British Pentecostal Pioneers

Fingertip Holiness by Noel Brooks (1975)

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From the forward by Dr. Frank G. Tunstall: "Practical Holiness" was the theme of the 1975 Muse Memorial Lecture Series [Oklahoma City Southwestern College (now SCU)], and Rev. Noel Brooks did a masterful job expounding that subject. Fingertip Holiness he called his lectures, a stricking title that says "holinesss" can never be just a "theology" with us. Our theology of holiness must work its way into the totality of our beings, becoming a way of life that finds expression, even in our fingertips. "Holiness" that is doctrinal only, becomes highly pharisaical; when when the true meaning of holiness is translated into a way of life with us, it expresses itself in that character of love which is so typical of the Christian graces..."

Brooks, Noel. Fingertip Holiness. Oklahoma City, OK: OCSC (now Southwestern Christian University, 1975.

A CHRISTIAN COLLEGE. From 1976 OCSC Baccalaureate Address

British born scholar and church leader, the Rev. Noel Brooks, spoke to graduates of Oklahoma City Southwestern College (now SCU) on  May 16, 1976. The subject of his baccalaureate address was the life of Daniel (Daniel 1:1-8; 16-21).

"A Christian College is not a "degree mill" where academic standards can be charitably relaxed, or cheap accreditation offered.  A "Christian" College is not merely where a good academic degrees are eared. Rather it is a matrix where young people of Daniel's quality can be moudled and fashioned before being sent out to challenge the pagan culture outside.

I am not speaking exclusively of pastors, evangelists and missionaries. Daniel was not a priest or an official prophet. He was never ordained to the ministry or licensed to preach. He was a layman, a senator, a statesman, a politician in the best sense of the word. And he was a man of profound religious conviction, of strong moral and strong principles, who could not be bent by the world around him.  The grand purpose of a Christian College is to provide a mould in which men and women of Daniel's calibre can be trained for all professions and walks of life.

In order to do this a college must be more than a "Christian" in name. It is possible to have a name to live and yet be dead. A "Christian" College must practice "Christian" principles; it must have a "Christian" atmosphere; and it must have "Christian" leaders, teachers, and staff. Only then can a "Christian" imprint be indelibly stamped on the mind and character of the student body."

HISTORY OF SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Note: All royalities from the sale of this title go to support the development of the university.

In 2006, for the 60th anniverary, Marilyn A. Hudson, led a group of faculty and staff to write the first official history of the school. In essence, it is a family history of an educational institution's first six decades (1946-2006); its fond memories, its dreams, its challenges, and its achievements.

"On a mild summer day in 1946, on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, a small group of people that included C.H. Williams, R. O. Corvin, and Oral Roberts, eyed some property for sale. The men were searching for a possible site for a new Bible school for the Pentecostal Holiness Church. The 'Abe Hale Nightclub,' an old barn and a few buildings, sat on over seven acres might have seemed an unlikely choice, but men with vision saw it had possibilities. 'Southwestern Bible College' was being born.

For the first time the story of the pre-statehood roots, the 1946 birth, development, challenges, and rebirth of Oklahoma's first Pentecostal junior college, one of the states largest at one time, is shared in 'One Nightclub and A Mule Barn.' The history of the school known over the years as 'Southwestern Bible College,' 'Oklahoma City Southwestern College,' 'Southwestern College of Christian Ministries,' and now 'Southwestern Christian University' is one profoundly intermingled with Oklahoma history.

Pentecostalism in Oklahoma is also virtually unexplored territory among histories. 'One Nightclub' provide a fascinating glimpse into the nature and character of a large segment of Oklahomans who share ties to the Holiness-Pentecostal tradition. 'One Nightclub and a Mule Barn' provides an introduction to not only a school, but to an overlooked, yet rich aspect of Oklahoma history."

144 pages - $11.99 (paperback)  and also available as a CD from the same publisher. Order from Tate.

Charismatic Ministries in the New Testament. Noel Brooks

From the back cover: " God has significantly blessed and used Noel Brooks to clarify the biblical perspective on deeper life truth. He has been a contemporary associate of many of the early leaders of the Pentecostal movement, especially those who ministered during and were instrumental in the doctrinal formation. He has witnessed first-hand virtually the total spectrum of the Pentecostal phenomenon in modern times. His keen theological mind, dedication to biblical balance, warm spiritual commitment and evident scholarship uniquely qualify him to make this inestimably  valuable contribution to Pentecostal literature.

This book, validating the scriptual integrity of the charismatic ministry in the New Testament while documenting it with sound, doctrinal clarity, should be hailed as a landmark contribution to this discipline.

Published by Holmes Memorial Church, Greenville, South Carolina, 1988. ISBN: 0-945478-00-3

A graduate of the University of London, Noel Brooks has his heritage in British Methodism. An ordained minister with the Pentecostal Holiness Church, he has served his denomination as a pastor, conference official, Bible School president, writer, and lecturer.

Scriptural Holiness by Noel Brooks . Marilyn A. Hudson, MLIS

The British born Rev. Noel Brooks (1914-2006) wrote Scriptural Holiness in 1967 (Franklin Springs, Georgia: Advocate Press (now LifeSprings).  It quickly gained a beloved place as a well written, theologically sound, and spiritually enthused look at the nature of Holiness.  As a man born into a home life enthused with a strong holiness ethos, part of church groups (Wesleyan Methodist,  Elim Pentecostal Alliance, The Bible-Pattern Church) who valued greatly the Wesleyan holiness teachings, and who was a member of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, Brooks celebrated the idea of holiness.  As a scholar and an experience church leader, he also was a call for balance and biblically sound exegesis of the topic.  Today, this work stands as a classic on the subject and still a guide through the complex issue of holiness for the believer.  Crucial to his thesis was the concept that scriptual holiness teaches that holiness is given to the believer as a gift by God and nothing a believer does can manifest holiness. The believer can merely manifest the life changes made by that gift.

Stephen Jeffreys: The Beloved Evangelist

In Britain there were three members of a family who all dedicated their lives to evangelizing the lost and bringing hope to lives.  They were Welsh born brothers Stephen and George Jeffreys and Stephen's son Edward Jeffreys. They were the Billy Grahams of their day, vast crowds filled halls across the British Isles and they began one of the first Pentecostal church groups in Great Britain with the Elim Pentecosal Alliance in 1914.

HISTORIC EARLY FEMALE MINISTER

Mary Ford was a long time minister in the Kansas Conference of the Pentecostal Holiness Church.  She served as pastor and evangelist through the 1940-1960's.  In the early 1950's she was serving also on the Conference Board as Secretary-Treasurer. In the early 1950's with the second volume of The Pentecostal Message she was the first and only woman listed in either volume.  Her sermon was titled "Obedience."  Hubert T. Spence in the preface to the first volume wrote: "...you hold in your hands a volume that is truly representative of the ministry and message of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, one unit of this great Pentecostal Latter Rain Movement which cannot any longer be ignored, but must be reckoned with." (1950).  In the preface to the second Volume, C. H. Williams noted: " These messages ring true to the fundementals of Scriptural theology and echo the "knowso" experiences of the authors."

British Pentecostal Holiness College

The following is an exerpt from an upcoming biography of Noel Brooks and is used by permission of the author, Marilyn A. Hudson:

While serving as both a conference superintendent and pastor of the Pentecostal Holiness Church in Bristol, Brooks was involved with the establishment of a Bible College. In early 1960, the British Bible College was located in the city of Bristol.[1] A ‘prospectus’ for the college located the school at 24 Sydenham Road, Cotham, Bristol.  The board of education consisted of Noel Brooks, William Sherrard, R.J. Shackford, Charles Hopla, and Howard Wallis.  The faculty was Noel Brooks, Lawrence J. Harding, and Ian Davis.  Nora Brooks and Iris Harding rounded out the personnel as matron and secretary respectively.[2] 

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[1] Many titles from their library collection now reside in the Noel Brooks Collection in the SCU Library, Bethany, Oklahoma.

[2] “The Bristol Bible College of the Pentecostal Holiness Church – prospectus.”  Brochure with images; Noel Brooks Collection, Southwestern Christian University archives.

A NEW LOOK AT THE BIBLE'S TEACHING ABOUT WOMEN

Addressing the apparently limited role of women in the church, Hudson, strips away centuries of assumptions and "copycat" commentary to examine the Gospels and some troubling verses in their historical context and in relation to the actions of Christ. "With her stroke of a pen and sharp grasp of scripture, history, and gender differences, this writer compels both men and women to re-examine ancient texts in a quest to arrive at the truth."-- Dr. Terry Tramel, Dean of the Graduate School, Southwestern Christian University.

AMAZON

FOOTHILLS BIBLE INSTITUTE, WINFIELD, ALBERTA

Many aspects of modern Pentecostalism are still to be uncovered and the challenge for historians will be to begin to gather and collect more recent history before it disappears.

In 1945 in Chilliwick, British Columbia began the Pacific Bible Institute which operated through 1950. In 1957 the dream was resurrected by Rev. Haug and by 1960 Foothills Bible Institute opened with Walter Gamble serving as president. In 1971 in Ontario the Christianview Bible College began with Noel Brooks as the president. In 1976 Foothills Bible Institute and Christianview amalgamated moving to Aisla Craig, Ontario where it remained until closing in the late 1980's.

[Image by M. Hudson 2007]

CANADIAN BIBLE COLLEGE HAD WOMAN PRESIDENT

Emma Crouch graduated from Southwestern Pentecostal Holiness College in Oklahoma City and went to Canada in 1964 where she was on the faculty of the Foothills Bible Institute in Winfield, Alberta. She was an ordained minister with the Pentecostal Holiness Church of Canada. She was on staff at Foothills for eleven years and for the last three (1973-1975) served as the Institute’s president. When Foothills and Christianview Bible College combined in 1975, she went to the newly relocated Christianview Bible College as a faculty member as well.

Her focus was Christian Education teaching Theology, Sunday School Organization, VBS, Youth Leadership. She also served as the General Christian Education President for the PHCC, and a field consultant for Scripture Press of Canada. She was a member of the General Board of Administration for the PHCC.

Writing in 1978 in the Christianview Bible College annual she expressed her desire for all the current and potential students: "May I challenge you to take advantage of your schooling as Mary sat Jesus' feet. As you sit here, God desires to pour out his abundance on you. He desires to open your mind to receive the treasures of the truth."

Volumes from her personal library have recently added to the collection of Southwestern Christian University, especially in the areas of pyschology, philosophy, and Pentecostalism.

Emma Crouch may be one of the earliest women in leadership in an educational institution related to North American Pentecostalism.

Sources:

Yearbooks for Foothills Bible Institute and Christianview Bible College. IPHC Archives and Records Center.

SCU Archives

HEADLINES FROM HISTORY: SPIRITUAL LEADERS

Spiritual Leaders Promoting a Spiritual Program

A Christian…can learn mathematics, for example, from a teacher who is not a Christian; and truth is truth however learned. But while truth is truth however learned, the bearing of truth, the meaning of truth, the purpose of truth, even in the sphere of mathematics, seem entirely different to the Christian from that which they seem to the non-Christian; and that is why a truly Christian education is possible only when Christian conviction underlies not a part but all, of the curriculum of the school.

~ J. Gresham Machen, in Education, Christianity, and the State . (Jefferson, MD: Trinity Foundation, 1987. page 81).

From earliest days, the IPHC considered education and a well-trained ministry of great import. Its early leaders were all men who were trained and capable. They had a goal of balancing quality education with the vital spiritual energy of Pentecost.

The great IPHC leader G. H. Montgomery noted in 1938 that, “Education is bound to come in for more and more prominence in our ranks…Spiritual leaders will promote a spiritual program. We cannot afford to commit spiritual suicide by opposing education. Neither can we afford to let anything take the place of the Holy Spirit in the church and our ministry…” PH Advocate (Feb. 3, 1938).

Articles appeared, by S.N. Greene and others, noting the need for ministerial training and education for the creation of a clergy of which churches need not be ashamed. R.O. Corvin later added, “No denomination will rise above its highest educational institution….If we want a growing, spiritual…church, we must have a school of higher learning with those characteristics…”Advocate (July 26, 1945). A year later, Montgomery was pondering, as were many in that time period, “Do We Need a Seminary?” Advocate (Feb.15, 1946).

In 1966, the denomination had its first seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The General Conference finally named the program at ORU as the official PH Seminary but, with Roberts leaving the denomination in 1968, the celebration was short lived. (Synan, Old Time Religion ).

In 1987, the dream of a Graduate School arose seriously once more as Jack Goodson and IPHC leadership began a plan to unify the education program of the denomination. This dream was further realized with the appointment of Dr. Garnet Pike as Dean of the I.P.H.C.GraduateSchool in 1992. In September of 1993, the denominations first graduate school opened its doors on the campus of SouthwesternChristianUniversity. It allowed students to become part of a milestone in denomination history. The school offered a Master of Ministry focusing on practical equipping for successful ministry and taught by some of the finest leaders in the country. The impact of the program on ministers has proven true the words of G.H. Montgomery “…Spiritual leaders will promote a spiritual program.”

by Marilyn Hudson, Author & Historian
Director of Library Services, Southwestern Christian University
September 11, 2009