This is an anthology of primary source documents that examine the contributions of African Americans in the expansion of the modern-day Pentecostal movement. Reflected in their doctrine, songs, and liturgies, the Pentecostal movement has flourished among the races and ethnic peoples of America. In this work, Estrelda Y. Alexander, Associate Professor of Theology at Regent University and Executive Director of the Seymour Pan-African Pentecostal Project, points to the Holy Spirit as the means for cultivating racial consciousness.

This work examines the relationship between African Spirituality and Slave religion (chapter 1), the legacy of the nineteenth century Black Holiness movement (chapter 2), as well as the enduring impact of the Azusa St. Revival and Apostolic Faith Mission (chapter 3). In chapters 4-6 Alexander turns to a discussion of the denominational significance of the movement, underscoring its relationship to African American Trinitarianism, the Oneness churches, and White majority churches. Chapter 7 broaches the topic of women rights and ordination in African American Pentecostalism. Chapter 8 assesses the relationship of the movement to Neo-Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, and chapter 9 examines the theological dimensions of social justice and racial reconciliation.

The unique contribution of this volume is the survey of beliefs, practices, and theology of African American Pentecostals as individuals and leaders speaking first-hand about their faith experiences. These “insider” voices emanate from male and female, the educated and uneducated alike. This work encompasses those from Trinitarian and Oneness backgrounds, pre- and post-Asuza Pentecostals, integrationalists and nationalists, the Word of Faith movement, and those from classical and contemporary perspectives. Each contribution is accompanied by detailed biographical information on the author and featured piece.

The nineteenth century African American spirituals resound with passion, overcoming joy, and holiness fervor. Novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston clung to the anthem of her peers from the choruses of Scripture. She sang as she strove to rise above her circumstances and life as a domestic servant in New York City during the 1920s: “Beloved, beloved, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know, but we know, but we know… when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, we shall be like Him” (7).

The African American Oneness Pentecostal perspective is unique in that it is not foremost rooted in arguments of alleged modalism—a topic that pervades popular discussions of the movement. The historical African American Oneness concern centers on their biblical ‘Apostolic’ hermeneutic. In the Victim of the Flaming Sword, G. T. Haywood admits of the “One Person God” and the “Holy Ghost New Birth,” but remains convinced by the Apostolic witness that Jesus is not a subsidiary “Second Person” of the Trinity (101). The Apostles, Haywood explains, knew nothing of Trinitarian doctrine: “The word ‘Trinity’ is not found in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation” (102). The Black Oneness perspective is motivated first by their commitment to the faith of the pioneers of early Christianity. James C. Richardson, in From With Water and Spirit sees in Jesus the fulfillment of the God of the Old covenant: “Jehovah-God of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ of the New Testament (117).”

Lilian Sparks, a member of Ida Robinson’s Mt. Sinai Holy Church of America, embraced an early egalitarian stance. She sang of her identity in Christ and freedom to preach, “There’s neither Jew nor Gentile, to those who’ve paid the price; ‘Tis neither Male nor Female, But one in Jesus Christ…. Some women have the right to sing, and some the right to teach; but women, called by Jesus Christ, surely have the right to preach” (158).

By drawing us back to the original sources, Alexander paints a vision of freedom, egalitarianism, and yearning for the pristine faith of early Christianity. Black Pentecostalism has left this legacy, ensconced in rare and precious first-hand autobiographical accounts of sermons, hymns, testimonies, and treatises. Ministers, interested lay-persons, and the academic community at large will find in the Black Fire Reader not simply a companion resource on the African American Pentecostal experience, but access into the life, beliefs, and culture of a people who have shaped and re-envisioned contemporary Christianity.

Reviewed by Paul J. Palma

Preview Black Fire Reader: https://books.google.com/books?id=dJlMAwAAQBAJ

Publisher’s page: http://wipfandstock.com/black-fire-reader.html

Read the related review of Black Fire: One Hundred Years of African American Pentecostalism (IVP Academic, 2011) by Wolfgang Vondey: http://pneumareview.com/ealexander-black-fire/

The 2014 Black Theology and Leadership Institute

Candace Laughinghouse sent these highlights with her report of the 2014 annual Black Theology and Leadership Institute at Princeton.

From right to left: Worship in the chapel. In the midst of a great conversation within my cohort for the week. Me and Prof. Dr. John W. Kinney – Dean of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.

From Left to right: Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas of Vanderbilt Divinity School lecturing on Social and Gender Justice. My cohort led by Pastor Dr. Leslie D. Callahan. Dr. Walter Fluker signs books at the end of class.

As a wife, mother and doctoral student, my children attend every conference with me. Here, my daughters are saying their goodbyes to Dr. Yolanda Pierce – conference host.

Highlights from Black Theology and Leadership Institute 2014

Yolanda Pierce

This summer, I was selected to attend the annual Black Theology and Leadership Institute (BTLI) at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Yolanda Pierce – the Elmer G. Homrighausen Associate Professor of African American Studies and Literature and Liaison with the Princeton University Center for African American Studies – has managed to create a think-tank of fellow leaders and theologians within the black church. The week-long event consisted of lectures, nightly chapel services fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, cohort sessions with theologians-in-residence, and more.

Gregory Ellison

“If we want people to receive water from our overflowing fountain of knowledge and ideas, then we have to bring it in a cup they recognize.”
—John W. Kinney

Dr. Pierce began the session with her lecture entitled, “The Occasion: ‘Telling the Truth and Shaming the Devil’”. She confronted the expectation that a prophet does not and should not face persecution. Of course, we are familiar with the Scriptural adage that ‘we are not to touch God’s anointed’ (Psalm 105:15 and 1 Chronicles 16:22). However, there are times the prophet experiences the persecution within him/herself. The battle is accepting the fact that God is the God of the oppressed, as well as the oppressor. How do we preach this tension? Well, this tension is where God resides. In the end, the entire world is suffering because the prophets will not get in their place and call forth liberating theologies instead of the stain-glassed doctrine and steepled theology that relies on the hopelessness of the people that enter the door.

Jonathan Walton

Bishop Yvette Flunder’s lecture on sexual justice involved challenging leaders to rethink the praxis that limits who can sit at the table theologically. What I enjoy most about BTLI is that there were varying positions on major issues but we all had respect for one another’s evolving theology. The following day, Prof. Dr. John W. Kinney confronted the agendas of black theologians and preachers who are completely out of touch. He admonished preachers who ignored the advancement of the people within the pews. He then went on to suggest that “If we want people to receive water from our overflowing fountain of knowledge and ideas, then we have to bring it in a cup they recognize.” If black leaders and theologians are going to solve the issues of racial injustice in society, then we must restructure our presentation and attitude towards the congregation. How can this occur when we get mad at the congregation for not receiving the sermon, instead of questioning our own delivery? Prof. Dr. Gregory Ellison decided to shake things up. We participated in what he calls “Fearless Dialogues” (www.fearlessdialogues.com). This involved the entire group engaging in a role-play experience that created space for hard conversations concerning varying situations that effect everyone. The goal was to help us see the gifts in others, hear values in stores and work toward transformation and change in self and others. Prof. Dr. Jonathan Walton challenged our hermeneutical lens and dared us to construct a genuine approach to reading and preaching the biblical text. Prof. Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas lectured on the problems of Social and Gender Justice in the black church. While teaching young girls to remain abstinent and being lax on the same issues for young boys, we are indeed perpetuating a rape culture within the pews. She maintains that “Our clarifying task as leaders is: will you be on the side of right or popular? Make up your mind.” We ended the week with Dr. Walter Fluker’s lecture on the beloved community and our responsibility as leaders to navigate the traffic at the intersection that requires a skill set that leaders must learn – “we must look, listen and learn.”

BLTI14 was a huge success. The conversations continued into the late hours and most of us remain in conversation daily via social media. I highly recommend fellow Pentecostals to apply and glean from the knowledge, networking and resources available at BTLI – July 11-18, 2015. You will not be the same.

Yvette Flunder

Walter Earl Fluker

Stacey Floyd-Thomas

See also: Highlights from Black Theology and Leadership Institute 2014

At a time where books on the first one hundred years of modern-day Pentecostalism are published with frequency, Alexander reminds us of the important heritage of African American Pentecostals. African and African American origins of classical Pentecostalism remain a neglected topic of study, and even African American Pentecostals often know little of their own heritage. Despite the influence of the black preacher William J. Seymour and other African American leaders on the origins and development of Pentecostalism in North America, few scholars have traced the story of African American Pentecostal origins or developed a comprehensive account of the racial landscape of Pentecostals. The recovery of African American contributions was hindered for many decades by the dominance of two competing theories of Pentecostal beginnings that identified either white or black origins. Interracial origins and the diversity of influences within different racial traditions are only recently becoming a topic of study, and the much larger questions of the relationship of particular racial theories of Pentecostal origins to the racial composition of global Pentecostalism are only in their infancy. Black Fire closes this gap with a rich account of the untold story of African American Pentecostalism.

In ten lucid chapters, Alexander recounts Pentecostal retentions from African Spirituality, the legacy of the nineteenth-century Black Holiness Movement, the impact of William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street revival, the rise of African American trinitarian Pentecostal denominations, development of Black Oneness Pentecostalism, the presence of Black Pentecostals in predominantly white denominations, women’s leadership in African American churches, African American Neo-Pentecostals and Charismatic Movements, and the theological challenges of African American Pentecostalism. Two bibliographies of historical and contemporary sources complete the work.

While first impression might suggest that Black Fire is a historical work, Alexander’s study blends historical presentation with theological arguments. Never dispassionate in her writings, she has recently produced a number of works on African American Pentecostals, including a focus on Afro-Pentecostalism, in general, and women leaders in African American Pentecostalism, in particular, that confront the lack of attention given to African American Pentecostalism. At the core of Black Fire are the twin concerns of gender and race that characterize North American Pentecostal denominations. Interrogating the racial divide and gender paradox that affected the formation and ongoing development of African American Pentecostalism, Alexander explores the racist attitudes of black and white Pentecostals and attempts to repair the damaged relations. Similarly, the challenges of sexism and the suppression of women in positions of leadership are confronted in various accounts of black, Holiness, women evangelists, women as denominational leaders and organizational innovators woven throughout the historical and theological discussions. The black Pentecostal consciousness Alexander endeavors to instill is egalitarian and ecumenical, not without self-criticism, and always protecting the genuine validity of the variety of voices emerging from Pentecostals.

The book does not offer a continuous story, as one might expect, of one hundred years of African American Pentecostalism. Each chapter stands on its own, with some inevitable connections emerging from the historical and theological voices. This choice has its advantages, since the reader can follow the development selectively and with emphasis on the key themes of the century. Each chapter carries its own inherent argument, connected by the interwoven theme of African spirituality, Africanisms, and African American characteristics that influenced theological, practical, political, organizational, and denominational choices. The disadvantage of this approach is mostly evident on the macro-level historiography and felt most likely by those who look for a standard account of a century of Pentecostal history. Here, the reader will not be able to find quick references to events and figures or other historical markers without engaging the text itself. The name and subject indexes are surprisingly short and offer less direction than most historians desire. Alexander’s strengths are in the thematic presentation and analysis as well as the theological observations throughout the book.