The audio above is the session “Honoring Stanley Horton” at the Society for Pentecostal Studies meeting held at Eugene Bible College (Eugene, OR) on March 26, 2009. The Participants included:
And God Was There: A Biography of Charles and Coralie Lee, by Coralie Ann Lee. San Francisco: Blurb, Inc, 2011.
This compelling book gives the life story and ministry of Charles Lee, a noted Navajo artist and Assemblies of God pastor, along with his wife, Coralie. This work is a biography of their lives before and after they met and married, and it tells about their experiences at they labored on the reservation from 1953-1989 and beyond.
Raised in the traditional Navajo culture, as a youth, Charlie Lee searched in nature and other places until he finally was confronted with the reality of Christ and His atoning work on the cross. He attended church during his high school years, but he was not strongly committed.
During the summer after his graduation, an Apache school friend invited Charlie to visit the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. There he was encountered a more vibrant form of worship at the Pentecostal church. He came into contact with people who joyfully lived their Christian faith. He was impressed by the Pentecostal approach to Christianity, and this led him to commit his life to Christ on New Year’s Day, 1948.
Lee had observed that his people, the Navajos, lived far below the standard of other Americans. They experienced poverty and sickness, as well as low moral standards. He began to feel a strong burden for his people, and he longed for a way to help them. Lee’s dream and vision was to build a church on the reservation where his people, the Navajo, could come and find Christ as their Savior. In his lifetime he was able to accomplish this and much more.
In his search for more of God, he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. This gave him an enablement and power from God which would help him to accomplish his goal. He felt a calling into ministry and decided to attend Central Bible Institute (now Central Bible College) in Springfield, Missouri.
After graduating from Bible school in 1951, he traveled extensively in the West and Midwest as well as Canada to evangelize among Native American peoples. In 1953, he returned to New Mexico to launch out into his life’s calling. He was joined by his new bride, Coralie, and together they established Mesa View Assembly of God at Ship Rock, New Mexico.
They first traveled from Cortez, Colorado, which was 70 miles away. Later they used their station wagon for living quarters. Eventually they built a small two-room house. The Navajos, bound by superstition, alcohol, and other problems, were slow to respond. The missionary couple labored 18 months before claiming their first convert. As time went on, under his leadership the church became fully self-supporting and self-governing, and grew to more than 200 members.
In his 36 years of ministering at Ship Rock, he helped develop indigenous church leadership among the Navajos. His congregation became the first AG Native American church on a federally recognized reservation to become a General Council affiliated church. He also served as the first officially appointed national home missionary for the Assemblies of God. Today there are almost 200 Native American churches in the Assemblies of God.
In 1989 he retired as pastor, and turned the church over to his son, Eric Lee, who continues to pastor the church which today is called Four Corners Community Church. After his retirement, Charlie served as a board member at American Indian Bible College and as a chaplain at San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington.
Charlie Lee passed away in 2003 at the age of 79, having given over 50 years of service in ministry to Native Americans. Coralie, his widow, continues to live in Shiprock, New Mexico, and attends Four Corners Community Church, which she and her husband founded almost 60 years ago.
This inspiring and captivating biography of Charlie Lee will be of interest to anyone interested in learning more about Native Americans or evangelizing among them.
Reviewed by Glenn Gohr
150 pages, illustrated. $11.99 (paperback); $28.99 (hard cover dust jacket); $29.99 (hard cover image wrap). Plus shipping. Order from: blurb.com
William and Doris Menzies
Dr. William W. Menzies and his wife, Doris Dresselhaus Menzies, both went to be with the Lord in the past few months.
Bill Menzies was widely known in Pentecostal and evangelical circles as a statesman, building bridges across denominational and racial divides. He was one of the organizers of the Society for Pentecostal Studies and was the first editor of the society’s journal, Pneuma. He was also one of the editors for the Full Life Study Bible and a consulting editor for Christianity Today. He held teaching and administrative positions at Central Bible College (Springfield, Missouri), Evangel University (Springfield, Missouri), the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (Springfield, Missouri), California Theological Seminary (Fresno, California) and Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (Baguio City, Philippines).
Menzies’ dissertation at the University of Iowa became the benchmark history of the Assemblies of God, Anointed to Serve (GPH, 1971). He was a prolific author, authoring or editing standard textbooks such as Understanding the Times of Christ (GPH, 1969), Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective (GPH, 1993) and Spirit and Power (Zondervan, 2000).
Menzies’ two sons, Glen and Robert, went on to earn their doctoral degrees and have become respected educators in the Assemblies of God. Glen and Robert authored the following accounts of their parents’ lives and ministries, which they read at their funerals. Continue reading
Living the Call: Mel and Corliss Erickson, by Karen Koczwara. Beaverton, OR: Good Book Publishing, 2010.
For more than 40 years, Mel and Corliss Erickson have been synonymous with Assemblies of God ministry to Native Americans in North Dakota. Mel, a native of Kulm, North Dakota, and Corliss, from Hallock, Minnesota, met at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis and married in 1967.
The trajectory for their lives was set on one Sunday evening in August 1966, when Mel received a distinct call to minister to Native Americans. He recounted, “I suddenly felt God say to me, ‘I want you to go to minister to the American Indians.’ I was so shocked I nearly bolted out of my seat.” He had little exposure to Native Americans, and he asked God three times whether he had heard correctly. He reasoned that he should go to Africa, India, or South America, instead of remaining so close to home. God confirmed this call, and Mel remained true to it.
The Ericksons spent the first twenty years of their ministry as pastors of Tokio Assembly of God, located on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation near Devils Lake, North Dakota. Mel became the coordinator of the North Dakota District’s outreach to Native Americans. After resigning from the Tokio church in 1987, Erickson oversaw the planting of All Tribes Assembly of God in Bismarck and the construction of new church buildings for Native American congregations in Belcourt and Fort Totten.
Living the Call tells the engaging, faith-inspiring story of the Ericksons and their six children, as they learned to live and minister in their cross-cultural calling. This book will be of interest to those who knew the Ericksons and to those who desire to know more about life and ministry in the rural Great Plains and among Native Americans.
Reviewed by Darrin J. Rodgers
Paperback, 230 pages, illustrated. $15 plus postage. Order from: Dakota Missionary Evangelism
Good News in the Amazon: Heavenly Adventures in a Primitive Green Hell, by David E. Hansen. Rockleigh, NJ: The Author, 2010.
David Hansen, an Assemblies of God missionary, gives a firsthand account of the mission work to unreached remote tribes in Peru in his interesting memoir, Good News in the Amazon. You will discover the challenges and personal sacrifice of missionaries. You will read about the development of a partnership made up of missionaries, evangelists, Bible translators, and the incredible giving of many Christians in Assemblies of God churches. The result is that there are churches in villages where there once was no church and there are Christians whose lives are living miracles of God’s work.
–Adapted from endorsement by John Bueno, Executive Director, Assemblies of God World Missions
Softcover, 88 pages, illustrated. $15.00 postpaid on U.S. orders. Order from: David Hansen, 11 Haring Farm Rd., Rockleigh, NJ 07647 (email: demhansen@msn.com)
Memories of a Missionary’s Daughter, by Annette Murphy Barton. Oklahoma City, OK : the author, 2009.
Annette Murphy Barton’s book, Memories of a Missionary’s Daughter, is a spell-binding account of a missionary family to India and Cuba. Barton’s mother, Dessie M. Knight, first sailed for India in 1929 as an Assemblies of God missionary after completing her education at Central Bible Institute (Springfield, Missouri). She married fellow missionary Hubert E. Murphy in 1935 while on furlough, and they went back to India under the auspices of his denomination, the Pentecostal Church of God. H. E. Murphy died in 1975 and Dessie Murphy died in 1981. Barton’s book details a fascinating record of significant events aboard both freight-hauling ships and of magnificent floating palaces, all necessary for world travel in order to arrive at required destinations. The book records in detail, both the extreme highs and lows of life as missionaries from the 1930s to the 1950s. The volume is well written and includes excellent pictorial illustrations.
Reviewed by Floyd and Joyce Hutcheson
Softcover, 70 pages + 38 pages of photos. Price: $15 postpaid. Order from: Annette Murphy Barton, 5008 S. Anderson Road # 40, Oklahoma City, OK 73150. Phone: 405.610.7455 Email: anniebarton38@aol.com
The Davis Sisters: Their Influences and Their Impact, compiled and written by Patricia P. Pickard. Bangor, ME: the author, 2009.
This delightful book is a tribute to the legacy of two Southern aristocratic ladies named Miss Carro and Miss Susie Davis who became Pentecostal evangelists and founders of Pentecostal churches. After these twin sisters from Macon, Georgia, were converted to Pentecost, they hit the streets of Macon, powerfully charged with the gospel and the Holy Spirit. Later they felt directed to establish Pentecostal churches in Maine and New Brunswick. They ended up in Saint John, New Brunswick, where they founded a Pentecostal congregation and became copastors for many years.
Miss Carro and Miss Susie Davis were twins whose parents died when they were young. They were from a well-to-do family, so their Aunt Minnie accepted the task of raising the twins. The family lived a fashionable life on a plantation outside Macon, Georgia. Both girls decided to become schoolteachers. Around 1910 they were converted to Pentecost and became dedicated Christians, desiring to serve God in every way they could. Through their aunt, they learned about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. When they planned a vacation trip to Chicago, Aunt Minnie urged them to visit a Pentecostal Persian Mission which had been established by Andrew Urshan. They also attended a series of meetings which were conducted by William Durham, where a mighty Pentecostal outpouring was taking place, and where Miss Carro received Spirit baptism. Miss Susie received the Pentecostal blessing shortly after she returned home.
Eager to share this good news in Georgia, they returned and shared this news with their associates and with their friend, Professor J. Rufus Moseley, who had already received the Baptism. Not long afterwards, Professor Moseley, the Davis sisters, and their aunt were refused admittance to the Presbyterian Church they attended because of their Pentecostal beliefs.
This led the two sisters to begin traveling the streets to tell others about the good news of God’s love. They held street meetings, conducted house and tent meetings, and established churches in Georgia and Florida among African Americans and whites. They suffered persecution, but God blessed their ministry. Four “unusual men from Maine” (that included Clifford A. Crabtree) arrived at the plantation in 1922, and spent the winter helping the ladies and Professor Moseley in their work of evangelism. Soon they heard an inward “voice” that spoke to them to “Go north, Miss Carro and Miss Susie.” They started out like Abraham, not knowing just where they were to go. Arriving in Bangor, Maine (with Crabtree as their young chauffeur and assistant), they started holding revival services which resulted in the establishment of a strong congregation in that city which is now Glad Tidings Church.
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Oral Roberts preaching at tent crusade, circa 1950s
TULSA, Okla., December 15, 2009 – Dr. Oral Roberts, a legendary evangelist who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 20th century, died today in Newport Beach, Calif., due to complications from pneumonia. His son, Richard, and daughter, Roberta, were at his side. The founder of Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University was 91.
There will be a private family internment. Arrangements for a public memorial service in Tulsa are pending and will be announced soon.
“Oral Roberts was the greatest man of God I‟ve ever known,” Richard Roberts said. “A modern-day apostle of the healing ministry, an author, educator, evangelist, prophet, and innovator, he was the only man of his generation to build a worldwide ministry, an accredited university, and a medical school.
“Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, he was not only my earthly father; he was my spiritual father and mentor. The last member of his generation in the Roberts family, he had a passion to bring healing to the sick.
“His name is synonymous with miracles. He came along when many in Christendom did not believe in the power of God and His goodness. Oral Roberts was known for sayings such as “God Is a Good God,‟ “Expect a Miracle,‟ “Release Your Faith,‟ and “Plant Your Seed for a Harvest.‟
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Marcus and Elva Mae Bakke: On Divine Assignment, by Virginia Dohms. Minot, ND: Grace Publishing, 2008.
North Dakota has produced many outstanding leaders within the Assemblies of God, and Marcus Bakke is one of them. After almost sixty years in ministry, Marcus and Elva Mae Bakke continue to let their lights shine brightly for Jesus. On Divine Assignment is an engaging account of this Norwegian-American couple’s life and ministry in North Dakota, with stories of changed lives and miracles, and vignettes of life in the rural Great Plains worthy of Garrison Keillor. In our age of impermanence and rootlessness, it is remarkable that the Bakkes have had only three ministry assignments: thirty years in pastoral work in Bowman County, nineteen years as District Superintendent, and their current ministry in Selfridge. The Bakkes have served their communities, the Assemblies of God, and their family well, demonstrating warmth, humor, and faithfulness.
–George O. Wood, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God
Paperback, 221 pages. $14.95, plus $4 shipping. Order from dakotabooknet.com or from the author: Virginia Dohms, 701 46th Ave NE, Minot, ND 58703. Contact the author by phone (701-852-2339) or email (dohms@srt.com).
On Thursday, May 21, 2009, Dr. Rolf K. McPherson, son of the founder and the president emeritus of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, passed away at his home in Los Feliz, California. He was 96 years old.
Rolf Kennedy McPherson was born March 23, 1913 in Providence, Rhode Island to Harold S. and Aimee Semple McPherson. As a small child he traveled to the West Coast with his mother, who evangelized her way across the country to Los Angeles, where she established Angelus Temple in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles.
Upon the death of Aimee Semple McPherson in 1944, Rolf McPherson became president of the four corporate entities she had established: Echo Park Evangelistic Association, The Church of the Foursquare Gospel, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, and LIFE Bible College. In addition, he became the pastor of Angelus Temple.
For 44 years, Dr. Rolf K. McPherson led the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, expanding its ministry into 63 countries around the world; the number of churches worldwide grew to more than 19,000 (Currently there are almost 60,000 Foursquare churches and meeting places in 144 countries.). Dr. McPherson retired from the presidency of The Foursquare Church in 1988, but he remained president emeritus. He was also pastor emeritus of Angelus Temple, having retired from actively directing the affairs of the church in 1997.
He is survived by his wife, Evangeline Carmichael McPherson; his daughter, Alicia McPherson Santacroce; three grandchildren; a niece, Victoria Salter; a step-daughter, Carol Parks; and two step-granddaughters. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Lorna De Smith McPherson, and a daughter Marlene McPherson LaRue.
A memorial service will be held at Angelus Temple on Saturday, May 30, at 11 a.m. A viewing will be held at Forest Lawn Glendale on the evening of Friday, May 29.
Obituaries have been posted in the Los Angeles Times, Christian News Wire, and Foursquare News Service. See also the Arrangements for the Memorial Service with addresses to send memorial contributions.
Posted by Glenn Gohr
Filed under News
