Don Baldwin (1931-2007) former manager of the Couriers, passes on

SplashCast with Flickr photos
Produced by iFPHC

Don Baldwin, former Couriers Quartet founder and manager, died February 24, 2007 at his home in Florida. He was 75.

Donald Edward Baldwin was born Nov. 30, 1931 in Hamilton, Ohio, and was raised in Chicago, Illinois. While he was stationed in Las Vegas during the Korean War he developed an appreciation for gospel music. When he enrolled at Central Bible Institute in 1954, then, he parlayed this musical avocation into his vocation. That year, Baldwin rallied several fellow students to form a gospel group — The Couriers Quartet. The Couriers went on to be one of the most successful gospel music groups in the late twentieth century. Significantly, The Couriers helped to shift gospel music from an emphasis on entertainment back toward ministry and evangelism. Don Baldwin — and the other men of The Couriers — were Assemblies of God boys who proceeded to impact an entire generation for Christ.

After leaving the Couriers in 1965, Don established “Baldwin Sound Productions,” a recording studio facility and the home of Hymntone Records. Many of the major gospel groups recorded there over the years. During the 1970s, he also served as an emcee of the National Quartet Convention. In 2002, Don became one of the very first inductees into the Pennsylvania Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In 2006 he was awarded the “Living Legend” award by the Grand Old Gospel Reunion.

A memorial service for Don Baldwin is scheduled at 1:00 p.m. Friday, March 9, at Victory Church (Assembly of God), 1401 Griffin Road, Lakeland, Florida.

The Baldwin family authorized a memorial website, which includes articles and photographs.

The Couriers were featured in the cover story for the 2007 edition of Assemblies of God Heritage magazine. Read the article, written by leading gospel music historian Jim Goff, on the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center website.

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Top Pentecostal history books in libraries

Next to Assemblies of God Heritage magazine the Bible, what is your favorite reading material? Do you have a top ten list of your all-time favorite books?

We thought it would be interesting to see which Pentecostal history books are most popular in libraries. So, we logged onto FirstSearch (aka WorldCat or OCLC, which is available at your local library) and searched for books with the following terms in their subject headings. The top ten books for each term, in terms of the numbers of libraries holding each book, are below.

Pentecostal history
1. Heaven Below : Early Pentecostals and American Culture / Grant Wacker (Harvard University Press, 2001) 878 libraries
2. Reinventing American Protestantism : Christianity in the New Millennium / Donald E. Miller (University of California Press, 1997) 847 libraries

Free Azusa Street photos on Flickr

SplashCast with Flickr photos
Produced by iFPHC

It was an unlikely location for an event that would change the face of Christianity.

In the summer of 1906, revival erupted in the newly-formed congregation meeting at the small, run-down Apostolic Faith Mission at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles. Critics attacked the congregation because its mild-mannered black Holiness preacher, William J. Seymour, preached racial reconciliation and the restoration of Biblical spiritual gifts. The Azusa Street revival, as it became known, soon became a local sensation, then attracted thousands of curiosity seekers and pilgrims from around the world. The spiritual intensity of the revival was red hot for over three years, making Azusa Street one of the most significant Pentecostal centers in the early 20th century. One hundred years later, the Pentecostal and charismatic movements — broadly construed — claimed over a half billion adherents, the second largest grouping within Christianity after the Catholic Church.

With the Pentecostal movement’s explosive growth came recognition of the Azusa Street revival as one of the most important events in recent Christian history.

The Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center holds one of the largest collections of Azusa Street-related materials. Our vault protects treasures such as a complete set of The Apostolic Faith, the newspaper published by the Azusa Street mission. We also hold a significant collection of rare photographs of the Azusa Street mission, William Seymour, and other early revival leaders.

We keep these valuable Azusa Street materials under lock and key, but — to mix metaphors — we don’t want to hide our light under a bushel! We have digitized some of our best photos and are making them available for free on Flickr. Not only can you view these photos, you can paste our Azusa slideshow into your own blog or website, or use them in a PowerPoint sermon or classroom lecture.

These photographs remain the intellectual property of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center. The free photos on Flickr contain an unobtrusive watermark (iFPHC.org). If you use the photos, our only requirements are that you leave the watermark on the image and include the following line in your website, PowerPoint, or other publication: “Image used with permission of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (iFPHC.org).” Publication-quality images without the watermark are available for purchase from the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Would you like to read the exciting news of the Azusa Street revival as it was originally published in The Apostolic Faith newspaper? We also have digitized The Apostolic Faith, which is included on the following research DVD for sale:
Assemblies of God Publications: Pre-WWII

To view the photoset of the Azusa Street at Flickr click on the link below:

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Roberta Semple Salter (1910-2007), Sister Aimee’s daughter, with the Lord

Roberta Star Semple Salter was born in Hong Kong on September 17, 1910, the daughter of Rev. Robert James Semple and Aimee Semple McPherson. Her father passed away with malaria shortly before her birth, and her mother, who later became the founder of Angelus Temple and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, returned to the United States, marrying Harold S. McPherson in 1912 and then David L. Hutton in 1931. At the tender age of 12, Roberta and her younger brother, Rolf McPherson, were preaching in the Children’s Church at Angelus Temple in Los Angeles. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she continued to preach during her teenage years. Roberta married Harry Salter, who became an orchestra conductor for radio and television programs, and they made their home in Manhattan, New York. She passed away January 25, 2007 at the age of 96 and is survived by her brother, Dr. Rolf McPherson of Los Angeles, her daughter, Victoria Salter, two granddaughters, and three great-grandchildren. A private service was held. Donations may be sent to the Goddard Riverside Community Center in New York City.

An obituary appeared in the New York Times, January 28, 2007, Late Edition, p. 23, and in the Los Angeles Times, February 4, 2007, Home Edition, p. B-12.

See also “Roberta Semple Salter–In the presence of the Lord” from Foursquare News Service.