Oral Roberts University has many iconic architectural features. From the iconic Prayer Tower, to the towering pillars of the Learning Resources Center, to the City of Faith (City Plex Towers), the campus architecture has a national reputation as one of the most unique campus designs. But when people think of ORU, they think of the … Continue reading The ORU Healing Hands
Tulsa
Why Black History Month Matters
History is an act of empathy. To learn someone's history, you have to love them. You have to care about who they are, where they came from, their experiences, and what they care about. It takes tremendous compassion, empathy, and love to open yourself to someone else's experience. This is why Black History Matters. As … Continue reading Why Black History Month Matters
The Pentecostal History of Tulsa’s Oldest Church Building .
If you drive South through Broken Arrow on 129th (Olive) near 121st, you have probably noticed an old white church building with an old cemetery. Known as the White Church, this church was built in 1875, making it the the oldest church building in the Tulsa area. Today the church is called Full Gospel Grace … Continue reading The Pentecostal History of Tulsa’s Oldest Church Building .
Notable COGIC Women from the Tulsa Area
Tulsa's Black Pentecostal community has a rich history. As Tulsa's black population thrived along side the development of the Greenwood District known as "Black Wall Street," Pentecost also took hold with at least two Church of God in Christ Churches by 1921 with over 100 members each. In doing research for my book, Pentecost in … Continue reading Notable COGIC Women from the Tulsa Area
Metro Pentecostal Church Celebrates 100 Years
Tulsa is a city with a rich history of Oneness Pentecostalism. Following the split between Trinitarian and Oneness believers in the Assemblies of God in 1916, it is unclear if any Oneness congregations were maintained from the number of early Pentecostal believers in Tulsa. The first known church was started In 1922, when a Oneness … Continue reading Metro Pentecostal Church Celebrates 100 Years
God Broke Me on The Wheel of My Prejudice: Jonathan E. Perkins
Jonathan Ellsworth Perkins was an early Assemblies of God pastor who served from 1924-1926 at the "5th and Peoria" Assembly of God in Tulsa. Perkins was an important early leader who wrote The Brooding Presence, one of the first AG books on the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Perkins also served with Stanley Frodsham as Associate Editor … Continue reading God Broke Me on The Wheel of My Prejudice: Jonathan E. Perkins
Pentecost in Greenwood
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