February 10th, 2010 | |
Posted in Misc
It has been a while since I did a book review. It is not for lack of reading but lack of writing.
Instead of one book review, I will review and contrast three books I have recently read on the Azusa Street Revival that took different paths to tell of this great outpouring.
Holy Ghost Revival on Azusa Street: The True Believers: Eye Witness Accounts of the Revival that Shook the World
This book is basically your classic book on Azusa Street. The Azusa Street Revival was what many consider the catalyst for the pentecostal/charismatic movement the world over. After a while they put out a newsletter the Apostolic Faith. Eight out of ten books about Azusa Street are compilations of various articles from these newsletters. The True Believers stands true to this form but refreshingly also gets articles from other periodicals from the period.
There is no editorializing in this book. Instead they let the articles speak for themselves.
When I first studied Azusa I found the archives of the Apostolic Faith online and read almost everyone front to back. That kind of spoiled every Azusa book I was to read from then after.
The Azusa Street Revival : When the Fire Fell by Roberts Liardon
I was actually given this book by Roberts Liardon and it was a nice change of pace for a book on this subject. The first 100 pages of the 230 page book documents revival throughout the ages. The actual Azusa Street Outpouring does not happen until page 105.
This book is more well documented than most and is more academic in its layout. Instead of reprinting a collection of Apostolic Faith testimonies, Roberts has chapters on women of the outpouring, opposition, testimonies, Parham, Seymore, and his sermons.
This is a good book but its title is slightly misleading since it is more a book on revival in general and Azusa in specific.
They Told Me Their Stories by J. Edward Morris, Cindy McCowan, and Tom Welchel
This was by fat the most unique book I have read on Azusa Street. A distant second would be Frank Bartleman’s own.
Tommy Welchel worked in a retirement home in the 1960’s that had lots of folks who were teens and young adults at The Azusa Street Revival. They told him their stories and 40 years later he compiled them into a book.
This book tells many of the miracle stories you have read about elsewhere, limbs growing back where their was none, blindness healed, deafness healed, cripples walking, etc but has a unique twist. They are not from the vantage point of the person who was healed, rather from the perspective of the everyday person who attended the Azusa Street Mission and was used by God to heal the visitors.
Another unique aspect of this book is the constant discussion of the Shekinah Glory of God that was often present in the meetings. This was a big part of these people’s lives and while the presence is often mentioned in other books, it is a major theme in this one. This book is a pretty short read (I read it in two sittings) and has an annoying use of comic sands font for titles.
In summary, Roberts Liardon’s book is the best written. The True believers is the most straightforward and They Told me Their Stories has the most excitement.
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