About the Book

Book: The Great Azusa Street Revival

Author: William Seymour

Genre: Christian non-fiction

Release Date: October 16, 2020

A fascinating collection of the words and teachings of William Seymour in the years leading up to and including the historic Azusa Street Revival, which began in Los Angeles in 1906 before spreading across the country and creating the modern-day Pentecostal movement. Includes historic accounts, eyewitness testimonies to the power of God, and photos capturing the multicultural, worldwide appeal of Seymour and his ministry, including his stirring sermons, which covered a wide range of topics that are still relevant to believers today. Complied by Roberts Liardon, author of the bestselling God’s Generals series.

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About the Author

William Seymour (1870–1922) was an African American, holiness preacher who initiated the Azusa Street Revival, an influential event in the rise of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. He was the second of eight children born to emancipated slaves and was raised in extreme poverty in Louisiana. Seymour was a student of early Pentecostal minister Charles Parham, and he adopted Parham’s belief that speaking in tongues was the sign of receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In 1906, Seymour moved to Los Angeles, California, where he preached the Pentecostal message and sparked a revival that drew large crowds of believers as well as increased media scrutiny about the controversial religious practices as well as the racially integrated worship services. Seymour’s leadership of the revival and publication of The Apostolic Faith newspaper launched him into prominence within the young Pentecostal movement. As the revival’s influence extended beyond Los Angeles through evangelism and missionary work, Seymour was in the process of developing the revival into a larger organization called the Apostolic Faith Movement. This process was ultimately defeated by power struggles with other ministers and ultimately damaged the unity of the early Pentecostal movement and led to a decrease in Seymour’s influence. By 1914, the revival was past its peak, but Seymour continued to pastor the Apostolic Faith Mission he founded until his death. The revival acted as a catalyst for the spread of Pentecostal practices, such as speaking in tongues and integrated worship, throughout the world. It also played an important role in the history of most major Pentecostal denominations.

More About William

The participants were criticized by some secular media and Christian theologians for behaviors considered to be outrageous and unorthodox, especially at the time. Today, the revival is considered by historians to be the primary catalyst for the spread of Pentecostalism in the 20th century.

My Thoughts

One of the best things about being a book blogger is meeting new people through the pages that I read. When I started this book, I had no idea who William Seymour was. However, once I started reading, I realized that I had to learn more about him. Now, I am the type of person who is fascinated with understanding where people come from. I read presidential and other biographies for fun. I did a little reading on William so that I could better understand the main behind the Great Azusa Street Revival.

William was the second of eight children born to emancipated slaves and was raised in extreme poverty in Louisiana. He was raised in poverty and received very little education. Growing up he noted having visions from God. He moved around a lot lost his left eye to small pox. Learning about him gave me a greater appreciation to how he kept his faith in God and spoke to anyone that would listen.

William drew people in from everywhere. He preached at a time where there was still a lot of racial tension. However, his sermons brought all together and worship together without the boundaries of color.

I enjoyed reading this book - William was quite passionate about his sermons. He spoke with such power and fire. He overcame so many obstacles to get where he was. I also liked how they pulled sermons from the early 1900's to 2020.

I received a copy of this book through the Celebrate Lit blogging program -- all thoughts are my own.