Customer Reviews

Bishop C. H. Mason and the Roots of the Church of God in Christ

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As the preface of the book indicates, Rev. Dr. Clemmons' book is an introduction, not an exhaustive edition on the history and doctrine of the Church of God in Christ, America's largest pentecostal denomination. COGIC, which is predominantly black, is placed at the center of the worldwide Pentecostal movement, which for too long has been viewed through the eyes of the Assemblies of God, a large, predominantly white group, or scholars from outside of classical Pentecostalism. For those who want to know about the class, cultural and theological debates within the post-bellum black church that gave birth to a distinct "holiness" movement in the black Baptist church, and the eventual Azusa Street Revival, this book is a great resource. Of particular interest to the reader may be Bishop Clemmons' recounting of Mt. Helm Baptist church in Mississippi as the center of a tri-fold movement in the black church: Baptist, Holiness and Pentecostal. The primary weakness of Bishop Clemmons' book is that it is cursory. Perhaps a younger generation of black Pentecostal scholars can pick up where he left off, by providing more cultural criticism and theological reflection on the history of COGIC, which has been obscured or overshadowed by a glossy white rendition all these years. Bishop Charles Harrison Mason comes to life, yet again, in the pages of this work, and he too can be viewed as a seminal leader within the Pentecostal movement. This is must reading for those students of the black church at the turn of the century and those who would seek to know more about the emergence of the multi-racial Azusa Street Revival, which gave birth to the Pentecostal movement. The book probes the founding of COGIC as a Pentecostal group and the eventual withdrawal of white ministers to establish the Assemblies of God, an important event due to the two groups differing views on the doctrine of sanctification, as well as implications for Pentecostalism and race relations. The book certainly affirms an important, yet neglected study of American religious history.

Bishop Mason was a man remarkedly used by God and this book holds up his accomplishments in beginning and developing the Church of God in Christ. I loved it and read it twice. It made me want to visit a COGIC. God is not finished with this denomination and this book will inspire both members and non members.

The Late Rev. Dr. Clemmons has given a clear account of the Church of God in Christ with this book. It is not just a mere account of its history but distills for the reader the very essence that has made this Church what it is today.

A fantastic book. Very exciting to read the history of Church of God in Christ and Bishop Mason. This book is easy to read and very inspiring.

this book does its purpose in giving a great detail of how the church of god in christ got started it even gave a good detail about other denominations such as church of god & assembles of god started. great history backgroud I did wanted to find a little more on bishop mason personal persecutions but over all it was a great book recommend to anyone want to know cogic history especially member which I am

Very informative for a new convert to the C.O.G.I.C. I believe in the strong evidence of faith I witness among church members, many of whom have been associated with the COGIC for their entire lives... I appreciate knowing the origin of the church...