Azusa Lecture, Spirit of Azusa Award to be Presented
Cleveland, TN–Dr. Vinson Synan will present the fourth annual Azusa Lecture “Growing Up Pentecostal: An Eyewitness Remembers the Century of the Holy Spirit” on Thursday, October 22. The lecture will be at 7:00 p.m. in the North Cleveland Church of God’s Bryant Fellowship Hall. Following Synan’s presentation, the Spirit of Azusa Award will be presented to Dr. Bill F. Sheeks and Synan for their respective contributions to the Pentecostal movement. The lecture and a reception for the honorees are free and open to the public.
Dr. Synan will reflect on his experiences growing up in the Pentecostal movement as well as his assessment of the progress of the movement. Synan is one of the best known historians of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements. Currently Dean Emeritus of the School of Divinity at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Synan received his Ph.D. in American history in 1967 from the University of Georgia. In 1970 he co-founded the Society for Pentecostal Studies, which has given institutional shape to Pentecostal research.
Dr. Synan has published numerous scholarly and popular articles, essays and books on various Pentecostal and charismatic themes. His Holiness-Pentecostal Movement (1971) was one of the few early scholarly treatments of Pentecostalism. Revised as The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition (1997), it remains a significant work on the origins of American Pentecostalism. Other books he has authored include Old-Time Power: A History of the Pentecostal Holiness Church (1973 and 1998); In The Latter Days: The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Twentieth Century (1984); The Twentieth-Century Pentecostal Explosion (1987); and Voices of Pentecost (2003). His Century of the Holy Spirit (2001), is a historical summary of the major streams of Pentecostal and charismatic renewal.
An ordained minister in the Pentecostal Holiness Church, Dr. Synan was the founding pastor of four congregations and has held various denominational offices. He has participated in numerous international and ecumenical dialogues as well as serving as chairman of several large Congresses on the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization.
The Azusa Lecture is sponsored by the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center, the International Center for Spiritual Renewal, and the North Cleveland Church of God. Located on the campus of Lee University, the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center is one of the world’s most significant collections of Pentecostal materials as well as the archives of the Church of God. In addition to students at Lee University and the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, numerous scholars travel to the center to study about the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement. Dr. David G. Roebuck is director of the research center.
The International Center for Spiritual Renewal works to bring before the Church the primary need for revival and renewal, both personal and corporate. The Center seeks to accomplish this purpose through the conducting of research, the development of resources, the facilitating of special meetings, and the sponsorship of an academic chair. William (Billy) Wilson is Executive Director of the Center, which was established by the late Dr. Robert E. Fisher and works with all denominations, as well as non-affiliated local churches and ministry agencies.
The North Cleveland Church of God was established in 1906. The congregation has served as a “mother church” to the denomination and provides ministries for worship, evangelism, education and service. The congregation’s International Prayer Center is a witness to the importance and power of prayer. Founding Pastor A.J. Tomlinson served as pastor for seven years after conducting tent meetings and mission services in 1905 and 1906. While pastor he became the first general overseer of the Church of God in 1909. The early history of the North Cleveland Church was closely tied to the development of the Church of God movement. Mitchell Maloney serves as Senior Pastor.
Along with the lecture, Thursday evening will include presentations of the Spirit of Azusa Award to Dr. Bill F. Sheeks and to Dr. Synan in honor of their contributions and leadership in the Pentecostal movement. Dr. Bill F. Sheeks is an ordained bishop, evangelist and educator in the Church of God. He has served in numerous offices include state overseer of four states. In1986 he was elected to the International Department of Evangelism and Home Missions where he served as assistant director and director. In 1996 he was elected to the International Executive Committee where he served as General Secretary Treasurer and Assistant General Overseer. Since his retirement he continues to teach at Lee University and evangelize. He is the author of numerous books on ministry and evangelism including Winning Everyone: A Comprehensive Guide to Local Church Evangelism. A reception for Sheeks and Synan will follow the Azusa Lecture.
The purpose of the Azusa Lecture is to honor the rich heritage of the Pentecostal movement and to provide the Cleveland community an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of the Pentecostal revival. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center launched the annual Azusa Lecture in 2006 in honor of the centennial of the extraordinary revival that began in Los Angeles in 1906. Church of God historian Charles W. Conn noted that the Los Angeles revival, which lasted from 1906 to 1909, “is universally regarded as the beginning of the modern Pentecostal movement.” The revival began when the African-American preacher William J. Seymour preached a message of Spirit baptism following salvation. What started as a home prayer meeting attracted throngs of seekers and was moved to an abandoned church building at 312 Azusa Street. Hundreds traveled to the Azusa Street Mission, received a personal baptism of the Holy Spirit, and took that message to their homes, churches and communities. The Pentecostal movement quickly became a great missionary movement, and the twentieth century has come to be called the “Century of the Holy Spirit.” Some scholars say that Christians who emphasize the Holy Spirit now number over 600 million people around the world.
Several people who visited the revival at the Azusa Street Mission later became members of the Church of God, but one of most significant local connections involved the visit of G.B. Cashwell in 1908. The North Carolina minister traveled to Los Angeles and brought the Pentecostal message back to the southeastern United States. A.J. Tomlinson, pastor of the newly organized Church of God in Cleveland invited Cashwell to come to town. When Cashwell preached at the Cleveland church on January 12, 1908, Tomlinson received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Today Cleveland, Tennessee, continues to impact the Pentecostal movement through numerous international ministries. These include denominations such as the Church of God, Church of God of Prophecy, and Zion Assembly Church of God, para-church ministries such as the International Center for Spiritual Renewal, and international ministries such as the T.L. Lowery Global Foundation, Perry Stone Ministries and Judy Jacobs’ His Song Ministries.
For more information about the Azusa Lecture contact the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center at 614-8576.
