On Saturday, January 12, Pastor A.J. Tomlinson preached a message entitled “The Baptism with the Holy Ghost and Fire,” at the second General Assembly held in this Union Grove church in Bradley County, Tennessee.
“Glorious results. Speaking in other tongues,” wrote the travel-weary A.J. Tomlinson as he returned home to Cleveland, Tennessee, on June 14, 1907.
Friday night a crowd of perhaps 35 men and boys headed by a number of leading citizens, cut the ropes of the Holiness tent and grounded it. There was considerable excitement for an hour or two, and for a while it was feared that the property of the Holiness people would be burned, but the advice of the cooler heads in the crowd was followed and the grounding of the tent was the only destruction wrought. The Journal and Banner (Cleveland, Tenn.) August 10, 1909
Perhaps because war is such a common human experience, the Christian tradition frequently uses images and illustrations of battle to illuminate spiritual truths. And although wars come and go, spiritual conflict will be with us until the return of Christ.
“I am waiting to see what the Lord will do. . . . ‘Will not the God of the whole earth do right?’” ( A.J. Tomlinson, “Journal of Happenings,” March 11 and 12, 1901)
On the evening of August 18, 1901, A.J. Tomlinson knelt to pray for direction about the escalation of verbal attacks he was receiving from the local townsfolk. One man had even challenged him to a duel. Hearing the Spirit whisper, “Depart,” he slipped into the rainy night to walk the 10 miles to a friend’s home. He arrived around midnight–wet and muddy.
The Church of God celebrates 125 years of Pentecostal witness on August 19, 2011. This is the final article in a series relating our commitment to preserve and pass on our heritage to our children and grandchildren.
