Answers | To Your Questions About the Bible, Theology and Christian Living

What Happened to the Azusa Street Mission, Birthplace of Modern Pentecost?

You wrote the following in a recent article about the building that was the home of the revival that launched modern Pentecost in 1906:

There was an old abandoned building on a run-down street nearby. It had been an African Methodist Episcopal church - before that, a livery stable and a warehouse. The meetings moved to the building, and 312 Azusa Street became the home of the revival.
…
The Azusa tabernacle didn’t last. It was eventually torn down. You can find no trace of the physical building today, just a small plaque. But you can still find its spiritual imprint - not only in Los Angeles, but also in virtually every corner of the globe.

[Read the full article here.]

What happened to it? Why was it torn down?

Answer:

The congregation thrived for three years of revival and remained a healthy church for several years after that. Pastor William Seymour died in 1922, and his wife, Jennie Moore Seymour, took over. Attendance dwindled and the congregation lost the building in 1931; the congregation dispersed shortly thereafter. The building was demolished and a building was built in the late 1970s and early ’80s that became the Japanese-American Cultural and Community Center of Los Angeles.

Like many important historical sites, the value of the mission building itself was not recognized until it was too late.

Ken Horn

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Where does the Pentecostal church stand on women preachers/teachers?

One of the great privileges I have had since I have been with Today’s Pentecostal Evangel is the international travel that is a part of our coverage for the World Missions Edition of the magazine. In viewing the works of God among His people on five continents, one of the things that stand out to me is this: Wherever there is a powerful move of God, I have seen women actively and significantly involved. In some places it has been clear that without the ministry of women the church would not be experiencing the spiritual prosperity it is. This is clearly the case in the world’s largest church, Yoido Full Gospel Church, in Seoul, South Korea.

The story of women in missions is more than that of female nationals. A glance at both the history of missions and current missions outreach proves that the ministry of female missionaries, single and married, is of inestimable value. The history of Pentecost also reveals the crucial role women have played, and continue to play, in the movement.

But more than experience speaks for the importance of women. So does God’s Word. Though the role of women in the church has been a hotly debated topic for many years, it is clear that Christianity has always valued women more highly than other worldviews have. In the gospels, Jesus clearly elevated the status of women above that day’s cultural norm. The apostle Paul continued to promote that reality in the epistles he wrote. His statement in Galatians 3:28 is the biblical magnum opus of male/female spiritual equality: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV). And though it was Paul who said, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22), his statement (often ignored) about husband/wife relationship in the verse just prior to that was trailblazing: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

The Assemblies of God, based on the teaching of God’s Word and not simply on experience, has come to the following conclusion:

We are aware that the ministry and leadership of women are not accepted by some individuals, both within and outside the Christian community. We condemn all prejudice and self-promotion, by men or women. The existence in the secular world of bigotry against women cannot be denied. But there is no place for such an attitude in the body of Christ. We acknowledge that attitudes of secular society, based on long-standing practice and tradition, have influenced the application of biblical principles to local circumstances. We desire wisely to respect yet help redeem cultures which are at variance with Kingdom principles. Like Paul, we affirm the Great Commission takes priority over every other consideration. We must reach men and women for Christ, no matter what their cultural or ethnic customs may be. The message of redemption has been carried to remote parts of the world through the ministry of dedicated, Spirit-filled men and women. A believer’s gifts and anointing should still today make a way for his or her ministry. The Pentecostal ministry is not a profession to which men or women merely aspire; it must always be a divine calling, confirmed by the Spirit with a special gifting.

The Assemblies of God has been blessed and must continue to be blessed by the ministry of God’s gifted and commissioned daughters. To the degree that we are convinced of our Pentecostal distinctives–that it is God who divinely calls and supernaturally anoints for ministry–we must continue to be open to the full use of women’s gifts in ministry and spiritual leadership.

Read the full position paper here.

Ken Horn

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What does it mean to be “drunk in the Spirit” and is it biblical? Also, what scriptures support the idea of being “slain in the Spirit” and what is the purpose of it?

First answer: Acts 2:11-16 is the account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit can be mocked as drunkenness by observers. Some Pentecostal Christians have adopted the terminology of being drunk in the Spirit for those who are demonstrably experiencing an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Second answer: I wrote the following in a historical review of revival, but there is no exact technical instance in the scripture, except for people falling before the Lord or in His presence:

This is perhaps the most criticized of today’s manifestations. But virtually all historical revivals record this phenomenon.

Methodist minister John McGee relates the outbreak of the second Great Awakening in Cane Ridge, Kentucky, in 1800: “I … was near falling, the power of God was strong upon me …. Losing sight of fear of man, I went through the house shouting and exhorting with all possible ecstasy and energy, and the floor was soon covered with the slain.”

James Finley “saw at least 500 swept down in a moment.”

High emotions, falling, crying out, tears, even shaking, all occurred in revivals before a modern Pentecostal ever appeared. People who “fell under the power of God” included Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, and others. In the early days of the Salvation Army (mid-1800s), in the meetings of General William Booth, “persons were frequently stricken down…overwhelmed with a sense of the presence and power of God.”1

Jonathan Edwards’ own acceptance of such physical demonstrations was no doubt influenced by the fact his wife Sarah “did, indeed, hop when under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and she would swoon away for hours together, enjoying, she claimed, the presence of God.”2

1 James Gilchrist Lawson, Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians: Warner Press, 1911, p. 257.
2 Jonathan Edwards, Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New England, cited by Harold Fickett.

In 1910, William F.P. Burton attended a meeting at which he first witnessed speaking in other tongues; and although he was convinced it was from God, he was disturbed by people “falling to the ground, laughing, groaning, trembling, and seeing visions.” He said, “A little study of the Scripture removed my misgivings about such manifestations.”

An older saint gave him advice that resonates today: “We don’t encourage such manifestations, but we are not at all surprised when they do occasionally occur. We have learned the lesson which Michal learned so dearly, that it does not do to belittle those who are carried away with the joy of the Lord.” (See 2 Samuel 6:16-23.)3

3 Colin C. Whittaker, Seven Pentecostal Pioneers: Gospel Publishing House, 1983, p.156.

Ken Horn

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