David G. Roebuck
Last week began and ended with profound opportunities for me to reflect on my journey and the calling that we have here at the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center. The week began on Monday, June 18, with the home-going celebration of Dr. Cecil B. Knight. It ended with a deeply moving retreat for Lee University faculty and staff to discuss our calling.
Dr. Knight was instrumental in my coming to the Church of God Theological Seminary as a student in 1981. Ten years later he was on the board that hired me to work on the Squires library faculty, and on that same board when I was hired to direct the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center in 1997. In his tribute to Dr. Knight, Dr. Paul Conn reminded those at the memorial service how God had used Dr. Knight at a critical time in the life of the Church of God. With Dr. Knight's leadership, it was possible to be both a loyal member and an agent for positive change. Thankfully, this past winter I was able to sit for about six hours with Dr. Knight and record the story of his life and ministry on video tape. Those hours were both a labor of love and my commitment to a calling to preserve the stories of how God has worked among both leaders and laity in the Church of God.
The purpose of Lee University's Faith Learning retreat is to help staff and faculty reflect on their personal calling as well as prepare to mentor students who are developing their own sense of God's calling. I was reminded of how my journey has been full of surprises and uncertainty, while always guided by God's hand even though it has sometimes seemed to be an unseen hand.
My first sense of a definite call of God came about the age of twelve while praying with my friend Eddie Stone in a Lee College prayer room. During my teen years I believed my life would be dedicated to local church ministry, and I attended West Coast Bible College to prepare for that. But while a student at the Church of God Theological Seminary, faculty such as Harold Hunter and Don Bowdle helped me to realize how important understanding the roots of our theology and heritage was to me. I had always loved history, and somehow God opened the door to attend Vanderbilt University and study the history of Christianity. To my surprise, as I approached the end of my studies at Vanderbilt, it seemed that no one wanted to hire me. Then God used Dr. Knight to bring me to Cleveland and eventually to direct the Research Center.
My life is now full of opportunities to combine my love for the Church and my love for history with my calling to serve God and the kingdom of God. At the Research Center we work with local congregations in understanding and preserving their heritage, we teach Lee University and Church of God Theological Seminary students about the Church of God and the Pentecostal movement, and we write for a variety of readers from scholars to interested laity. Like many others we face the challenges of balancing opportunities and resources. But we trust that the God who calls us will call others to walk along with us.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
The Church of God Historical Commission
David G. Roebuck
One of the opportunities we have at the Research Center is to support the work of the Church of God Historical Commission. I am a member of the Commission, Janie Hand currently serves as the secretary, and the Research Center is often called upon to provide routine office services for the work of the Commission.
At our recent meeting in April, the Historical Commission discussed a number of items including ways of celebrating upcoming anniversaries such as the 125th Anniversary of the Church of God (2011). We also took the time to tour many early Church of God historical sites including the Barney Creek site in Monroe County, Tennessee, where Richard and R.G. Spurling founded the Christian Union in 1886. Although I have been to these sites many times and often lead "Heritage Tours," I never tire of reflecting on what God did among us more than 100 years ago now.
The Mission of the Historical Commission is to preserve and perpetuate the history and heritage of the Church of God and its global Pentecostal mission. Our Statement of Purpose is: "The purpose of the Church of God Historical Commission is to promote the preservation, understanding, and appreciation of the history and heritage of the Church of God, worldwide. It shall give special attention to the collecting and preserving of historical documents and to the writing of history at all levels: the local church, the various jurisdictions, the departments and institutions of the church, and the general church. It shall also seek to produce, and to encourage the production of, historical materials (written, audio-visual, Internet) and to promote occasions for the church to remember, appreciate and celebrate its history and heritage."
Along with other members of the Historical Commission, I would be happy to hear your thoughts about our work and how we can preserve the wonderful history and heritage of the Church of God. Members include: Paul L. Walker, Liaison; Floyd D. Carey Jr., Chairman; Christopher C. Moree; Robert D. McCall; Hoyt E. Stone; Joel Trammell; Jerry Jeter, James M. Beaty, Consultant; David G. Roebuck, Church Historian; and Charles W. Conn, Church Historian Emeritus.
One of the opportunities we have at the Research Center is to support the work of the Church of God Historical Commission. I am a member of the Commission, Janie Hand currently serves as the secretary, and the Research Center is often called upon to provide routine office services for the work of the Commission.
At our recent meeting in April, the Historical Commission discussed a number of items including ways of celebrating upcoming anniversaries such as the 125th Anniversary of the Church of God (2011). We also took the time to tour many early Church of God historical sites including the Barney Creek site in Monroe County, Tennessee, where Richard and R.G. Spurling founded the Christian Union in 1886. Although I have been to these sites many times and often lead "Heritage Tours," I never tire of reflecting on what God did among us more than 100 years ago now.
The Mission of the Historical Commission is to preserve and perpetuate the history and heritage of the Church of God and its global Pentecostal mission. Our Statement of Purpose is: "The purpose of the Church of God Historical Commission is to promote the preservation, understanding, and appreciation of the history and heritage of the Church of God, worldwide. It shall give special attention to the collecting and preserving of historical documents and to the writing of history at all levels: the local church, the various jurisdictions, the departments and institutions of the church, and the general church. It shall also seek to produce, and to encourage the production of, historical materials (written, audio-visual, Internet) and to promote occasions for the church to remember, appreciate and celebrate its history and heritage."
Along with other members of the Historical Commission, I would be happy to hear your thoughts about our work and how we can preserve the wonderful history and heritage of the Church of God. Members include: Paul L. Walker, Liaison; Floyd D. Carey Jr., Chairman; Christopher C. Moree; Robert D. McCall; Hoyt E. Stone; Joel Trammell; Jerry Jeter, James M. Beaty, Consultant; David G. Roebuck, Church Historian; and Charles W. Conn, Church Historian Emeritus.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
A Typical Week?
David G. Roebuck
This past Saturday I joined other family members to help my brother-in-law's family move into a new home that God has blessed them with. While taking a lunch break someone asked me what I do for a living. It is easy to talk about directing the Research Center and teaching at Lee University and the Theological Seminary. But that doesn't do much to explain a typical week.
Although it is hard to know what a typical week really is, last week was certainly a full one. Monday involved a web-cast training session sponsored by the Society of American Archivists. The Research Center hosted the session on using PDF files for preservation. We invited friends from Squires Library and the Cleveland Public Library to join us. The digital age brings many opportunities and challenges to archives such as ours.
Tuesday because with a visitor bringing by a donation of materials. Jerry Bradwell is the grandson of H.L. Trim. Trim and his second wife Flora were early Church of God leaders. Mr. Bradwell brought us a great family photo and some important history of the family. Tuesday also included teaching the course "History and Theology of the Pentecostal Movement" at Lee University.
The famed Bennie Triplett came by to use our reel-to-reel tape player. I can't verify his claim that the Research Center has the only one in town, but I am thankful that we have a way to play the hundreds of reel-to-reel tapes in our collection. Later we set up a display for Black History Month at the Church of God International Offices. I ended the day with a conference call of the Executive Committee of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Since I became Executive Secretary in 2003, the Research Center has served as the main office for this organization of almost 600 scholars of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. These days my SPS responsibilities take up much of my time as we prepare for the upcoming annual meeting that Lee University will host March 8-10.
On Wednesday our Archivist, Susan Fletcher, and I attended a special service and brunch at the International Offices celebrating Black History Month. We were able to display some wonderful photo albums of black congregations in the Church of God and solicit the identification of some of the congregations.
Thursday began with a meeting of the Church of God Board of Church Ministries. This is an occasional meeting of Church leaders for information sharing. Afterwards I met privately with General Overseer Dennis McGuire to talk about the possibility of updating Like A Mighty Army at an appropriate time. Thursday afternoon and evening included two lectures and dinner with Dr. John Woodbridge, who teaches Church History at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and was a special guest at Lee University.
Friday began with an oral history interview with former General Overseer Cecil B. Knight. This was part of a project in which we are interviewing former members of the International Executive Committee. So far I have been blessed with interviewing Dr. Ray H. Hughes Sr., and the Reverend Woodrow C. Byrd. The plan is to conduct three or four interviews with each person in order to preserve an extensive history of his life and ministry. T. Scot Carter, Chad Guyton and their staff are doing a terrific job making this possible.
It was a great week, and I'm thankful for all of the opportunities that God is giving us.
This past Saturday I joined other family members to help my brother-in-law's family move into a new home that God has blessed them with. While taking a lunch break someone asked me what I do for a living. It is easy to talk about directing the Research Center and teaching at Lee University and the Theological Seminary. But that doesn't do much to explain a typical week.
Although it is hard to know what a typical week really is, last week was certainly a full one. Monday involved a web-cast training session sponsored by the Society of American Archivists. The Research Center hosted the session on using PDF files for preservation. We invited friends from Squires Library and the Cleveland Public Library to join us. The digital age brings many opportunities and challenges to archives such as ours.
Tuesday because with a visitor bringing by a donation of materials. Jerry Bradwell is the grandson of H.L. Trim. Trim and his second wife Flora were early Church of God leaders. Mr. Bradwell brought us a great family photo and some important history of the family. Tuesday also included teaching the course "History and Theology of the Pentecostal Movement" at Lee University.
The famed Bennie Triplett came by to use our reel-to-reel tape player. I can't verify his claim that the Research Center has the only one in town, but I am thankful that we have a way to play the hundreds of reel-to-reel tapes in our collection. Later we set up a display for Black History Month at the Church of God International Offices. I ended the day with a conference call of the Executive Committee of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Since I became Executive Secretary in 2003, the Research Center has served as the main office for this organization of almost 600 scholars of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. These days my SPS responsibilities take up much of my time as we prepare for the upcoming annual meeting that Lee University will host March 8-10.
On Wednesday our Archivist, Susan Fletcher, and I attended a special service and brunch at the International Offices celebrating Black History Month. We were able to display some wonderful photo albums of black congregations in the Church of God and solicit the identification of some of the congregations.
Thursday began with a meeting of the Church of God Board of Church Ministries. This is an occasional meeting of Church leaders for information sharing. Afterwards I met privately with General Overseer Dennis McGuire to talk about the possibility of updating Like A Mighty Army at an appropriate time. Thursday afternoon and evening included two lectures and dinner with Dr. John Woodbridge, who teaches Church History at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and was a special guest at Lee University.
Friday began with an oral history interview with former General Overseer Cecil B. Knight. This was part of a project in which we are interviewing former members of the International Executive Committee. So far I have been blessed with interviewing Dr. Ray H. Hughes Sr., and the Reverend Woodrow C. Byrd. The plan is to conduct three or four interviews with each person in order to preserve an extensive history of his life and ministry. T. Scot Carter, Chad Guyton and their staff are doing a terrific job making this possible.
It was a great week, and I'm thankful for all of the opportunities that God is giving us.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
An Assembly Celebration
David G. Roebuck
This past Friday and Saturday, January 26 and 27, was the 101st anniversary of the First General Assembly. Each year the Church of God of Prophecy holds an anniversary service in the house where the original Assembly was held in Camp Creek, North Carolina. For several years now I have attended this service, and in recent years they have invited me a speaker on the program. This year I spoke about the fruit of that first Assembly in terms of the ministry of the church in 1906 and the subsequent second Assembly where we adopted the name Church of God.
I am very appreciative that the Church of God of Prophecy saw fit to purchase the house and preserve it. Originally owned by the Shearer family, it is often called the Murphy House because Melissa Shearer Murphy and her husband, J.C., hosted the First Assembly in 1906. He died the next May, and she relocated to Cleveland, Tennessee. Although much of the original house no longer exists, the ceiling, walls and floor of the room where the First Assembly met have been preserved.
The house is open to visitors, and I frequently take school and church groups to visit it and other Church of God historical sites. One of the things I like to do while there is to read the minutes of that First Assembly and to pray for the leadership of the Church of God. A.J. and Mary Jane Tomlinson published the minutes of the First Assembly in tract form not long after the Assembly was held. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center holds both the original handwritten minutes and the published minutes. We have scanned these and all other Assembly minutes up to 2002 in order to make them available on CD-Rom. It is one of the many things we are doing to preserve the history and heritage of the Church of God.
This past Friday and Saturday, January 26 and 27, was the 101st anniversary of the First General Assembly. Each year the Church of God of Prophecy holds an anniversary service in the house where the original Assembly was held in Camp Creek, North Carolina. For several years now I have attended this service, and in recent years they have invited me a speaker on the program. This year I spoke about the fruit of that first Assembly in terms of the ministry of the church in 1906 and the subsequent second Assembly where we adopted the name Church of God.
I am very appreciative that the Church of God of Prophecy saw fit to purchase the house and preserve it. Originally owned by the Shearer family, it is often called the Murphy House because Melissa Shearer Murphy and her husband, J.C., hosted the First Assembly in 1906. He died the next May, and she relocated to Cleveland, Tennessee. Although much of the original house no longer exists, the ceiling, walls and floor of the room where the First Assembly met have been preserved.
The house is open to visitors, and I frequently take school and church groups to visit it and other Church of God historical sites. One of the things I like to do while there is to read the minutes of that First Assembly and to pray for the leadership of the Church of God. A.J. and Mary Jane Tomlinson published the minutes of the First Assembly in tract form not long after the Assembly was held. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center holds both the original handwritten minutes and the published minutes. We have scanned these and all other Assembly minutes up to 2002 in order to make them available on CD-Rom. It is one of the many things we are doing to preserve the history and heritage of the Church of God.
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