’s power, it is God’s armor that protects us, and our battle is against spiritual forces of evil in the world.

A powerful example of someone strong in the Lord’s power is Michael, the archangel, in Jude 9. Michael, likely the most powerful of all of God’s angels, did not rebuke Satan in his own power, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Revelation 12:7-8 records that in the end times Michael will defeat Satan. Still, when it came to his conflict with Satan, Michael rebuked Satan in God’s name and authority, not his own. It is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ that Christians have any authority over Satan and his demons. It is only in His Name that our rebuke has any power.

Ephesians 6:13-18 gives a description of the spiritual armor God gives us. We are to stand firm with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and by praying in the Spirit. What do these pieces of spiritual armor represent in spiritual warfare? We are to speak the truth against Satan’s lies. We are to rest in the fact that we are declared righteous because of Christ’s sacrifice for us. We are to proclaim the gospel no matter how much resistance we receive. We are not to waver in our faith, no matter how strongly we are attacked. Our ultimate defense is the assurance we have of our salvation, an assurance that no spiritual force can take away. Our offensive weapon is the Word of God, not our own opinions and feelings. We are to follow Jesus’ example in recognizing that some spiritual victories are only possible through prayer.

Jesus is our ultimate example for spiritual warfare. Observe how Jesus handled direct attacks from Satan when He was tempted by him in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Each temptation was answered the same way—with the words “It is written.” Jesus knew the Word of the living God is the most powerful weapon against the temptations of the devil. If Jesus Himself used the Word to counter the devil, do we dare to use anything less?

The ultimate example of how not to engage in spiritual warfare is the seven sons of Sceva. “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, ‘In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.’ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” (Acts 19:13-16). The seven sons of Sceva were using Jesus’ name. That is not enough. The seven sons of Sceva did not have a relationship with Jesus; therefore, their words were void of any power or authority. The seven sons of Sceva were relying on a methodology. They were not relying on Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and they were not employing the Word of God in their spiritual warfare. As a result, they received a humiliating beating. May we learn from their bad example and conduct spiritual warfare as the Bible instructs.

In summary, what are the keys to success in spiritual warfare? First, we rely on God’s power, not our own. Second, we rebuke in Jesus’ Name, not our own. Third, we protect ourselves with the full armor of God. Fourth, we wage warfare with the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God. Finally, we remember that while we wage spiritual warfare against Satan and his demons, not every sin or problem is a demon that needs to be rebuked.

Azusa Street Revival - Wikipedia Update 1/1/11

2011-01-01T22:05:00.001-08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azusa_Street_Revival

Azusa Street Revival
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The Azusa Street Revival was a historic Pentecostal revival meeting that took place in Los Angeles, California, and was led by William J. Seymour, an African American preacher. It began with a meeting on April 14, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915. The revival was characterized by ecstatic spiritual experiences accompanied by speaking in tongues, dramatic worship services, and inter-racial mingling. The participants received criticism from secular media and Christian theologians for behaviors considered to be outrageous and unorthodox, especially at the time. Today, the revival is considered by historians to be the primary catalyst for the spread of Pentecostalism in the 20th century.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Background
o 1.1 Welsh Revival
o 1.2 Los Angeles
o 1.3 North Bonnie Brae Street
* 2 Azusa Street
o 2.1 Conditions
o 2.2 Services and worship
o 2.3 Beliefs
o 2.4 Charles Parham
o 2.5 Criticism
o 2.6 Apostolic Faith publication
* 3 Legacy
o 3.1 Sending of missionaries
o 3.2 Birth of Pentecostal movement
* 4 References

[edit] Background
[edit] Welsh Revival

In 1904, the Welsh Revival took place, during which approximately 100,000 people in Wales joined the movement. Internationally, evangelical Christians took this event to be a sign that a fulfillment of the prophecy in the Bible's book of Joel, chapter 2:23–29 was about to take place. Joseph Smale, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles, went to Wales personally in order to witness the revival. Upon his return to Los Angeles, he attempted to ignite a similar event in his own congregation. His attempts were short-lived, and he eventually left First Baptist Church to found First New Testament Church, where he continued his efforts.[1] During this time, other small-scale revivals were taking place in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas. By 1905, reports of speaking in tongues, supernatural healings, and significant lifestyle changes accompanied these revivals. As news spread, evangelicals across the United States began to pray for similar revivals in their own congregations.[2]
[edit] Los Angeles
William J. Seymour, leader of the Azusa Street Revival.

In 1905, William J. Seymour, the one-eyed 34 year old son of former slaves, was a student of well-known Pentecostal preacher Charles Parham and an interim pastor for a small holiness church in Houston, Texas.[3] Neely Terry, an African American woman who attended a small holiness church pastored by Julia Hutchins in Los Angeles, made a trip to visit family in Houston late in 1905.[2] While in Houston, she visited Seymour's church, where he preached the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, and though he had not experienced this personally, Terry was impressed with his character and message. Once home in California, Terry suggested that Seymour be invited to speak at the local church.[4] Seymour received and accepted the invitation in February 1906, and he received financial help and a blessing from Parham for his planned one-month visit.[1][2]

Seymour arrived in Los Angeles on February 22, 1906,[5][6] and within two days was preaching at Julia Hutchins' church at the corner of Ninth Street and Santa Fe Avenue.[4] During his first sermon, he preached that speaking in tongues was the first biblical evidence of the inevitable baptism in the Holy Spirit.[7] On the following Sunday, March 4, he returned to the church and found that Hutchins had padlocked the door.[8] Elders of the church rejected Seymour's teaching, primarily because he had not yet experienced the blessing about which he was preaching.[2] Condemnation of his message also came from the Holiness Church Association of Southern California with which the church had affiliation.[1] However, not all members of Hutchins' church rejected Seymour's preaching. He was invited to stay in the home of congregation member Edward S. Lee, and he began to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings there.
[edit] North Bonnie Brae Street
Seymour and his wife, Jennie.

Seymour and his small group of new followers soon relocated to the home of Richard and Ruth Asberry at 214 North Bonnie Brae Street.[5] White families from local holiness churches began to attend as well. The group would get together regularly and pray to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. On April 9, 1906, after five weeks of Seymour's preaching and prayer, and three days into an intended 10-day fast,[8] Edward S. Lee spoke in tongues for the first time.[9][10] At the next meeting, Seymour shared Lee's testimony and preached a sermon on Acts 2:4 and soon six others began to speak in tongues as well,[1][9] including Jennie Moore, who would later become Seymour's wife.[11] A few days later, on April 12, Seymour spoke in tongues for the first time after praying all night long.[12][13]
The Asberry home on 214 North Bonnie Brae Street.

News of the events at North Bonnie Brae St. quickly circulated among the African American, Latino and White residents of the city, and for several nights, various speakers would preach to the crowds of curious and interested onlookers from the front porch of the Asberry home. Members of the audience included people from a broad spectrum of income levels and religious backgrounds. Hutchins eventually spoke in tongues as her whole congregation began to attend the meetings. Soon the crowds became very large and were full of people speaking in tongues, shouting, singing and moaning. Finally, the front porch collapsed, forcing the group to begin looking for a new meeting place.[10] A resident of the neighborhood described the happenings at 214 North Bonnie Brae with the following words:

They shouted three days and three nights. It was Easter season. The people came from everywhere. By the next morning there was no way of getting near the house. As people came in they would fall under God's power; and the whole city was stirred. They shouted until the foundation of the house gave way, but no one was hurt.[10]

[edit] Azusa Street
[edit] Conditions
312 Azusa Street, Los Angeles, California, prior to its purchase by the revivalists.

The group from Bonnie Brae Street eventually discovered an available building at 312 Azusa Street, which had originally been constructed as an African Methodist Episcopal Church in what was then a black ghetto part of town.[10] The rent was $8.00 per month.[14] A newspaper referred to the downtown Los Angeles building as a "tumble down shack". Since the church had moved out, the building had served as a wholesale house, a warehouse, a lumberyard, stockyards, a tombstone shop, and had most recently been used as a stable with rooms for rent upstairs. It was a small, rectangular, flat-roofed building, approximately 60 feet (18 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide, totaling 4,800 square feet (450 m2), sided with weathered whitewashed clapboards. The only sign that it had once been a house of God was a single gothic-style window over the main entrance.[10]

Discarded lumber and plaster littered the large, barn-like room on the ground floor.[15][16] Nonetheless, it was secured and cleaned in preparation for services. They held their first meeting on April 14, 1906.[9][13][17] Church services were held on the first floor where the benches were placed in a rectangular pattern. Some of the benches were simply planks put on top of empty nail kegs.[8][10] There was no elevated platform, as the ceiling was only eight feet high.[17] Initially there was no pulpit. Frank Bartleman, an early participant in the revival, recalled that "Brother Seymour generally sat behind two empty shoe boxes, one on top of the other. He usually kept his head inside the top one during the meeting, in prayer. There was no pride there.... In that old building, with its low rafters and bare floors..."[1]

The second floor at the now-named Apostolic Faith Mission[9] housed an office and rooms for several residents including Seymour and his new wife, Jennie. It also had a large prayer room to handle the overflow from the altar services below. The prayer room was furnished with chairs and benches made from California Redwood planks, laid end to end on backless chairs.[1]
The Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street, now considered to be the birthplace of Pentecostalism.

By mid-May 1906,[11] anywhere from 300[2] to 1,500 people would attempt to fit into the building. Since horses had very recently been the residents of the building, flies constantly bothered the attendees.[17] People from a diversity of backgrounds came together to worship: men, women, children, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, illiterate, and educated.[13] People of all ages flocked to Los Angeles with both skepticism and a desire to participate.[2][17] The intermingling of races and the group's encouragement of women in leadership was remarkable, as 1906 was the height of the "Jim Crow" era of racial segregation,[9] and fourteen years prior to women receiving suffrage in the United States.
[edit] Services and worship

Worship at 312 Azusa Street was frequent and spontaneous with services going almost around the clock. Among those attracted to the revival were not only members of the Holiness Movement, but Baptists, Mennonites, Quakers, and Presbyterians.[14] An observer at one of the services wrote these words:

No instruments of music are used. None are needed. No choir- the angels have been heard by some in the spirit. No collections are taken. No bills have been posted to advertise the meetings. No church organization is back of it. All who are in touch with God realize as soon as they enter the meetings that the Holy Ghost is the leader.[7]

The Los Angeles Times was not so kind in its description:

Meetings are held in a tumble-down shack on Azusa Street, and the devotees of the weird doctrine practice the most fanatical rites, preach the wildest theories and work themselves into a state of mad excitement in their peculiar zeal. Colored people and a sprinkling of whites compose the congregation, and night is made hideous in the neighborhood by the howlings of the worshippers, who spend hours swaying forth and back in a nerve racking attitude of prayer and supplication. They claim to have the "gift of tongues" and be able to understand the babel.[4]

Charles Parham was also sharp in his criticism:

Men and women, white and blacks, knelt together or fell across one another; a white woman, perhaps of wealth and culture, could be seen thrown back in the arms of a big 'buck nigger,' and held tightly thus as she shivered and shook in freak imitation of Pentecost. Horrible, awful shame![4]

The first edition of the Apostolic Faith publication claimed a common reaction to the revival from visitors:

Proud, well-dressed preachers came to 'investigate'. Soon their high looks were replaced with wonder, then conviction comes, and very often you will find them in a short time wallowing on the dirty floor, asking God to forgive them and make them as little children.[8]

Among first-hand accounts were reports of the blind having their sight restored, diseases cured instantly, and immigrants speaking in German, Yiddish, and Spanish all being spoken to in their native language by uneducated black members, who translated the languages into English by "supernatural ability".[7]

Singing was sporadic and in a cappella or occasionally in tongues. There were periods of extended silence. Attenders were occasionally slain in the Spirit. Visitors gave their testimony, and members read aloud testimonies that were sent to the mission by mail. There was prayer for the gift of tongues. There was prayer in tongues for the sick, for missionaries, and whatever requests were given by attenders or mailed in. There was spontaneous preaching and altar calls for salvation, sanctification and baptism of the Holy Spirit. Lawrence Catley, whose family attended the revival, said that in most services preaching consisted of Seymour opening a Bible and worshippers coming forward to preach or testify as they were led by the Holy Spirit.[18] Many people would continually shout throughout the meetings. The members of the mission never took an offering, but there was a receptacle near the door for anyone that wanted to support the revival. The core membership of the Azusa Street Mission was never much more than 50–60 individuals with hundreds and thousands of people visiting or staying temporarily over the years.[4]
[edit] Beliefs
Charles Parham, Seymour's teacher, who is now considered to be one of the founders of Pentecostalism

Seymour and the other revivalists at the Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street held to five core beliefs:[16]

1. Salvation by Faith.
2. Sanctification (or Holiness) of the believer.
3. Tongues as evidence of Baptism with the Holy Spirit.
4. Faith healing as part of God's redemption.
5. The "very soon" return of Christ.

[edit] Charles Parham
Main article: Charles Parham

By October 1906, Charles Parham was invited to speak for a series of meetings at Azusa Street, but was quickly un-invited. Several reasons can be given for Azusa Street's disassociation from him. Firstly, Parham had personality conflicts with Seymour and wanted to be the chief authority figure of the movement that was taking place, but the presiding leaders of the Apostolic Faith Mission were slow to make any changes to their methods or leadership. Secondly, rumors were surfacing that Parham had been committing sodomy ("an unnatural offense") with young males.[19]
[edit] Criticism

In a skeptical front-page story titled "Weird Babel of Tongues",[17] a Los Angeles Times reporter attempted to describe what would soon be known as the Azusa Street Revival. "Breathing strange utterances and mouthing a creed which it would seem no sane mortal could understand", the story began, "the newest religious sect has started in Los Angeles".[20] Another local paper reporter in September 1906 described the happenings with the following words:

...disgraceful intermingling of the races...they cry and make howling noises all day and into the night. They run, jump, shake all over, shout to the top of their voice, spin around in circles, fall out on the sawdust blanketed floor jerking, kicking and rolling all over it. Some of them pass out and do not move for hours as though they were dead. These people appear to be mad, mentally deranged or under a spell. They claim to be filled with the spirit. They have a one eyed, illiterate, Negro as their preacher who stays on his knees much of the time with his head hidden between the wooden milk crates. He doesn't talk very much but at times he can be heard shouting, ‘Repent,’ and he's supposed to be running the thing... They repeatedly sing the same song, ‘The Comforter Has Come.’[2]

The attenders of the meetings were often described as "Holy Rollers", "Holy Jumpers", "Tangled Tonguers" and "Holy Ghosters." Reports were published throughout the U.S. and the world of the strange happenings in Los Angeles.[12]
LA Times article criticizing the behavior of the revivalists at Azusa Street.

Christians from many traditions were critical, saying the movement was hyper-emotional, misused Scripture and lost focus on Christ by overemphasizing the Holy Spirit.[9] Within a short time ministers were warning their congregations to stay away from the Azusa Street Mission. Some called the police and tried to get the building shut down.[10]
[edit] Apostolic Faith publication
Headline of the first ever publication of the Apostolic Faith, from September, 1906.

Also starting in September 1906 was the publication of the revival's own newsletter, the Apostolic Faith.[21] Issues were published occasionally up until May 1908, mostly through the work of Seymour and a white woman named Clara Lum,[13] a member of the Apostolic Faith Mission. The Apostolic Faith was distributed without charge, and thousands of laypersons and ministers received copies worldwide. Five thousand copies of the first edition were printed, and by 1907 the press run reached over 40,000.[1][2][22]

The Apostolic Faith publication reported the happenings at the Azusa Street Mission to the world. Its first issue's lead story was titled "Pentecost has Come". It contained a letter from Charles Parham, an article on Pentecost from Acts, and a series of anecdotes of people's experience within the revival.[23] One edition in 1907 wrote, "One token of the Lord's coming is that He is melting all races and nations together, and they are filled with the power and glory of God. He is baptizing by one spirit into one body and making up a people that will be ready to meet Him when He comes".[2] The Apostolic Faith brought increasing attention to the happenings at Azusa Street and the fledgling movement that was emerging from the revival.[22]
[edit] Legacy

By 1913, the revival at Azusa Street had lost momentum, and by 1915 most of the media attention and crowds had left. Seymour remained there with his wife, Jennie, for the rest of their lives as pastors of the small African American congregation,[15] though he often made short trips to help establish other smaller revivals later in life. After Seymour died of a heart attack[4] on September 28, 1922, Jennie led the church until 1931, when the congregation lost the building.[7]

The building was torn down and replaced by what became the Japanese-American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles after it lost its foreclosure in 1938.
[edit] Sending of missionaries

As The Apostolic Faith and many secular reports advertised the events of the Azusa Street Revival internationally, thousands of individuals visited the Mission in order to witness it firsthand. At the same time, thousands of people were leaving Azusa Street with the intentions of evangelizing abroad.[15][17] Reverend K. E. M. Spooner visited the revival in 1909 and became one of the Pentecostal Holiness Church's most effective missionaries in Africa, working among the Tswana people of Botswana.[5][24] A. G. Garr and his wife were sent from Azusa Street as missionaries to Calcutta, India, where they managed to start a small revival. Speaking in tongues in India did not enable them to speak the native language, Bengali. Garr significantly contributed to early Pentecostalism through his later work in redefining the "biblical evidence" doctrine and changing the doctrine from a belief that speaking in tongues was explicitly for evangelism to a belief that speaking in tongues was a gift for "spiritual empowerment".[4]

Missionary Bernt Bernsten traveled all the way from North China to investigate the happenings after hearing that the biblical prophecy of Acts 2:4 was being fulfilled. Other visitors left the revival to become missionaries in remote areas all over the world.[2][13] So many missionaries went out from Azusa (some thirty-eight left in October 1906) that within two years the movement had spread to over fifty nations, including Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Holland, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, South Africa, Hong Kong, China, Ceylon and India. Christian leaders visited from all over the world.[8]
[edit] Birth of Pentecostal movement
The leaders of the Apostolic Faith Mission. Seymour is front row, second from the right; Jenny is back row, third from left.

By the end of 1906, most leaders from Azusa Street had spun off to form other congregations, such as the 51st Street Apostolic Faith Mission, the Spanish AFM, and the Italian Pentecostal Mission. These missions were largely composed of immigrant or ethnic groups. The Southeast United States was a particularly prolific area of growth for the movement, since Seymour's approach gave a useful explanation for a charismatic spiritual climate that had already been taking root in those areas. Other new missions were based on preachers who had charisma and energy. Nearly all of these new churches were founded among immigrants and the poor.[11]

Doctrinal differences abounded, and many separate organizations and denominations sprung from the initial revivals. The Church of God in Christ was formed in 1907, the Assemblies of God and United Pentecostal Church were formed in 1914, the Pentecostal Church of God was formed in 1919 at the Sharon Bible School.[15]

Today, there are more than 500 million Pentecostal and charismatic believers across the globe.[2][9][12] The Pentecostal denomination is currently second in size behind the Roman Catholic Church[17] and is the fastest-growing form of Christianity today.[7] The Azusa Street Revival is commonly regarded as the beginning of the modern-day Pentecostal Movement.[15][25][26]
[edit] References
P christianity.svg Christianity portal

1. ^ a b c d e f g McGee, Gary. "William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival". Enrichment Journal. http://www.ag.org/enrichmentjournal/199904/026_azusa.cfm. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Azusa History". International Center for Spiritual Renewal. Archived from the original on May 11, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070511032252/http://www.icfsr.org/history.html. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
3. ^ Cloud, David. "AZUSA STREET MISSION". http://www.tribwatch.com/azusa.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Hayford, Jack W.; Moore, S. David (2006). The Charismatic Century: The Enduring Impact of the Azusa Street Revival (August, 2006 ed.). Warner Faith. ISBN 978-0-446-57813-4
5. ^ a b c "IPHC Azusa Street Links – 1901 to Present". International Pentecostal Holiness Church. http://arc.iphc.org/timeline/azusalinks.html. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
6. ^ Cline, Austin (February 22, 2004). "This Date in History: Azusa Street Revival". atheism.about.com. http://atheism.about.com/b/a/066076.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
7. ^ a b c d e Newmann, Richard; Tinney, James S. (1978). Black Apostles: Afro-American Clergy Confront the Twentieth Century. G. K. Hall & Co.. ISBN 0-8161-8137-3.
8. ^ a b c d e MacRobert, Iain (1988). The Black Roots and White Racism of Early Pentecostalism in the USA. MacMillian Press. ISBN 0-333-43997-X
9. ^ a b c d e f g Allen, Marshall (April 15, 2006). "Pentecostal Movement Celebrates Humble Roots". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041401421.html. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
10. ^ a b c d e f g Synan, Vinson (2001). The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal, 1901–2001. Thomas Nelson Publishers. pp. 42–45. ISBN 0-7852-4550-2
11. ^ a b c "Azusa Street Timeline". 2007-04-04. http://www.spirithome.com/histpen1.html. Retrieved 2007-05-17. [self-published source?]
12. ^ a b c "Billy Wilson: The Miracle on Azusa Street". The 700 Club. http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/billywilson030706.aspx. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
13. ^ a b c d e Blumhofer, Edith (2006-03-07). "Azusa Street Revival". religion-online.org. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3321. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
14. ^ a b Bartleman, Frank (1980). Azusa Street. Bridge-Logos Publishers. ISBN 0-88270-439-7.
15. ^ a b c d e "Azusa St. and modern Pentecostalism – The 100 year celebration of what?". Let us Reason Ministries. http://www.letusreason.org/Pent57.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
16. ^ a b "Azusa Street Revival (1906–1909)". lutherproductions.com. http://demo.lutherproductions.com/historytutor/basic/modern/stories/azuza.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
17. ^ a b c d e f g Strand, Paul. "The Lasting Impact of the Azusa Street Revival". CBNnews.com. http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/usnews/060424a.aspx. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
18. ^ Dove, Stephen (2009). "Hymnody and Liturgy in the Azusa Street Revival, 1906–1908". Pneuma: the Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 31 (2): 247–248
19. ^ Burgess, Stanley M.; McGee, Gary B. (1988). Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements. 1415 Lake Drive, SE Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506: Zondervan Publishing House. pp. 31–36. ISBN 0-310-44100-5
20. ^ Ted, Olsen (1998-04-01). "American Pentecost". ChristianityTodayLibrary.com. http://ctlibrary.com/4276. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
21. ^ "Azusa Street Mission". The Latter Rain Page. http://latter-rain.com/eccle/azusa.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
22. ^ a b "William Joseph Seymour: The father of Pentecostalism". 2001-04-17. http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/HTALLANT/courses/his338/students/asample/WJSASIMP.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
23. ^ "Page 1 Reprint". Archived from the original on July 10, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060710213505/http://www.dunamai.com/Azusa/azusa_Newspapers/1edition.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-28
24. ^ "REVEREND JOHN W. BROOKS". Mighty Moments. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070929132338/http://www.mightymoments.com/Author.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
25. ^ "Azusa Street revival (Pentecostal movement)". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-47092/Azusa-Street-revival. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
26. ^ Poloma, Margaret M. (1982). The Charismatic Movement: Is there a new Pentecost?. G. K. Hall & Co.. ISBN 0-8057-9701-7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azusa_Street_Revival

Azusa Street Revival by Edith Blumhofer

2010-12-30T09:06:00.000-08:00

On April 9, 1906, at a prayer meeting in a modest home on Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angeles, a few men and women spoke in tongues. They had been meeting to pray for "an outpouring" of the Holy Spirit. The tongues speech convinced them that they had "broken through."

News of the event spread rapidly among blacks, Latinos and whites, the prosperous and the poor, immigrants and natives. Those who yearned for revival, as well as the curious, thronged the house. The need for space prompted a move to an abandoned Methodist church on Azusa Street. For the next two years, waves of religious enthusiasm waxed and waned at Azusa Street, attracting visitors from across the nation and missionaries from around the globe. The faithful announced that this was a reenactment of the New Testament Day of Pentecost: "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability" (Acts 2:4). God was restoring New Testament experiences of the Holy Spirit -- or, as devotees of the movement put it, restoring the apostolic faith.

At Azusa Street, one could see and hear the "utterance gifts" listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. Seekers spent hours praying to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, an experience they expected would be attested by speaking in tongues. People interpreted tongues and prophesied -- phenomena with which few Christians had any direct experience. The sick came for healing.

Why were such things happening on an out-of-the-way city street? The faithful had a simple answer: the end of the world loomed, and God was sending the Holy Spirit to equip his chosen people for one last burst of evangelism before it was too late. The baptism with the Holy Spirit was an end-times "enduement with power for service" that went hand in hand with personal holiness. The visible gifts of the Holy Spirit testified to the Spirit’s immediate presence in and among believers.

A century later, Pentecostal denominations boast over 10 million members in the U.S. If one adds those in other churches who embrace Pentecostal-like beliefs and practices, the number more than doubles. Estimates in 2005 of the worldwide number of Pentecostals suggest that there are over 580 million adherents, making Pentecostals the second largest group of Christians in the world, trailing only Roman Catholics. Even those who challenge these numbers agree that by any measure Pentecostal Christianity has experienced dramatic growth. Directly and indirectly, the Azusa Street revival influenced this expansion.

Azusa Street stands at the core of the Pentecostal myth of origins. In recent years scholars have stressed that global Pentecostalism has multiple origins, and that the Azusa Street revival was one of several impulses that birthed a distinctly Pentecostal form of Christianity. In some places the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905 played the role that Azusa Street filled in North America. The Korean revival of 1907, the Indian revivals reaching back into the 19th century and some indigenous African movements are watersheds in non-Western Pentecostal narratives. Yet, for a variety of reasons, Azusa Street has gained the most visibility, especially in Western renderings of Pentecostal history. And perhaps justifiably so: its immediate global impact, its widely circulated publications, and its networking role kept people aware of its message. Even if Azusa Street was not the only source of the global Pentecostal impulse. it had a vital role in shaping the contours of worldwide Pentecostalism.

What happened at Azusa Street? At the center of this "new thing" stood an African-American preacher named William Seymour. The son of slaves, Seymour had traveled to Los Angeles from Texas to share what he had learned from a self-made preacher named Charles Fox Parham.

During the 1890s, Parham had heard much talk about the baptism with the Holy Spirit, but he observed a lack of consensus on the evidence for this baptism. In 1901, Parham began to preach that the "Bible evidence" of the baptism with the Holy Spirit was speaking in tongues. He called his message the Apostolic Faith. In 1903, thanks to a healing and local revival in eastern Kansas, Parharm’s Apostolic Faith began attracting followers. By 1905 his work had reached the Houston area, where he met Seymour. Parham encouraged Seymour to accept an invitation to preach in Los Angeles.

The Azusa Street mission, then, had direct antecedents in Parham’s modest midwestern efforts. The core of Parham’s message prospered briefly in Seymour’s hands. For a few years, the Azusa Street mission became the best-known hub of a movement framed by premillennialist views, influenced by a Wesleyan fervor for holiness and committed to the practice of the spiritual gifts enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12. For a time at least, whites, blacks, Latinos and Native Americans mingled at the mission, though interracial acceptance was at best imperfect and soon broken.

In the fall of 1906, Seymour and an associate, a white woman named Clara Lum, began chronicling the revival in a periodical called Apostolic Faith. It quickly became evident that the Azusa Street revival resonated with widely scattered people in part because it seemed hauntingly familiar. Azusa Street gave them context for their own religious experiences and networked them with those who shared their radical evangelical instincts.

In time new denominations influenced by Azusa Street blended the distinctive Apostolic Faith focus on the experience of the Holy Spirit with traditional evangelical tenets. Before World War I, the Church of God in Christ, the Assemblies of God, the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), the Pentecostal Holiness Church and a host of smaller associations -- English-speaking and immigrant -- had woven the message associated with Azusa Street into a fabric of belief and practice. In the 1920s, Aimee Semple McPherson’s new International Church of the Foursquare Gospel was poised to reinvigorate Los Angeles Pentecostalisin. By then, internal disunity had prompted the formation of a cluster of Pentecostal denominations (Anglo, African American and Latino) that denied the Trinity -- for example, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, the forerunner of the United Pentecostal Church, and many Apostolic movements -- while sharing the Apostolic Faith heritage. A host of more recent independent associations, charismatic fellowships and nondenominational megachurches also draw inspiration from versions of the Azusa Street narrative.

The Azusa Street revival had global reach through Apostolic Faith, the popular religious press, missionary correspondence and personal ambassadors who, emboldened by their religious experiences, traveled the globe to announce firsthand the revival’s urgent message of spiritual empowerment in the last days. In time, career missionaries supported by Pentecostal denominations planted the revival’s message in remote places around the globe.

The centrality of Azusa Street in the story of Pentecostalism is due in large part to the work of the revivals tireless promoter Frank Bartleman. A restless maverick driven from place to place by his determination to be part of whatever God was doing in the world, Bartleman singlehandedly turned the Azusa Street revival into a literary event of global magnitude by chronicling his impressions and assigning them meaning in a widely circulated book, How Pentecost Came to Los Angeles. In this 1925 publication, Bartleman made a case for the centrality of "old Azusa" for Pentecostal identity: "Wales was but intended as the cradle for this worldwide restoration of the power of God. India but the Nazareth where he was ‘brought up."’ What really mattered was Azusa Street. American Pentecostals and many scholars have since often been content to take his word for it, glimpsing Azusa Street through Bartleman’s eyes instead of rigorously examining the revival’s extent and limits.

Azusa Street has had a profound place in collective Pentecostal memory. Its imaginative power shapes not only narrative but also practice and makes the historiography of Pentecostalism surprisingly contentious because adherents generally embrace a particular version of the revival’s story and often engage parts of its legacy rather the whole. The Apostolic Faith Mission no longer stands on Azusa Street, but a century after the mission opened its doors (and in some ways now more than ever) the Azusa Street revival in one way or another frames the identities of millions of Pentecostal Christians.

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3321

Edith Blumhofer teaches at Wheaton College in Illinois and recently wrote Her Heart Can See: The Life and Hymns of Fanny J. Crosby (Eerdmans). This article appeared in The Christian Century, (March 7, 2006, pp. 20-22.) Copyright by The Christian Century Foundation: used by permission. Current articles and subscription information can be found at www.christiancentury.org. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock.

At 107, World's Oldest Evangelist Still Preaching

2010-12-29T07:55:00.000-08:00

INKSTER, Mich. (WXYZ) - At 107-years-old and still preaching, Bishop Otis Clark is the world's oldest living evangelist.

He was born in Oklahoma before statehood, when it was still a territory.

Clark’s roots trace back to the historic Azusa Street Revival in the early 1900s which spawned the spread of Pentecostalism in the 20th century.

He turned to God while serving time in prison for selling whiskey. That was when he was a young man and he's been preaching ever since.

Sunday Bishop Clark appeared at Pentecostal Temple Church in Inkster.

His rich life also included a period when Bishop Clark served as a butler to the actress Joan Crawford. He met many other Hollywood stars during that time as well. He also made two trips to Africa --after his 100th birthday.

At 107-years-old, the world's oldest evangelist is still preaching