Review: Revival in the Dominican Republic

Marcados por la Unción : La Crónica de un Gran Avivamiento desde David García hasta Luis Urbáez, by Samuel Santana. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Concilio Evangelico Asambleas de Dios de la Republica Dominicana, 2010.

A great revival in the Dominican Republic in the 1950s dramatically impacted the development of the Assemblies of God in that Caribbean nation. Marcados por la Unción tells the story of that revival and two evangelists — David Garcia, under whose ministry the revival began; and Luis Urbaez, a convert of Garcia’s who became a significant evangelist.

Samuel Santana, the Director of Public Relations for the Assemblies of God of the Dominican Republic, researched and authored this important book, which details the events surrounding the 1954 revival and the lives of these two legendary preachers.

The revival started in March 1954 under the ministry of two men who had recently arrived from Puerto Rico — David Garcia and Jaime Cardona. The crowds at the revival meetings in Santo Domingo initially numbered 8,000 people, causing the local newspaper, El Caribe, to cover the story. With the added publicity, attendence swelled to 15,000, with many people accepting Christ and receiving healing.

The revival sparked fierce debate — causing Catholic leaders to deny that real healings and miracles were taking place. Interestingly, a famous Dominican doctor, Heriberto Pieter, defended the Pentecostals and stated that prayer for the sick had been shown to be beneficial. One of the converts in this revival, a young criminal named Luis Urbaez, went on to become a significant evangelist who traveled across Latin America.

Marcados por la Unción provides insight into Pentecostal history in the Dominican Republic, but also illustrates broader themes — such as the relationship of Pentecostals to other churches and the movement’s international character – that are important to the emerging global Pentecostal movement.

Reviewed by Darrin J. Rodgers.

Paperback, 111 pages, illustrated. $8 plus postage. For ordering information, contact the author by email (ssantana5@hotmail.com).

Review: Nebraska’s Living Water

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nebraska’s Living Water: 20^th-Century Assemblies of God, compiled and written by Elisabeth James Lemp and Glenn W. Gohr. Grand Island, NE: Nebraska District Council of the Assemblies of God, 2010.

This book roughly covers the history of the Pentecostal movement in Nebraska in the 20^th century. It chronicles holiness and divine healing influences in Nebraska beginning in the 1890s and up through the founding of the Nebraska District of the Assemblies of God. It also covers the first 80 years of the moving of the Holy Spirit in the Nebraska District (1919-1999).

The title of the book compares Nebraska’s vibrant spiritual heritage with the history of how the Nebraska landscape began to flourish. As pioneers moved into the Nebraska Territory in the 1800s, they found it to be hundreds of miles of dry prairie, which came to be known as the “Great American Desert.” The climate was arid, and raising a crop was difficult. But this all changed one day when it was discovered that Nebraska was situated directly over the Ogallala Aquifer, which is the largest underground fresh water ocean in the world. All that was needed was a way to access this water to bring life to the landscape and its inhabitants. Soon windmills were built across the state, which were able to pump “life-giving water” to a parched and dry land.

Just as Nebraska experienced a physical drought in its earliest history, there was also a “spiritual drought.” But then came the “living water” of the Holy Spirit to touch many of the inhabitants of the state. Men and women began to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit as the Pentecostal message spread from Charles Parham’s Bible school in Topeka, Kansas and the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles, as well as other places.

Many may not realize that Agnes Ozman, who was from Nebraska, was the first person to speak in tongues at Charles Parham’s Bible school on January 1, 1901. Other important Pentecostal leaders such as B. H. Irwin, John Alexander Dowie, A. A. Boddy of England, and Maria Woodworth-Etter each had early connections with the state of Nebraska.

Elisabeth James Lemp began this project in 1995, shortly after the funeral of her mother, Marie James, when it was noted that “Marie James was the last of that era of Pentecostal pioneers in Nebraska.” Elisabeth began contacting churches and ministers and families of ministers to try to obtain personal narratives, testimonies, and history of the Nebraska District and its people. Others including Joe Masten, Glenn Gohr, and Faith and Dennis Tyson, each helped with the project, with Glenn tying up all the loose ends to wrap up this 15-year project. The personal narratives and church histories were augmented with printed reports and testimonies found in periodicals such as the Pentecostal Evangel, district publications, early newspaper accounts, and other writings.

The book contains information on early revivals, memories from Nebraska church camps, testimonies from a number of ministers and missionaries across the state, and sketches of nearly 200 Assemblies of God churches and missions in Nebraska. Bibliographic references are included as well as photographs of key people, churches, and events. Anyone with a Nebraska connection will want to obtain a copy of this inspiring book.

Reviewed by Glenn W. Gohr

Hardback, 320 pages, illustrated. Price: $20 for the first book, and $15.00 for each additional book; shipping extra. Order from: Nebraska District Council of the Assemblies of God, P.O. Box 1965, Grand Island, NE 68802. Phone: 308-384-1234. Email: district@neag.org

Review: Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission

Visions of Apostolic Mission: Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission to 1935, by David Bundy. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Studia Historico-Ecclesiastica Upsaliensia, 45. Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala University Library, 2009.

Scandinavian missionaries have played an important role in the spread of Pentecostalism both in Europe and in the southern hemisphere. That is one of the major conclusions of David Bundy’s recently-published dissertation: Visions of Apostolic Mission: Scandinavian Pentecostal Mission to 1935. Among many other things, Bundy underscores the achievements of T.B. Barratt, the Norwegian pastor and Pentecostal pioneer.

The Pentecostal revival spread across the globe following the Azusa Street outpouring in 1906. From the very beginning Scandinavians took part in this process. By 1906-1907 a foothold had already been established for the revival in Sweden and Norway. In contrast to the development of the movement in North America, the advent of Scandinavian Pentecostalism did not initially cause splits and the founding of new denominations. Many viewed the new revival as a continuation of the earlier international Holiness movement, which in the Scandinavian countries was influenced by Lutheran pietists, Methodists and Baptists. In Sweden the largest Baptist denomination became the center of the Pentecostal revival.

Bundy shows how Scandinavian pietism influenced not only the character of Pentecostalism in Scandinavia, but also Pentecostalism in other parts of the world through the work of Scandinavian Pentecostal missionaries. One of the characteristics developed by Scandinavian Pentecostalism was an emphasis on the autonomy of the local church. This peculiarity arose from the heritage of Baptist congregationalism in Sweden. Through the missionary strategy of the emerging leader of Swedish Pentecostalism, Lewi Pethrus, this ecclesiology was exported with remarkable success, particularly to Brazil. Bundy’s research using early Pentecostal primary sources in the native Scandinavian languages is unparalleled. His painstaking scholarship has resulted in a great narrative of early Pentecostal revival and missions and is recommended reading for everyone interested in the formative years of global Pentecostalism.

Reviewed by Torbjörn Aronson, Livets Ord University

Paperback, 562 pages. To order, contact the publisher: Acta@ub.uu.se

Review: Wayne and Evelyn Pitts

Touching Lives the Jesus Way!: Sixty-nine Years of Ministry, Wayne and Evelyn Pitts, Stories of Lives Changed by the Gospel, by Wayne and Evelyn Pitts with Londa Duncan. Xulon Press, 2008.

From stories of their childhood in Texas in the 1920s and 1930s, to memories of God’s provisions during the Great Depression, to accounts of healing and early Pentecostal revivals, Wayne and Evelyn Pitts’ new book will be warmly welcomed by the thousands who have been touched by their lives and ministry. Wayne Pitts, ordained by the Assemblies of God in 1943, and his wife Evelyn enjoyed long-term pastoral ministry in Florida.

Hardcover, 284 pages, illustrated. $25.99 retail. Order from: amazon.com

Review: Maine Pentecostal history

Prevailing Westerlies (The Pentecostal Heritage of Maine): The Story of How the Pentecostal Fire Spread from Topeka, Kansas to Houston — to Los Angeles — to Bangor, Maine, written by James E. Peters, researched by Patricia Pickard. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 1988.

Prevailing Westerlies documents the early history of the Pentecostal movement in Maine. This 604-page book features hundreds of photographs, as well as accounts of Holy Ghost meetings and supernatural movings of God in tents, downtown missions, Bible schools, and street meetings in New England.

Read about firebrands preaching until the rafters rang. During one tent meeting, rain came down in buckets and water poured into the tent. One sister hollered, “Look out for my piano!” Pa Sweeney kept right on preaching and said, “It ain’t pianos we want to save—it is souls!” It will light a fire in your bones for the renewed move of God in your own life.

Prevailing Westerlies, importantly, recounts the breadth of the early Pentecostal revivals, which crossed the various divides. Stories about early believers — Trinitarian and Oneness, Assemblies of God and independent, male and female — are all included. Years of research yielded previously unpublished information about significant early Pentecostal leaders such as Mattie Crawford, Aimee Semple McPherson, the Crabtree family, and a host of others. This volume includes 34 interviews with people who recounted the early Pentecostal fire which entered Maine in 1907 and spread throughout the area. Includes comprehensive index.

The author, James Peters, served as pastor of Glad Tidings Church (Bangor, Maine), which was founded by Rev. Clifford A. Crabtree and the Davis Sisters. Patricia Pickard, who did the research for this volume, is former archivist for Zion Bible College (Haverhill, Massachusetts) and has authored numerous historical books and articles about New England and the Pentecostal movement.

Softcover, 604 pages, illustrated. $15 postpaid to U.S. addresses. Order from: Patricia Pickard, 144 Poplar Street, Bangor, ME 04401 (email: primrose301@msn.com)

Review: The Life and Ministry of William J. Seymour

The Life and Ministry of William J. Seymour: And a History of the Azusa Street Revival (The Complete Azusa Street Library, Vol. 1), by Larry Martin. Joplin, MO: Christian Life Books, 1999.

Having read through this manuscript when in its formative stages, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is researching the Pentecostal movement or the Azusa Street revival of Los Angeles that began in the spring of 1906. It is also a good sourcebook for those interested in Black history as William Seymour figures prominently among African-Americans of the 20th century. Larry Martin has done an excellent job in ferreting out little known facts about William J. Seymour, the leader of the Azusa Street revival. He has also uncovered information regarding Seymour’s family and his early life in Louisiana and other places he traveled before arriving in Los Angeles in 1906.

Review: Java and Justice

Java and Justice: Journeys in Pentecostal Missions Education, edited by B. Brenneman, W. R. Brookman, and N. Muhovich. Minneapolis, MN: North Central University Press, 2006.

Sponsored by the Department of Intercultural Studies and Languages at North Central University, this handy volume presents foundational issues in educating students for missions in the 21st century by presenting 19 essays by 17 contributors.

Essays in this volume include:

• The shame and the glory of being a Pentecostal: a personal journey / Bob Brenneman
• A legacy of Pentecostal missions education at North Central University: 1936-2006 / Dan Notely
• Story telling: a Biblical model of missions education / Nan J. Muhovich
• Planting ethnic churches in urban America / Richard and Farella Shaka
• Prepared in the fire: Argentine revival and missionary training / Rocky Grams
• The explosion of spiritual gifts and fervor in Celtic missions / Carolyn Tennant
• Spirit, mission, and the religions: toward a p(new)matological/Pentecostal theology of religions / Amos Yong
• Biblical justice: caring for the poor and oppressed / Nan Muhovich
• Ministry in hostile areas / Mark Hausfeld
• The veil worn and the veil torn: reflections from the inside / Myra Crane
• Sexual slavery and the gospel / Beth Grant
• From Noah to Saddam: the story of the Kurds / Bob Brenneman