<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A must
Review: This book is a must for those who are Pentecostal, or studying Pentecostalism. It is a history of the Pentecostal "Church of God - Clevland, TN." This book details the early beginnings of the Church of God in 1886, a holiness group coming out of mainstream denominations in the mountains of Tennessee, calling themselves "The Christian Union." A group who after 10 years experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This history traces the problems encountered, and the world wide growth of the Church of God up until 1995. This book received official approval by the Church of God executive committee, thus "The Definitive Edition." It is easy to see why though, as will become quickly obvious, the author (a former General Overseer in the church) is a bit biased. Though he treats some tough issues in much fairness, sometimes this book reads more poetic propiganda than a raw history. A fellow student of mine (at Lee University, a Church of God school) called this book "The Church of God's version of Mein Keimpf." He's probably not too far from the truth. However, this is a good read and a valuable part to any Pentecostal library. 580 pages worth of reading, with about 30 of it being the names of overseers, presidents of the college, tracking the growth in numbers of church membership, as well as tithes received. The first half of the book is a lot more enjoyable than the last half, with more emphasis on the early general assemblies, whereas the last half of the book does not put as much emphasis on the general assemblies (where denominational decisions are made, leaders voted in, etc.) My only wish is this history book would have had some pictures of the various persons and buildings that played a crucial part of the history of this denomination. It would have made this book a better history book.
Rating:
Summary: A must
Review: This book is a must for those who are Pentecostal, or studying Pentecostalism. It is a history of the Pentecostal "Church of God - Clevland, TN." This book details the early beginnings of the Church of God in 1886, a holiness group coming out of mainstream denominations in the mountains of Tennessee, calling themselves "The Christian Union." A group who after 10 years experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This history traces the problems encountered, and the world wide growth of the Church of God up until 1995. This book received official approval by the Church of God executive committee, thus "The Definitive Edition." It is easy to see why though, as will become quickly obvious, the author (a former General Overseer in the church) is a bit biased. Though he treats some tough issues in much fairness, sometimes this book reads more poetic propiganda than a raw history. A fellow student of mine (at Lee University, a Church of God school) called this book "The Church of God's version of Mein Keimpf." He's probably not too far from the truth. However, this is a good read and a valuable part to any Pentecostal library. 580 pages worth of reading, with about 30 of it being the names of overseers, presidents of the college, tracking the growth in numbers of church membership, as well as tithes received. The first half of the book is a lot more enjoyable than the last half, with more emphasis on the early general assemblies, whereas the last half of the book does not put as much emphasis on the general assemblies (where denominational decisions are made, leaders voted in, etc.) My only wish is this history book would have had some pictures of the various persons and buildings that played a crucial part of the history of this denomination. It would have made this book a better history book.
<< 1 >>
| 
