The Assemblies of God General Council is meeting next month and the hot topic for this year is a proposed revision to the Statement of Fundamental Truths. This document, created in 1916, has served as the theological basis for the fellowship. Its central tenets define the AG's beliefs on doctrinal matters such as salvation, baptism … Continue reading Revising the Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths
https://www.seymour.press/product-page/pentecost-in-tulsa I am excited to announce that my new book, Pentecost in Tulsa, is out today from Seymour Press. Tulsa has become an important epicenter of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in the United States. In its earliest days, revivals helped establish important churches. Later, well-known launched worldwide ministries from Tulsa that impacted millions around the … Continue reading New Book: Pentecost in Tulsa
Back in April of this year, I was invited to present at the Tulsa City-County Library Unite Tulsa symposium commemorating the Centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. I was one of a dozen presentations on various themes that spark conversations about race and society. I presented on "Pentecost in Greenwood: The Black Pentecostal Churches … Continue reading Pentecost in Greenwood
Did you know that Earth Day was started by a Pentecostal? That's right! Earth day is a day established to recognize humanity's obligation to care for the earth for future generations. Although concern for the environment is often thought of as a progressive issue, its origins actually came from a man with a rich Pentecostal … Continue reading Pentecostals, Earth Day, and the Legacy of Secretary James Watt
With so much discourse today on race, slavery, Confederate monuments and civil rights, I have been thinking back on my family history. History is often complicated because humans are complicated. In an earlier blog, I shared about my discovery that my earliest ancestors in America were slave owners. It was a difficult reality that I … Continue reading Andrew Jackson Isgrigg: A Family’s Hero Amidst a History of Slavery
With ORU in the NCAA Sweet 16, people are wondering, "Who is Oral Roberts?" Here is a short blog that answers that question.
This week I present at the annual Society for Pentecostal Studies meeting. The theme this year is "'This is My Body": Addressing Global Violence Against Women," a challenging topic for any scholar to address. Yet violence against women is a global phenomenon that is felt by people in virtually every community, including Pentecostals. I have … Continue reading “’Rescued Women’: Early Pentecostal Responses to Sex Trafficking”
This week, my first edited volume, Receiving Scripture in the Pentecostal Tradition, was published with CPT Press (Centre for Pentecostal Theology). Together with my friends and co-editors, Rick Wadholm and Martin Mittelstadt, we assembled twelve essays on a topic that is emerging in popularity in Pentecostal scholarship: Reception History. Traditional biblical scholarship has often focused … Continue reading Pentecostal Reception History
In 1954, the Supreme Court decided the famous Civil Rights case, Brown Vs. Board of Education, which argued that segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. This led the way for the 1964 decision to permanently desegregate schools in America. What many people do not know is that a … Continue reading Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher and the Pentecostal Origins of Desegregation
One of the most iconic speeches in American history took place when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. In it, Dr. King shared his dream that America would live up to its creed that "all men are created equal." In … Continue reading Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and Oral Roberts University
