Historical Writing Award Winners Announced
The Church of God Historical Commission announced the winners of the Charles W. Conn Historical Writing Award. The 2012-2014 award winners are James M. Beaty for his book, R.G. Spurling and the Early History of the Church of God (Derek Press, 2012), and Rodney Wayne Friend for his article-length publication, A Faithful Servant: Samuel Lavern Peterson (Church of God World Missions, 2012).
Beaty is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. While at the seminary, he served as Academic Dean for 16 years. He has served as a missionary in Haiti, Dominican Republic, and South America for 16 years. Before joining the seminary faculty he was Assistant Professor of New Testament and Ethics at Lee University and then president of the Spanish Institute in Houston, Texas. While President of the Spanish Institute, Beaty began to bring students to Cleveland, Tennessee, and other historic sites in order to deepen their appreciation for the Church of God. This led to a continuing love and study of R.G. Spurling and the early history of our movement. All proceeds from the sale of this book go to a library fund for the Church of God Theological Seminary in Haiti.
Along with pastoral and local church educational ministry in the United States, Rodney Wayne Friend has served as a missionary educator throughout Europe. He is currently director of Education and Ministerial Development in Scotland. Friends’ history is in the Missionary Hero Series and traces the life of Samuel Peterson, who along with his wife, Phyliss, served as missionaries to Jamaica and Haiti. Later the Petersons pastored Baldwin Park in California and Faith Temple in Madison Heights, Michigan.
The Church of God International Executive Council created the Charles W. Conn Historical Writing Award in 2002 to honor long-time Church of God author, historian, and former general overseer Dr. Charles W. Conn. Conn penned his history of the Church of God in 1955. When Like a Mighty Army was revised in 1977, the Executive Council designated Conn as Church Historian
The mission of the Historical Commission is “to preserve and perpetuate the history and heritage of the Church of God and its global Pentecostal mission.” Its purpose is to promote the preservation, understanding, and appreciation of the history and heritage of the Church of God. The Commission gives attention to the collecting and preserving of historical documents, to the writing of history, and to promoting occasions for the church to remember, appreciate, and celebrate its heritage.
The Charles W. Conn Historical Writing Award and the International General Assembly Heritage Exhibit are among the ministries of the Historical Commission. The commission selects both a book and an article each General Assembly period to receive the writing award. The Heritage Exhibit has been a popular General Assembly feature since 1996. The exhibit is prepared by the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center and is in the Exhibit Hall this week for the 75th Church of God International General Assembly. This year’s theme for the Heritage Exhibit is “It Seemeth Good to the Holy Ghost and Us: Celebrating 75 General Assemblies.” An accompanying publication was made available during General Assembly registration.
