"SPIRIT-BAPTISM AND THE 1896 REVIVAL

IN CHEROKEE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA"

by Harold D. Hunter⁽¹⁾

as published in Pneuma 5:2 (Fall 1983)

The search for original documents pertaining to the early years of the organization which is of joint interest to the Church of God (Cleveland) and the Church of God of Prophecy is a laborious task. However, I have recently been involved in the rediscovery of some early twentieth century material that aids the task. The documents have been in the possession of the World-Wide Headquarters of the Church of God of Prophecy and they have now been released for public inspection. One set of copies are now housed in the Church of God Pentecostal Research Center and another set are located in the Tomlinson College Library.

There are five documents in total and they are historically valuable. There are three editions of a periodical entitled Samson's Foxes edited by A.J. Tomlinson. Publication of this periodical began in January, 1901, and ended in the year 1902. The particular editions on hand are: Volume 2, No. 5 (May, 1902), Volume 2, No. 6 (June, 1902) and an edition from 1902 with no specific month noted. The other periodical is entitled The Way. This began publication in January 1904, and apparently ceased to be issued in the early part of 1905. A.J. Tomlinson joined the Holiness Church at Camp Creek in June 1903, and through this affiliation came to share editorial duties with M.S. Lemons. The particular editions located are: Volume 1, No. 6 (June, 1904) and Volume 1, No. 12 (December, 1904).

Two of the three extant editions of Samson's Foxes were printed on both sides of an 11 x 16 inch sheet and were folded to make either a four or eight page paper. Sample copies could be received free, but a subscription price of ten cents per year was suggested. The primary burden of the available issues is the short lived proto-orphanage run by A.J. Tomlinson in Culberson, North Carolina, and the evangelization of the mountain districts of North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.⁽²⁾

The format of The Way is very similar to Samson's Foxes. The December, 1904, issue announced a move from Culberson, North Carolina, to Cleveland, Tennessee, and a predicted doubling of page numbers with the subscription rate rising from ten cents to twenty-five cents a year, but apparently these plans did not materialize. The periodical contained sermons, messages, testimonies, announcements, and notices of events, all of which are decidedly Holiness oriented.

There is much material in both periodicals that relates to ecclesiology, soteriology, and eschatology of the emerging organization, but over-riding emphasis on holiness theology is striking yet not surprising. A number of issues could be raised from these data, but this article will relate the contents of these periodicals to the issue of Spirit-baptism theology taught in 1896 at a revival held in the Schearer Schoolhouse in Cherokee County, North Carolina. The people involved in the 1896 revival played a role in the organization later known as the Church of God. The particular concern here will be to compare the projected Spirit-baptism theology in 1896 with that known to have marked the 1906 Azusa Street Revival.

It is difficult to ascertain when the full blown Pentecostal doctrine of Spirit-baptism emerged. Despite examples of a mixture of Spirit-baptism doctrine and the presence of tongues-speech before 1900, it remains most likely that Pentecostal historians are reading their own theology into past events when it is stated that the theology of these groups is congruent with that of present day American Pentecostalism.⁽³⁾

An exhaustive research for records of tongues-speech suggests that there may not be a century without this phenomenon occurring among Christians.⁽⁴⁾ In light of this, it is not surprising to find tongues-speech being practiced in the nineteenth century. Further, 'Pentecostal terminology' (baptism in the Spirit, fullness of the Spirit, et al) became more prominent after the Reformation, snowballed in the nineteenth century and exploded in the twentieth century. The pneumatology formulated by Edward Irving (1793 -1834) seems to be the closest parallel to present day Pentecostalism. Some have argued that Irving understood tongues-speech to be inextricably interwoven with Spirit-baptism, but such a position must account for (1) Irving associating prophecy as well as tongues with the initiation of Spirit-baptism, and (2) that Irving himself would not have been a recipient of this pneumatic experience in view of the fact that there is no record of his having spoken in tongues.⁽⁵⁾

It is probable that the first time the term Spirit-baptism was used as it is currently employed by Pentecostals was at Charles Fox Parham's Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas. The experience of 30 year old Agnes Ozman on January 1, 1901 is central to this inquiry.⁽⁶⁾

It is difficult to determine exactly how the theology was formulated at Topeka. Mrs. Parham's account of her husband, entitled simply Charles Fox Parham, perpetuates the story that the theology was agreed upon prior to Miss Ozman's experience. Not surprisingly Mrs. Goss, wife of a minister friend of Mr. Parham, passes on much the same story in her account entitled The Winds of God. However, Agnes' own account, published under the title What God Hath Wrought and released earlier than these other works, makes no reference to such a process. The same in fact seems to be true of a writing entitled Baptism with the Holy Ghost and The Gift of Tongues and Sealing of the Church and Bride written by Charles Parham himself in January, 1902 as contained in the November, 1906 work by W.F. Carothers entitled The Baptism with the Holy Ghost and the Speaking in Tongues. It seems characteristic of each of these writings that the personality of their own concern is highlighted to the virtual exclusion of other contributions. For these reasons, in addition to the mythological nature of Mrs. Parham's account and similarly the existential nature of the group's exegesis, it seems that the account given in the first history of the movement, namely, B.F. Lawrence's The Apostolic Faith Restored first published in 1916, may be the most reliable version available to us. Lawrence suggests that tongues had been considered somewhat related to Spirit-baptism prior to January 1, 1901, but it was after Agnes' experience that the idea of the evidence emerged. This appears to be confirmed in the first published Azusa St. account of Topeka entitled "Pentecost Has Come" published September, 1906, in the first edition of Seymour's The Apostolic Faith.⁽⁷⁾

The theology formulated in Topeka is directly linked to the events that transpired in Los Angeles and is, therefore, of considerable importance. The story of the Parham-Seymour connection is well documented and need not to be repeated here. The current debate centers on whether Parham or Seymour should be designated the founder of the movement. The historical reality suggests that the movement depends on both. The distinct Pentecostal pneumatology was formulated under Parham, but it was the implementation of this by Seymour coupled with a fellowship that transcended racial and other barriers, publication of a periodical, and the resulting media attention that made the teaching important.⁽⁸⁾

The thesis that the Spirit-baptism theology of 1896 in North Carolina anticipated that known in the Azusa St. Revival has come from two primary authors: Charles W. Conn and Homer A. Tomlinson. Charles Conn desires to emphasize the early development of the Church of God while Homer A. Tomlinson increasingly worked to note the role of his father, A.J. Tomlinson, in developing the Pentecostal Movement.

In order to suggest that the Spirit-baptism theology of 1896 included initial evidence, Charles Conn concludes that A.J. Tomlinson, the most prominent leader of the Church of God in the earliest part of the twentieth century, was twelve years behind all the other ministers and members.⁽⁹⁾

To make his argument cogent, Homer A. Tomlinson at first suggests that G.B. Cashwell found the same thing in Azusa that had already been in the South. Then he suggests that not only had tongues, and thereby the full Spirit-baptism doctrine, been present in the 1896 revival, but also at a meeting in 1892 and in an 1899 meeting at which A.J. Tomlinson was present.⁽¹⁰⁾ The last word from Homer Tomlinson came in his 1968 Shout of the King which claimed that C.F. Parham had heard of the 1892, et al. experiences through Homer Tomlinson's grandmother, Mrs. Rebecca Kane, and determined their experiences were alike.

These arguments are in striking contrast to those found in Homer Tomlinson's 1939 book entitled The Great Vision of the Church of God. There is no claim here that others borrowed their Spirit-baptism theology from these other North Carolina revivals, rather it is affirmed that Azusa was the greatest influence.⁽¹¹⁾ When Homer Tomlinson failed to succeed his father as General Overseer of the Church of God of Prophecy in 1943, his writings gradually became less reliable. Homer Tomlinson broke with the Church of God of Prophecy in 1943 and organized the Church of God headquartered in Queens Village, New York. When Homer died in 1968 he was followed by Von Bullen who has moved the headquarters of the organization to Huntsville, Alabama. Rev. Bullen has on hand some turn of the century material handwritten by A.J. Tomlinson which has not been published.

There are numerous reasons why the theology known in the 1896 revival should not be thought to be fully developed American Classical Pentecostal position. The direct line from Topeka to the Azusa St. Revival has already been noted and the documentation regarding those developments includes newspaper reports concurrent to the events, early written accounts by those who were involved, and a reasonable number of reliable sources. The same is not true about the 1896 North Carolina Revival. For instance, I have contacted newspapers in the area of the 1896 revival and no newspapers from that period can be found. Furthermore, none have been produced that offer external evidence to the claim that a particular pneumatology was developed at the revival. The 1896 outbreak does not seem to be an exception to the various accounts of tongue-speech prior to the Topeka-Azusa formula that did not teach tongues as the initial evidence but may have used Pentecostal language in expressing their views.

It has been pointed out that some of the participants of the 1896 revival may have been affiliated with the Tennessee chapter of the Fire-Baptized Holiness Association.⁽¹²⁾ Whether or not this is true it does not materially affect this investigation because B.H. Irwin's multiple Spirit reception scheme does not appear compatible with traditional American Pentecostal pneumatology. This is demonstrated in that it was only after the Azusa Street Revival that the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church officially adopted the Pentecostal doctrine of Spirit-baptism.

The available editions of The Way published in 1904 evidence no transition from holiness theology to what has become known as Classical Pentecostal Spirit-baptism theology. There are no references to speaking in tongues, no explicit Pentecostal language, and no Lucan preoccupation. Although, A.J. Tomlinson did not personally speak in tongues until 1908, it does not seem possible that such an important doctrine would not be evidenced in these papers jointly edited by Tomlinson and M.S. Lemons.

Much the same thing can be said for the personal diary of A.J. Tomlinson which includes the years in question. The diary reinforces the observations given above and supports what is told more fully in Tomlinson's 1913 Last Great Conflict.⁽¹³⁾ According to Last Great Conflict, Tomlinson became "enlightened" on Spirit-baptism theology in January 1907. No source is specified, but there is reason to believe that it was from Azusa, whether oral stories or written periodicals like the papers by W.J. Seymour and Frank Bartleman, that influenced other holiness leaders in the South.

According to Last Great Conflict, A.J. Tomlinson and M.S. Lemons met with M.M. Pinson who was then under the influence of G.B. Cashwell, in Birmingham, Alabama, in June, 1907. Cashwell was member of the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church of North Carolina. He got his Spirit-baptism theology from a personal visit to the Azusa Street Mission in December, 1906. The meeting between Tomlinson, Lemons, and Pinson is also recounted in the aforementioned The Apostolic Faith by B.F. Lawrence.

G.B. Cashwell personally came to Cleveland, Tennessee, in January, 1908, and it was then that A.J. Tomlinson spoke in tongues. Tomlinson had begun to preach on Spirit-baptism as early as one year previous, but now he had the experience for himself. He recounts this experience in his 1913 Last Great Conflict. He combines his typical picturesque manner of expression and his interest in ecclesiology to suggest that W.J. Seymour was the recent originator of this crucial doctrine.

Where did Martin Luther get the doctrine of justification by faith? From the Church of God...
Where did John Wesley get the doctrine of sanctification as a definite and instantaneous experience subject to justification?
From the Church of God.
Where did Dr. Simpson get the doctrine of divine healing? The Church of God?
Where did Dr. Seamore get the doctrine he preached in Los Angeles, California, a few years ago,
that not only stirred that city and our own beloved America, but also the countries across the deep blue sea,
yea, and many parts of the world. Where did he get the doctrine - the baptism with the Holy Ghost
and the speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance as the evidence? From the Church of God.⁽¹⁴⁾

An incident in 1909 further reflects the newness of the Spirit-baptism theology in Cleveland. A.J. Tomlinson, as pastor of the local Church of God in Cleveland, left the congregation in the hands of John B. Goins while he was engaged in overseas travel in 1909. Goins began preaching that tongues should not be singled out as the only evidence of Spirit-baptism. In his absence, A.J. Tomlinson was excommunicated and a fight ensued in the local congregation. When Tomlinson returned to Cleveland some court action followed and for quite some time Goins was able to keep a great number of the people.⁽¹⁵⁾ Finally Goins left town, but this kind of event can be understood only if the doctrine was relatively new - not if it had been known for many years.

In 1910 A.J. Tomlinson was serving as General Moderator of the Church of God and he began publication on March 1, 1910, of a periodical entitled The Evening Light and Church of God Evangel. The heading of this very first issue quotes Act 2:1, 4, 10:46. This issue and the one that followed on March 15, 1910, both contain stories of people speaking in tongues as a result of their Spirit-baptism. More than once these issues and many which follow refer to tongues as the 'Bible evidence' of the 'baptism of the Holy Ghost.'

However, as one searches through these early issues it appears that there is no testimony of Spirit-baptism with initial evidence tongues that predates June, 1906. There are various testimonies of Spirit-baptism with tongues, but the dates mentioned most often are after 1907. It is no surprise, then, that the very first issue (March 1, 1910) seems to regard the Azusa Street Revival as the fountainhead of the emerging movement. The second issue (March 15, 1910) suggests that this particular work of the Spirit was not known until the Apostolic Faith Movement. This name was used in these early years under the influence of Parham and Seymour. Further, the lead article in the May 1, 1910, issue stated: "Many strange occurrences have been recorded since the beginning of the falling of the 'Latter Rain' nearly four years ago.⁽¹⁶⁾

The August 15, 1910, edition of the paper (1:12) listed the major teachings of the organization. The ninth teaching proclaimed, "The speaking in tongues as the evidence of the baptism with the Holy Ghost." The teachings listed here were adopted by the general assembly of the Church of God in 1911 with only slight revision. It would appear that this form of Spirit-baptism teaching remained the official position from that time on, although the assembly of 1913 had to reassert its position.⁽¹⁷⁾

Arguments from silence are best used as corroborating evidence only. In light of the evidence produced, it seems significant that there may not be any record of people outside the Church of God crediting the 1896 North Carolina revival as the origin of the distinctive Pentecostal pneumatology. Further, two selected sources later produced by the Church of God shows the tension of the lack of documented history and the growing awareness of needing to identify the significance of what did occur in the early years.

E.L. Simmons produced the History of the Church of God in 1938. On the one hand he suggests that Azusa provided the classical formula and yet he is willing to refer to the 1896 experience as Spirit-baptism. Similarly in an annual address by John C. Jernigan in 1948, then General Overseer of the Church of God, he observes that the doctrine of initial evidence had not been known in the first assemblies. He says that as the assemblies got light on the doctrine of Spirit-baptism, they adopted the formula. On the other hand he describes the earliest participants as being like the Ephesian disciples that had not received the Holy Spirit but he then adds that "some had been baptized with the Spirit."⁽¹⁸⁾

Conspicuous by its absence in all the known early written documents is any clear record about the Spirit-baptism theology of the 1896 participants, particularly R.G. Spurling, Jr., and W.F. Bryant. It is possible that they were among those who spoke in tongues in 1896 and perhaps some Pentecostal language would have been used to describe the experience. There would not have been anything unusual about this at that time. It is also possible that when the Azusa Street influence was felt in 1907-8 that some of the early participants saw this as essentially the same experience that was known earlier. This would make the unusual juxtaposition mentioned above more intelligible. It would, however, also be considerably different from saying that the doctrine of tongues as initial evidence was taught in North Carolina in 1896.

The September, 1922 edition of The Faithful Standard edited by A.J. Tomlinson relates the story of W.F. Bryant speaking in tongues. Events, including the 1896 Schearer School House revival, involving William Martin, Milton McNabb, Joe M. Tipton and William Hamby are chronicled. It is said that these four men did not connect tongues-speech with being filled with the Holy Spirit. The full account is prefaced by the following remarks:

We do not say that this was part of the Latter Rain outpouring, because those who received the Baptism did not realize what it was until after 1906, when they heard of the Los Angeles outpouring. But looking back they realize it was the same thing, the same Spirit, the same power and the same manifestations.⁽¹⁹⁾

This material is from a series of articles on the history of Pentecost run in the various editions of The Faithful Standard. The first installment of the series, released in June, 1922, declares the first outpouring of the pentecostal power was in Topeka, Kansas.⁽²⁰⁾

The last consideration to be noted is that A.J. Tomlinson claimed to have spoken in ten different languages in 1908.⁽²¹⁾ It is well remembered that Miss Ozman's initial experience in Topeka was said to have involved speaking in Chinese. Charles Parham never modified the understanding that tongues-speech was to be xenolalic,⁽²²⁾ and neither have his theological heirs, the Apostolic Church, centered in Baxter Springs, Kansas.⁽²³⁾ There are other recorded instances of xenolalia at Topeka in 1901 and the teaching was passed on to W.J. Seymour and found in the 1906 Azusa Street Revival.⁽²⁴⁾ Many leaders under the influence of Parham and/or Seymour claimed xenolalia, and among them were Florence Crawford and T.B. Barrett.⁽²⁵⁾ Also many new Pentecostals went to foreign lands and the expectation of being supernaturally endowed with the appropriate language.⁽²⁶⁾

This part of A.J. Tomlinson's experience shows clearly the influence of the Azusa Street Revival. No specific claims of xenolalia have been made for the 1896 revival. On the other hand, the first edition of The Evening Light and Church of God Evangel 1:1 (March 1, 1910) reports a believer speaking in five to six languages. Another account of xenolalia is found in The Evening Light and Church of God Evangel 1:3 published in April 1, 1910. The edition of the paper published July 15, 1910, includes an example of glossographia. Writing a message in tongues was known at both Topeka and Los Angeles.⁽²⁷⁾

Perhaps it should be pointed out that the twentieth century reports of xenolalia are not a historical novelty. There have been a variety of claims to this affect throughout the centuries. From the patristic period such suggestions come from the Acts of Thomas,⁽²⁸⁾ St. Pachomius,⁽²⁹⁾ and Chyrsostom.⁽³⁰⁾ The medieval record includes Venerable Bede, St. Dominic, Angelus Clarenus, St. Clare, and Anthony of Padua.^{(31) (32)} Among notable of those involved with various Spirit movements are the Huguenots,⁽³³⁾ the Shakers⁽³⁴⁾ and Mary Campbell.⁽³⁵⁾ There are other stories of xenolalia among Classical Pentecostals that need not be recounted here,⁽³⁶⁾ but it is interesting to note that similar reports marked the early years of both the Protestant Charismatic Movement and the Roman Catholic Charismatic Movement.⁽³⁷⁾ While there have been several written documentaries on this phenomenon, to my knowledge there has not been an analysis made by language experts in a controlled environment.⁽³⁸⁾

To return to the burden of this investigation, the verdict of the substantiated evidence suggests that the Parham-Seymour formula of Spirit-baptism was not known in the 1896 Revival in the Schearer Schoolhouse in Cherokee County, North Carolina. Many played significant roles in developing the Classical Pentecostal Movement in America, but the impetus of the early years seems to be the initial evidence teaching. That, however, would not minimize the importance of the contribution that others made.

1. Harold D. Hunter (Ph.D., Systematic Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at the Church of God School of Theology, Cleveland, Tennessee. He is currently First Vice-President of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Dr. Hunter is a minister in the Church of God of Prophecy.

2/22/98