In October 1918, Brother Seeley D. Kinne wrote an “Open Letter to Elder F. F. Bosworth” in the Pentecostal Herald challenging Bosworth’s rejection of the uniform initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.[1] Kinne had affiliated with the Churches of God in Christ in 1913 when he was in Bloomington, Illinois. While Kinne did not affiliate with the Assemblies of God, he was a strong part of the Pentecostal Movement.[2] Kinne had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Azusa Street in 1907, and he moved to St. Louis, Missouri to share the Pentecostal Message.[3] FOOTNOTE 3 SHARES NEWFOUND EVIDENCE OF KINNE'S IMPORTANCE TO THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD ORGANIZATION MOVEMENT.
[1] Although the Pentecostal Herald’s editor, Geo. C. Brinkman did not affiliate with the Assemblies of God, the publication’s associate editors—T. K. Leonard and James A. Bell—had affiliated. Seven of the nine contributing editors affiliated (Fred Lohmann, C. W. Pelton, Andrew Urshan, John C. Sinclair, Wm. E. Moody, Mrs. Ettie Reckley, and Hardy Mitchell) while two did not (J. H. Wilson and Andrew Jensen). Twelve of the twenty-one listed field representatives had affiliated with the Assemblies of God as well. See “Masthead,” Pentecostal Herald, October 1918, 2. The Pentecostal Herald was also strongly Trinitarian. [2] Kinne’s letter to Maria Woodworth-Etter was also published in Etter’s Signs and Wonders. See Maria Woodworth-Etter, Signs and Wonders (Indianapolis: M. B. Woodworth-Etter, 1916), 166. [3] Wayne Warner, “The St. Louis Era,” Assemblies of God Heritage 1, no. 1 (Fall 1981): 1-2. In June 28-July 9, 1911, Kinne was a featured “worker” alongside R. E. Erdman of Buffalo, N.Y. and Dr. F. E. Yoakum of Los Angeles, California at a “Pentecostal Campmeeting” at Jordan, Ontario, Canada. IMMEDIATELY AFTER this meeting, S.D. Kinne went to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for the Arkansas State Camp Meeting of the Churches of God in Christ. (Read about this event here.) The Canadian meeting announced “cheap rates in Canada over July 1st, and in the United States over July 4th. Jordan Station is only seventeen miles from Niagara Falls on the Grand Trunk Railroad. For information regarding accommodations, tents, etc., write Pastor George A. Chambers, Vineland, Ontario.” See “Campmeetings,” Latter Rain Evangel, May 1911, 12. Chambers had affiliated with the Assemblies of God in 1914 but was not listed on the ministerial rolls after 1914. Erdman ministered alongside A. A. Boddy, Bro. R. Greer, and A. L. Fraser at Foxchase in July 1914 as previously discussed. See Confidence, August 1914, 146. On December 7, 1913, R. E. Erdman had ordained Ellsworth S. Thomas of Binghamton, New York, who was the first ordained African American minister in the Assemblies of God. See Minutes, 1915, 16 and “Ministerial File: Ellsworth S. Thomas,” Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center. Robert Brown of Glad Tidings endorsed Ellsworth’s application. Brown, Boddy, Erdman, Kinne and Yoakum’s relationship was significant in this important moment in Assemblies of God history. In March 1914, the Word and Witness wrote, “Everybody, all aboard for the Hot Springs convention. This is the final call for objects as previously specified in Word and Witness. Meeting to be in old Grand Opera house, 200 central avenue.”[1] The announcement featured the names of thirty-three early Pentecostal leaders within the Churches of God in Christ as well as the Christian and Missionary Alliance as has been the focus of this study. The first name on the list was “R. E. Edman, Buffalo, N.Y.”[2] Erdman’s name was misspelled by the Word and Witness and while he did not affiliate with the Assemblies of God, he shared many important connections with other ministers who did. Erdman wrote, Dear Bro. Bell, grace unto you and peace be multiplied. I am wholly in sympathy with the call for the convention in April at Hot Springs, Ark. And the Lord willing, I shall be with you. I am doing what I can to get the brethren from the North to come. There is great need of such a gathering, and I am truly glad that you are having this one.[3] Of the thirty-three ministers, four never affiliated with the Assemblies of God including Erdman, J. W. Pitcher of Baltimore, Maryland, Chas. B. Bowman of Chicago, Illinois, and H. N. Thurman of Egypt. Twenty-two of the ministers were a part of the Churches of God in Christ including E. N. Bell, E. G. Birdsall, F. F. Bosworth, Harry Bowley, A. P. Collins, J. A. Corbell, A. B. Cox, E. F. Cunningham, O. W. Edwards, E. R. Fitzgerald, C. E. Foster, W. T. Gaston, Howard Goss, Walter W. Hall, S. D. Kinne, B. F. Lawrence, Fred Lohmann, M. M. Pinson, W. H. Pope, W. R. Potter, H. G. Rodgers, and Gilbert Sweaza. The vast majority of these ministers had been a significant part of Maria Woodworth’s Etters revivals. Only fourteen of these ministers remained affiliated with the Assemblies of God through the 1916 schism. Fifteen of the twenty-two ministers from the Churches of God in Christ left the Assemblies of God. [1] General Convention of Pentecostal Saints and Churches of God in Christ,” Word and Witness, March 20, 1914. 1. [2] Ibid. [3] R. E. Erdman, “Coming from the North,” Word and Witness, March 1914, 1.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHi! I am Kent. I love history and church history. While this website is especially dedicated to Assemblies of God history, I publish a lot of church history on this blog! Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|