Review: Mel and Corliss Erickson

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

Trask to resign as general superintendent

Rev. Thomas E. Trask announced on July 10, 2007 that he would step down as general superintendent of the U.S. Assemblies of God at the denomination’s biennial General Council, slated to convene August 8-11 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Nominations to fill the top office of the Assemblies of God will be accepted at the General Council.

The announcement came as a surprise, and news of the decision spread quickly. Trask conveyed his decision to step down to the AG’s Board of Administration at 9 am on July 10, 2007. He then broke the news to those who work at the Assemblies of God Headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, in a brief statement that he read over the building’s public address system at approximately 2:30 pm. At 4:00 pm, a written statement was sent to Assemblies of God ministers via the AG Minister listserv (the email is reproduced below).

Trask has served as general superintendent since November 15, 1993. He was elected to his third four-year term in 2005. As the chief executive officer of the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, he is a member of the denomination’s Board of Administration and serves as chairman of the Executive Presbytery. During his tenure, the Assemblies of God has grown significantly. The number of U.S. adherents increased by 25 percent from 2,271,718 in 1993 to 2,836,174 adherents in 2006, and the worldwide constituency of the Assemblies of God increased by 124 percent from 25,448,373 in 1993 to 57,023,562 in 2006.

Review: A Faithful Past, A Shining Future

A Faithful Past, A Shining Future: 75 Years of Pentecostal Education at North Central University. Minneapolis, MN: North Central University Press, 2006.

This book aims “to capture memories and events” of North Central University “that have shaped thousands of lives during the last 75 years.” Birthed in 1930 as North Central Bible Institute under the leadership of Frank J. Lindquist, the Minneapolis school has become a leading educational institution within the Assemblies of God and the broader Pentecostal movement. This volume consists of essays, primarily written by alumni, about the school while they were students. While an institutional history of North Central University remains to be written, this book does provide valuable insight into many of the issues and people that made the school what it is today. A Faithful Past, A Shining Future is “must” reading for all NCU alumni and is an important addition to the literature on Pentecostal educational institutions.

Paperback, 198 pages, illustrated. $12.95 plus shipping. Order from: University Bookstore, North Central University, 910 Elliot Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55404. Ph. 612-343-7887.

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Grinding the Face of the Poor

Grinding the Face of the Poor: A Reader in Biblical Justice, edited by W. R. Brookman. Minneapolis, MN: North Central University Press, 2006.

Those who accuse Pentecostals of lacking a social conscience would do well to meet W. R. Brookman. In this handy, compact volume, Brookman has collected scriptural passages and other Christian texts that speak to justice issues. Grinding the Face of the Poor is designed to be an introductory reader for the student who is beginning to investigate the Biblical warrants to care for the poor. The editor, who serves as Chairman of the Department of Intercultural Studies and Languages at North Central University, is to be commended for drawing attention to an important subject in a book that will be useful in classrooms across the denominational spectrum.

Paperback, 180 pages. $12.99 plus shipping. Order from: University Bookstore, North Central University, 910 Elliot Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55404. Ph. 612-343-7887.

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Review: Front Line

Front Line: A Daily Devotional Guide for Christian Leaders, by Carolyn Tennant. Minneapolis, MN: North Central University Press, c.2004.

Dr. Carolyn Tennant wears many hats: an ordained Assemblies of God minister, Professor of English at North Central University, popular speaker, and now author of a new devotional book for Christian leaders. Tackling relevant questions with wisdom gleaned from Biblical examples and ministry experience, Front Line provides enriching reading.

Paperback, 454 pages. $17.99 plus shipping. Order from: University Bookstore, North Central University, 910 Elliot Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55404. Ph. 612-343-7887.

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Review: Move, and I Will Move

Move, and I Will Move: How the Great Church Builder Taught Me Step by Step, by Arvid Kingsriter with Lynne Jonell. Minneapolis, MN: North Central University Press, 2006.

When Arvid Kingsriter pioneered Bloomington Assembly of God in 1953, he could not have known that the congregation would become one of the largest in Minnesota, or that he would continue to pastor the church until 1989. Kingsriter, through his leadership in the Minnesota District, his steady and balanced life, and his passion for missions and church planting, has influenced generations of Pentecostals. In Move, and I Will Move, Kingsriter aims to share lessons from his life and ministry. From his recollections as a student at North Central Bible Institute in the 1930s, to accounts of various revivals and leaders with whom he worked, to leadership lessons learned through crises such as the Latter Rain movement, to advice offered to ministers, this book will prove a valuable resource for pastors, scholars, and people in the pew.

Paperback, 210 pages, illustrated. $12.95 plus shipping. Order from: University Bookstore, North Central University, 910 Elliot Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55404. Ph. 612-343-7887.

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History, Biography, Leadership, Pentecostal, Latter Rain movement, Book Review
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