Photo: Wisconsin-Northern Michigan District Superintendent Arden Adamson presents a Certificate of Recognition to retired Assemblies of God minister Lillian Flessing Adamson on her 100th birthday.

May 3, 2008, was a day of joy as family members gathered around retired minister Lillian Flessing Adamson to celebrate a fruitful life spanning an entire century—100 years! Adamson holds ministerial credentials with the Wisconsin-Northern Michigan District of the Assemblies of God. District Superintendent Arden Adamson, who is her nephew by marriage, presented her with a Certificate of Recognition, signed by Assemblies of God General Superintendent George Wood.

Born on May 3, 1908, in Athens, Wisconsin, Lillian received missionary appointment to Brazil in 1939. A graduate of North Central University, Lillian, along with her coworker, Ellen Miller, did evangelism and church planting in Brazil. Their first work was in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. They were also involved in ministry in Porto Alegre and Florianopolis. In 1941 they had two works in the Sao Paulo area—Sao Carlos and Araraquara. According to articles in the Pentecostal Evangel, they reported many salvations, healings, deliverances and Holy Spirit baptisms.

Following their return to the United States, Lillian spent several years teaching and helping in various church ministries. She was asked to start an elementary school at Ebenezer Assembly of God in Chicago where she taught and served as the principal for 22 years. In 1973, at the age of 65, she married Earl Adamson. They pastored in Madison, Wisconsin, and Collinsville and Yorkville, Illinois, prior to moving to Oshkosh to be near family. Earl passed away in 2003 and Lillian now resides at the Omro Care Center in Omro, Wisconsin.

When she married Earl after the death of his wife, Josie, Lillian became, and continues to be, an integral part of the Adamson family. She holds a place of honor in their family for the love, care and acceptance she has shown to Earl, his children, and their spouses and grandchildren, who all call her “Grandma Lillian.”

Dr. Jim Goff, a leading historian of Southern Gospel music and Southern culture, has authored an important addition to Elvis scholarship. The article, “Conflicted by the Spirit: The Religious Life of Elvis Presley,” is featured in the 2008 edition of Assemblies of God Heritage magazine. Goff’s sympathetic treatment of Elvis’ religious confliction portrayed a gifted individual with human frailties, with whom many readers will be able to identify.

Goff provided an overview of the subject and demonstrated his warm and engaging prose in the article’s introduction:

“In life and in death, Elvis Presley holds a fascination far beyond that of even the most successful singers and movie personalities. Worldwide, thirty years after his death, millions upon millions recognize him by his first name alone, the mention of which conjures up a surfeit of sight, sound, and memory. Less known is the real man, and especially the religious yearnings and conflicts that alternately soothed and convicted him. Ever enamored by gospel music, Presley was likewise influenced—and perhaps haunted—by the religious strictures of his youth. This early religious training was decidedly evangelical and Pentecostal in its orientation. Ultimately, it served as a religious umbrella under which the entertainer sought refuge in times of turmoil.”

Assemblies of God members have often felt mixed feelings toward Elvis. Many liked his music and were proud that he once sat in the Sunday school at Memphis First Assembly of God. At the same time, Elvis’ all-too public struggles caused concern and, at times, consternation.

The Assemblies of God does not claim Elvis as its own, but Elvis was impacted by the Assemblies of God and the broader evangelical and Pentecostal movements. This article does not aim to narrowly identify Elvis with a particular denomination, but offers a careful assessment of his background and religious proclivities.

This is the first published treatment of Elvis by an official publication of the Assemblies of God. Assemblies of God Heritage is published by the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC), which is the denominational archives and museum of the Assemblies of God. The article may be viewed on the FPHC website: www.iFPHC.org.

Jim Goff is the I. G. Greer Distinguished Professor of History at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. He is researching a book-length manuscript on the religious background and cultural ramifications of the Elvis Presley phenomenon and would appreciate any personal reflections that readers might share of having interacted with Presley in a religious environment. Please send these reflections to goffjr@appstate.edu.

Goff’s article has caused a stir in the blogosphere. See the following blog discussions: Averyfineline: Criticism and commentary on southern gospel music and culture ; and SGBogNews.

The 2008 edition of Assemblies of God Heritage is available for $8 on the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center website.

This blog post was adapted from an article by Darrin J. Rodgers, Director of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center and editor of Assemblies of God Heritage. Rodgers’ article was first published in Elvis Insiders, the official newsletter of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Reposted with permission.

The 2008 annual edition of Assemblies of God Heritage magazine is hot off the press and will shortly be mailed to all credentialed Assemblies of God ministers. Additional copies may be ordered online or by phone: 877.840.5200 (toll free).

Download selected free articles from the 2008 edition from the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center website. If you like what you read, consider ordering the entire 2008 edition of Heritage for yourself, or as a gift for your friends or relatives. We think you will agree that Heritage magazine is a keepsake!

The 2008 edition features the following articles:

Dr. Charles S. Price: His Life, Ministry and Influence
This Oxford-educated pastor became one of the most noteworthy Pentecostal evangelists of the twentieth century.
BY TIM ENLOE

Teen Challenge: 50 Years of Miracles
What began as an outreach by David Wilkerson to the gangs of New York City has developed into one of the largest and most successful Christian drug-treatment programs.
BY DAVID BATTY AND ETHAN CAMPBELL

Conflicted by the Spirit: The Religious Life of Elvis Presley
The “King of Rock ‘n Roll,” the most famous Assemblies of God Sunday school prospect from the 1950s, experienced an all-too public struggle between his religious upbringing and the temptations of the world.
BY JAMES R. GOFF, JR.

A Short History of Congregational Song in the Assemblies of God
The distinctive testimony of the Assemblies of God is reflected in its hymnody, which has evolved over the decades.
BY BODIE GILBERT

Known and Yet Unknown: Women of Color and the Assemblies of God
Inspiring vignettes of Pandita Ramabai, Lucy Farrow, Cornelia Jones Robertson, Aimee Garcia Cortese, Maria de Fatima W. Gomes, and Maria Khaleel.
BY JESSICA FAYE CARTER

Liberated and Empowered: The Uphill History of Hispanic Assemblies of God Women in Ministry, 1915-1950
An examination of the origins and early history of Hispanic clergywomen in the Assemblies of God.
BY GASTÓN ESPINOSA

The Assemblies of God and the Long Journey toward Racial Reconciliation
An analysis of the historical roots of racial unity and disunity in the Assemblies of God.
BY DARRIN J. RODGERS

Rosendo Alcantara: Still Ministering at 106
An inspiring tribute to a pioneer in AG Filipino ministry on his 106th birthday.
BY GLENN W. GOHR

Heroes of the Faith
A collection of articles honoring: R. Stanley Berg (military chaplain and pastor of Glad Tidings Tabernacle, New York City); Lucy Smith (pastor of All Nations Pentecostal Church, Chicago); Thomas Paino, Jr. (Indianapolis pastor and missions leader); and Glenda Morrow (long-time Central Bible College music professor).

Rev. Marjorie Walker, possibly the first African-American female ordained by the Rocky Mountain District of the Assemblies of God, was recognized in a special service at her church in celebration of Black History Month. The service, held at Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Greeley, Colorado, also honored two additional faithful African-American church leaders, George and Clydene Osborne.

The church’s pastor, Rev. David Meek, shared their stories in an article about the event published in the Greeley Tribune:

“The Rev. Marjorie Walker, a retired nurse, was the first black woman to be ordained in the Rocky Mountain District of the Assemblies of God Church. Last September, she retired at the young age of 81 from ministering at retirement homes in Greeley for 30 years. She is still an associate pastor at Glad Tidings and loves to lead people to Jesus. We love to hear her sing those great Southern Gospel songs, and she learned to play the harmonica at age 76 after her husband, Sid, went to be with Jesus.”

“George and Clydene Osborne are vital members as they greet people, sing in the choir and pray for the sick. George is a board member, directs the Men’s Ministry and preaches every Friday night at the Weld County Jail, leading men to love, serve and follow Jesus. They have been married 49 years, which is a miracle of God, as George use to be heavy drinker of beer, before Jesus delivered him!”

Rev. Meek recounted that the Assemblies of God grew out of a worldwide Pentecostal revival that took place one hundred years ago. One of the focal points of this emerging revival was the interracial congregation at the Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street, Los Angeles, led by African-American pastor William J. Seymour. Meek noted that at Azusa Street, “The rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, and all races worshipped and sought God together.” The Azusa Street revival (1906-1909) has become a symbol of racial reconciliation, not just for Pentecostals but for all Christians. This interracial unity was not just evidenced at Azusa Street, but also in churches today, such as Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Greeley.

Panorama Magazine (a publication of the Greeley Tribune) also published an article about Rev. Walker in 2007.

The Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center is very interested in acquiring materials documenting African-American Pentecostal history. If you have old photographs, publications (periodicals, tracts, books, congregational histories, etc.), and other treasures that would help historians, church leaders, and people in the pew to better understand African-American Pentecostal history, please consider depositing them at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (email: archives@ag.org).

Fred Smolchuck had a passion for spreading the gospel and the Pentecostal message to Slavic people. A founding member of the former Ukrainian Branch of the Assemblies of God, he served as a pastor and district official in Michigan, and he authored 16 books. His life is inextricably intertwined with the history of the Slavic churches in the Assemblies of God. He passed away peacefully in Springfield, Missouri, at the age of 90 on February 23, 2008.

Born February 26, 1917, in Boston, Massachusetts, Smolchuck was the son of Ukrainian immigrants to America. A series of tragic events, beginning with the death of Fred’s seven-year-old sister, led the Smolchuck family to accept Christ. Fred was saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit at the age of ten. He and his parents joined the Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian Pentecostal Church of Chelsea, Massachusetts. In 1934, he enrolled at Zion Bible Institute in Rhode Island, graduating in 1936. A year later he married Stella Hanko.

Ordained with the New England District of the Assemblies of God in 1938, Smolchuck pastored churches in Claremont, NH, Newark, NJ., Bridgeport, CT, Detroit, MI, and Warren, MI. His passion was ministering among Slavic people, and he held numerous positions of leadership. In 1941 he was elected to serve as executive secretary of the Pentecostal Union of the Assemblies of God (an independent Slavic organization). In 1947 he was elected superintendent of the Ukrainian Branch of the Assemblies of God, holding that position until 1952.

In Detroit, Michigan, he pastored the Russian, Ukrainian and Polish Pentecostal Church (later renamed Evangel Assembly of God). He attended Wayne State University and earned a bachelor’s degree from Great Lakes College. He was the founder of Central Bible College, Detroit Campus (an extension of the school in Springfield, Missouri). In 1964 he was elected secretary-treasurer of the Michigan District. He also served as a general presbyter.

In 1974, Smolchuck began traveling to Eastern Europe to minister to Slavic people. Upon his retirement as district secretary-treasurer in 1983, the Assemblies of God recognized him as an honorary presbyter for his 27 years as a general presbyter of the Ukrainian and Michigan Districts. He continued to travel as a missionary evangelist spanning the globe. He started a Bible school in the Ukraine, authored Ukrainian books and pamphlets, and wrote many articles for Assemblies of God publications. He helped to translate the Bible into modern Ukrainia, of which nearly two million copies have been distributed.

In 1995, Fred and Stella Smolchuck moved from Grass Lake, Michigan, to Springfield, Missouri. In recent years Fred wrote inspirational articles for Today’s Pentecostal Evangel and for Senior Adult Ministries. He also wrote his biography, “Who Else … But God!” His wife passed away in 2002. Fred Smolchuck is survived by a daughter, Carole Maker of Guthrie, Oklahoma; sons Rev. Fred Smolchuck, Jr. of Saginaw, Michigan and Richard Smolchuck of Chino Hills, California; seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and 1 great-great grandchild. Memorials may be made to “Missions for Ukraine” (c/o AG World Missions).

Fred’s obituary appeared in the Springfield News-Leader.

For further information, see “A Passion for His People: Fred Smolchuck and Slavic Pentecostalism” in the Spring-Summer 2006 issue of Assemblies of God Heritage.

FPHC Director Darrin Rodgers interviewed Fred Smolchuck on May 25, 2006. Listen to the interview on the iFPHC Podcast.

Fred’s autobiography, “Who Else … But God!” can be ordered from his daughter. A review is found in the iFPHC Seen in Print blog.

On February 2, 2008, Rev. Bernice Vance (B. V.) Robison will achieve something that few Assemblies of God ministers can claim – he will celebrate his 100th birthday. Reared in the Waurika and Terral areas in Oklahoma, Robison later moved to Texas, which became his home state. In 1927, at the age of 19, he began traveling with Floyd Hawkins. Together, they held revivals in towns and communities across Texas, bringing the Pentecostal message to many people for the first time. Numerous Assemblies of God churches were organized as a result of their efforts.

In 1929 Robison married Lillie Mae Holdridge. Following a 1930 revival campaign held in Freeport, Texas, he remained to pioneer a church, which became First Assembly of God. In the early days of the Assemblies of God, most pastors were bi-vocational, and they were expected to be competent in multiple skills. Robison’s natural building abilities meant that, in each of his pastorates, he would erect a church building.

After a hurricane destroyed the first building he erected for the Freeport congregation, he built a second one. To date, five Assemblies of God congregations have been birthed from the Freeport church. In 1935 he moved to Sherman, Texas, to serve as one of the early Assemblies of God pastors in that city. In 1939 he returned to south Texas to pastor the assembly in Cuero. His first project there was to build a new church building. The congregation worshiped in that building until 1993.

In 1942, again feeling the call of God to a city without an Assemblies of God witness, Robison moved 28 miles to Victoria, Texas. World War II was raging, and his new congregation rented a store to serve as its first meeting place. Members moved to a large tent, then finally built a church building, which became First Assembly of God. While pastoring in Cuero and Victoria, Robison served as presbyter of the Yoakum Section.

Robison’s brother, Edward, tragically died in 1949. Edward had been serving as pastor of Oakland Assembly of God, which was in the middle of relocating from South Dallas to East Dallas. The congregation called Robison to finish the job that his brother had started. Robison built another new building and the church was renamed Lakewood Assembly of God. In 1953, he took the pastorate of First Assembly of God in Angleton, Texas. In 1957, after the unexpected death of his wife, he resigned the church and did not pastor for several years. In 1959, he married Leighruie Pitts in Corpus Christi.

He resumed his pastoral ministry — this time in Corpus Christi — where he relocated a congregation and erected a new church, which became Gateway Assembly of God. In the early 1970s he retired and moved to Kerrville. However, the small Turtle Creek Community Church needed a pastor so he consented to serve as its pastor. He remained for fifteen years. In Kerrville, he built his final building, which continues to serve the church. He resigned at age 80, but remained active in teaching and assisting in numerous ways.

Leighruie, his wife of 48 years, passed away in October 2007. Robison fathered three daughters: Berna Robison Pruett, Bonnie Robison Brewster, and Leta Robison Jones. He also has seven grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Robison, a faithful servant of his Lord Jesus Christ and a hero of the faith to those who have been impacted by his life and ministry, continues to live in his own home in Kerrville, Texas.

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Dr. George O. Wood, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, sent the following announcement to Assemblies of God Headquarters employees by email at 3:58 pm on Friday, January 4, 2008.
____________________________________________________

I want to share with you that Rev. James K. Bridges, our general treasurer for the past 14 years, has announced he will step down from this office on March 31, 2008.

Brother Bridges indicates he felt the timing to be appropriate for several reasons: “(1) we have gotten beyond the General Council event; (2) the new ELT members have had several months to settle into their positions; (3) a newly-appointed General Treasurer by the Executive Presbytery will have a year and a half to get settled into office before the next General Council when the office is up for election; and (4) it is time for us to return to Texas where all of our children and grandchildren reside.”

Brother Bridges was elected general treasurer at the 45th General Council in 1993. In this office, he oversees the Division of the Treasury, which is responsible for handling all finances sent to the national office for the world ministries of the church.

He has served with distinction in a variety of ministry since 1952 when he began his ministry in the South Texas District. A graduate of Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas, he served pastorates in Houston, Dallas, Greenville, and Waxahachie, Texas, as well as Wichita, Kansas. He served in district leadership in the North Texas District, including sectional presbyter, executive presbyter, general presbyter, assistant superintendent and superintendent of the district from 1981 until his election to the office of general treasurer.

From 1968-71, Brother Bridges was vice president of academic affairs at Southwestern Assemblies of God University, and served as chairman of the school’s board of directors from 1985-1993. SAGU conferred the honorary doctor’s degree upon him in 1991.

Brother Bridges is a person of impeccable integrity. His depth of Christian character commands everything he does. He has served this church so well. It has been my distinct joy to serve with him in executive leadership since 1993. I shall miss his wise counsel and steadfast commitment to the church, its doctrines, and ministries.

We wish him and Joyce God’s richest blessings in the years ahead. I am confident he will continue to be active in ministry wherever God leads.

The General Council Bylaws call for the Executive Presbytery to fill the unexpired term of an executive officer. Please pray for God’s wisdom as we seek to do this.
____________________________________________________

For more information about Rev. Bridges’ life and ministry, read the article, “Reflecting on a Godly Heritage: The Important Roles Parents, Grandparents, and In-laws Played in the Life of James K. Bridges,” published in the Fall 1994 issue of Assemblies of God Heritage magazine. The issue has been digitized and may be viewed on the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center website.

Rev. Bridges and his wife, Joyce, gave their testimony at the Assemblies of God Headquarters chapel service on November 27, 2007. Click here to view the chapel service.

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In the West, Christmas has become a symbol of excess. For most Christians in other times and places, however, Christmas has been a reminder that God came down to meet each one of us at our point of need.

The following Christmas testimonies are from some of our Assemblies of God saints who blazed the trail that we now tread. Listen to how they celebrated Christmas, compare it with your own celebrations, then reflect about how God met each one of these dear saints at the point of their need. You will see that God didn’t always meet needs with provisions; sometimes He provided lessons.

C. M. Ward was the voice of the Revivaltime radio broadcast from 1953 to 1978. He and his fiancée, Dorothy, set their wedding date for Christmas Day, 1929. Of course, one month before their wedding, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began. Ward couldn’t afford to buy a wedding ring, much less presents, for their first Christmas. He later learned that times of deprivation like this birthed one of two things: either desperation or despair. Desperation spurred people to work hard and be creative, while despair caused people to simply give up.

Daniel W. Kerr was the primary author of the 1916 Statement of Fundamental Truths. One of the early parsonages he and his family lived in was actually an abandoned log chicken house that Kerr made into living quarters. One Christmas, his two children each received one penny in their stockings. And for Christmas dinner — they boiled potatoes. With our material prosperity, we sometimes forget that many go without. When God does provide for our needs, but not our wants, do we express gratitude or do we grumble?

John Kolenda was a German District pastor and missionary to Brazil. His daughter, Graceann, recalled that “Dad always practiced and taught us to put God first, others second, and ourselves last.” She explained that, to her and her young sibling, “This seemed entirely wrong.” Two days before Christmas, Kolenda took his children aside and said that — absent a miracle — there would be no Christmas presents that year. After providing for the needy children in the Sunday school and for other people, he explained, there was nothing left to give his own children. Graceann recalled that her parents prayed in an unusually fervent manner that evening. The next day an unexpected check arrived in the mail, which provided for a memorable Christmas. When the situation seems hopeless — do we still pray to God to intervene?

Elizabeth Galley Wilson, a single female missionary, arrived in China in 1939 just before the outbreak of World War II. She wrote that she learned two things during her first Christmas in Peking. The first lesson was how lonely it could be in a foreign country without family, friends, or the traditional Christmas turkey or gifts. She got together with several other single female missionaries from other denominations, they ate, and Elizabeth distributed Christmas stockings to each of them. The second thing she learned, as she put it, was “that the Christ of Christmas can bring peace and dispel darkness as we seek Him in times like these.” Several years later, she became a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp in the Philippines. That Christmas, while in the internment camp, those little Christmas stockings that she made in Peking became the Christmas gift for the son of another missionary who was a fellow prisoner of war. Elizabeth’s testimony teaches us that seeking God during a struggle can “bring peace and dispel darkness.” Furthermore, just as the Christmas stockings were re-used to bring joy to the child who was a prisoner of war, we cannot begin to imagine how the good — or bad — things we do today might end up impacting others.

Esther Mae Cooper — also a single female — was a musical evangelist who ministered to servicemen. She described how she spent Christmas of 1942 on board a ship destined for Alaska. She was seasick, lonely, and bereft of her family and friends. She wrote the following: “Christmas morning I was awakened by the splashing of the waves against the ship. It was a peculiar sensation that I had when I realized I was spending my first Christmas away from home. I am ashamed of my first thoughts — Christmas morning, away from home, at sea, no friends. Merry Christmas! My heart sank! But again the voice of the Lord reassured me, ‘Lo, I am with you always!’” Esther Mae determined to make the best of the situation, and in her morning devotions she prayed, “make me a blessing all day and help me to spread cheer and sunshine.” This testimony reminds us that we can have confidence that God is always with us, particularly at our point of need. Because of this assurance, we can decide to be joyful and bless others, in spite of our circumstances.

Scholars employ a German word — Heilsgeschichte, meaning “salvation history” — to describe testimonies like these. The story of how God works among us is holy history. And this Christmas we are celebrating the central point in this holy history — the birth of Jesus, who is Immanuel, “God with us,” and who meets us in our weakness and in our poverty.

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Director, Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center

Sources:
Charles M. Ward, In Perils of…Brethren (Columbus, GA: Quill Publications, 1991), 55-57.
Lewis Wilson, “The Kerr-Peirce Role in A/G Education,” Assemblies of God Heritage 10:1 (Spring 1990): 6.
Graceann Kolenda, “John and Marguerite Kolenda: Putting God First,” Assemblies of God Heritage 13:1 (Spring 1993): 30.
Elizabeth Wilson, “A Special Christmas Eve in Peking,” Assemblies of God Heritage 2:4 (Winter 1982-1983): 3.
Esther Mae Cooper, “Christmas on the Pacific,” Christ’s Ambassadors Herald 16:12 (December 1943): 4.

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Robert Louis Brandt was born May 29, 1917, at Tower City, North Dakota, the oldest child of Alfred and Etta Brandt. He passed away in Billings, Montana on September 27, 2007 at the age of 90. He served the Assemblies of God Fellowship as pastor, author, Bible school president, executive presbyter, National Home Missions Secretary, and superintendent of two districts.

Raised on a farm near Rock Lake, North Dakota, Brandt accepted Christ at Lake Geneva Bible Camp near Alexandria, Minnesota at age 16 and soon felt a calling to the ministry. After completing high school, he attended North Central Bible Institute (now North Central University) in Minneapolis and went on to pastor churches in Stanley (1939-1945) and Grand Forks, North Dakota (1945-1951). He married Marian Williams in 1940, and they became parents of three children.

Brandt’s ministry expanded when he was elected North Dakota District Superintendent (1951-1958), resigning to become the National Home Missions Secretary for the Assemblies of God (1958-1965). He then became pastor of First Assembly of God in Billings, Montana (1965-1970) and Montana District Superintendent (1970-1983). He served faithfully for 20 years as executive presbyter of the Northwest Region from 1981 to 2001. He also served on many boards and committees, including the board of directors for North Central Bible College, Central Indian Bible College, and Northwest University.

A gifted author, he contributed articles to the Pentecostal Evangel, Pulpit, Enrichment, and wrote several theological texts including Praying With Paul, The Spirit Helps Us Pray, Attitudes of the Beatitudes, The Pentecostal Promise, among others, and a number of Sunday school quarterlies. He also traveled as an evangelist to many countries including Puerto Rico, Thailand, Java, Canada, and South Korea. He is remembered as a leader, board member, teacher, preacher, and author, but most of all, he is remembered as a faithful servant of God.

Funeral services were held at First Assembly of God in Billings, Montana on October 2nd with a second memorial service at Cando, North Dakota, and burial in the family plot at Rock Lake Cemetery, Towner County, North Dakota on October 4th. Memorials may be made to First Assembly of God Missions, Billings, Montana or Chapel of Hope Building Fund in Lockwood, Montana.

For an excellent treatment of Brandt’s ministry see “R. L. Brandt: A Faithful Servant” in the 2007 issue of Assemblies of God Heritage.

Obituaries may be found in The Billings Gazette and AG-NEWS.

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Photos: Dr. George O. Wood, speaking at the AGTS chapel, September 14, 2007. Used with permission of AGTS.

The Assemblies of God (USA) elected new leadership at its 52nd General Council in Indianapolis, Indiana in August 2007. What does this mean for our Fellowship?

Dr. George O. Wood, General Superintendent-Elect, gave the following acceptance speech at the commissioning service of the new Executive Leadership Team, which took place Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at the national headquarters in Springfield, Missouri. In his message, Dr. Wood identified five “enduring core values” of the Assemblies of God. These values, he promised, will guide him as he seeks to lead the Assemblies of God to fulfill its three-fold mission to worship, evangelize, and make disciples.

____________________________________

ENDURING CORE VALUES
by Dr. George O. Wood
September 18, 2007

At this past General Council, you extended to me the grace of responsibility in serving as the next general superintendent. I am humbled by your confidence in me and ask you to pray for me and the other leaders as we begin this journey of serving you.

People have been asking me, “George, what’s your vision for the Assemblies of God? What are you going to focus on as general superintendent?”

The first answer is that I will do my level best to fulfill our three-fold mission – worship, evangelism, and discipleship; and to serve the entire Assemblies of God.

There are five core values on my heart as we seek to fulfill our mission. You will hear me repeat them often throughout the time the Lord gives me to serve you. As the country preacher said, “I’m going to tell you what I’m going to say, then I’m going to say it, and then I’m going to tell you what I said!”

Passionately Proclaim
Acts 2:42-47 lists characteristics of the early church – and first on the list is: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” My desire for the Assemblies of God is that we as ministers and laity by word and action passionately proclaim Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Soon Coming King.

Our message is not the Assemblies of God. Our focus must not be spent on fads and extremes. We must not be carried about by every wind of doctrine. Our message is Christ! If we exalt Him first, then everything else will fall into its proper place.
The information age has created a new world resulting in an age of skepticism toward any claim to absolute truth. We must speak and demonstrate authentically and powerfully to our culture that Jesus Christ is THE Truth, THE Way, and THE Life.
Our heartbeat has been and must always be missions, at home and abroad. We are debtors to our nation and the whole world in that we owe all people the proclamation of all the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Strategically Invest
Both the Old and New Testaments reflect over and over a deep concern for the transmission of the Faith (Psalm 71:18, 2 Timothy 2:2). Thus, we must strategically invest in the next generation.

We have over 1.1 million under the age of 25 in our 12,333 churches. National studies indicate that between 50% to 70% of youth from evangelical homes will be lost to the Faith by the time they are four years removed from high school. We must not let this happen in the Assemblies of God! We must carefully watch over transition moments in our youth, while reaching millions of unsaved youth all over the land.

I am also asking that we put support for our endorsed post-secondary schools and Chi Alpha in the first rank of priority.
We are blessed to have a new generation of men and women ministers. They are passionate for Christ but not so sure about ecclesiastical structures. They are looking for encouragement, nurturing relationships and teamwork; not command and control. Let’s listen to their voices, welcome their gifts, and help them reach their fullest capacity.

Vigorously Plant
We know beyond doubt that the most effective way to evangelize and disciple young converts is to plant new churches. There are thousands of unreached communities in the USA that need an Assembly of God, including a multitude of ethnicities and divergent socio-economic groups, suburbs, cities, towns, and rural places.

So, let’s vigorously plant new churches. Every Assembly of God should be a parent or a partner in planting new churches! Let’s pray and work for a rapid increase of new churches in all our geographical and foreign language districts, as well as among our ethnic fellowships!

Skillfully Resource
The national office of the Assemblies of God exists to serve you; therefore we must skillfully resource the Fellowship. Priority attention will be given to ensure that all ministries flowing out of the national office meet the needs of our ministers and laity of all ages, churches and districts, and the broader Christian community.

We must provide resources that are both excellent and relevant so that the Lord is glorified, lives are changed, and believers are built up in the Faith. This is the information age and we must insure that the way we communicate is both missional and relational.

Fervently Pray
Without prayer our efforts to passionately proclaim, strategically invest, vigorously plant and skillfully resource will be in vain! Therefore, we must fervently pray for God’s favor and help as we serve Him with pure hearts and noble purpose. The early church father, John Chrysostom put it this way, “God can refuse nothing to a praying church.” One of my seminary professors said, “We cannot suppose that God will do for us without prayer what He has promised to do for us only through prayer.” So, we must fervently “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18).

Let me share with you a closing thought. On the Friday afternoon of my election, the Lord dropped a verse in my heart: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I know that many responsibilities await me – but I also believe that the Lord intended all ministry to be a journey of joy. I pray that for you as well. The loads many of you carry are heavy indeed, but I pray that the Lord will grant you refreshing and that the yokes we wear will indeed fit well so that labor for the Lord will not be just a duty, but a delight!
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Streaming video of the entire commissioning service is accessible here.

Dr. Wood delivered an extended version of his “enduring core values” message at the chapel service of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary on September 14, 2007. Audio of the AGTS chapel service is available here. His message at AGTS generated significant discussion on the FutureAG blog. The FutureAG blog was started by young Assemblies of God ministers prior to the 2007 General Council in order “to give AG ministers a forum to openly discuss the future of the Assemblies of God.”

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