Roebuck to Present Azusa Lecture
Dr. David Roebuck will present the sixth annual Azusa Lecture, “Hastening the Gospel to Every Land: Church of God Pioneers and the Great Commission,” on Tuesday, October 18. The lecture will be at 7:00 p.m. in the North Cleveland Church of God’s Bryant Fellowship Hall. Following Roebuck’s presentation, the Spirit of Azusa Award will be presented to the Reverend Margaret Gaines for her life-long contribution to the Pentecostal movement as a missionary. The lecture and a reception for Gaines are free and open to the public.
Roebuck
Dr. Roebuck is an historian, teacher, author and ordained bishop in the Church of God. He serves as the director of the Hal Bernard Dixon Jr. Pentecostal Research Center and as church historian for the Church of God. He is Assistant Professor of the History of Christianity at Lee University and an adjunct member of the Pentecostal Theological Seminary faculty. His academic degrees include a M.Div. from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University where he studied the history of Christianity.
Roebuck regularly contributes to books and periodicals about the Church of God and the Pentecostal movement. He currently edits two columns for the Church of God Evangel: “Church of God Chronicles” and “Where Are They Now?” Recent publications include “Preserving and Sharing our Heritage: The Biblical and Institutional Mandate” (with Darrin J. Rodgers) in Spirit-Empowered Christianity in the 21st Century, edited by Vinson Synan; and “Great Cloud of Witnesses: Church of God History and the Great Commission” in The Great Commission Connection, edited by Raymond F. Culpepper.
He is currently board chairman of the Consortium of Pentecostal Archives, which is producing a website that will include primary resources for the study of the Pentecostal movement. He recently completed an eight-year tenure as executive director of the Society for Pentecostal Studies and a two-year tenure as president of the Tennessee Theological Library Association. He is an active participant in the American Academy of Religion, the Society of American Archivists, and the Society of Tennessee Archivists. He was the founding president of the Society of Church of God Movements and has been a member of the Church of God Historical Commission since 1996.
Among Roebuck’s community activities is service on the board of the Hiwassee Chapter of the American Red Cross since 2003 where he currently as vice chair of administration. A resident of Cleveland for twenty-seven years, Roebuck is married to the former Kimberly Freeman, and they have two children, William and Beth.
A reception honoring Missionary Margaret Gaines for her lifetime of ministry will follow the lecture. Gaines began her missionary ministry in Tunisia in 1952 and later served in France. In 1964 the Church of God World Missions Board appointed her to Jerusalem. While there she established of a church and school in the village of Aboud, where she served as pastor until 1992. She is currently pastor of the Church of God in Wattsville, Alabama.
The Azusa Lecture is sponsored by the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center, the International Center for Spiritual Renewal, and the North Cleveland Church of God. This year’s lecture is also being supported by the Pentecostal Theological Seminary as part of their annual Ray H. Hughes Sr. Evangelism Week. Other events scheduled for Evangelism Week at the seminary include Gaines speaking in chapel on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. and Dr. R. Lamar Vest speaking in chapel on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.
Located on the campus of Lee University, the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center is one of the world’s most significant collections of Pentecostal materials as well as the archives of the Church of God. In addition to students at Lee University and the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, numerous scholars visit the center to study about the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement.
The International Center for Spiritual Renewal works to bring before the Church the primary need for revival and renewal. The Center seeks to accomplish this purpose through the conducting of research, the development of resources, the facilitating of special meetings, and the sponsorship of an academic chair. William (Billy) Wilson is Executive Director of the Center, which was established by the late Robert E. Fisher and works with all denominations as well as non-affiliated churches and ministry agencies. Ministry initiatives of the center include the Awakening America Alliance, World Impact with Billy Wilson and Empowered21.
The North Cleveland Church of God was established in 1906. The congregation has served as a “mother church” to the denomination and provides ministries for worship, evangelism, education and service. The congregation’s International Prayer Center is a witness to the importance and power of prayer. Mitchell Maloney serves as Senior Pastor.
The purpose of the Azusa Lecture is to highlight the rich heritage of the Pentecostal movement and to provide the Cleveland community an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of the Pentecostal revival. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center launched the annual lecture in 2006 on the occasion of the centennial of the revival that began in Los Angeles in 1906. Church of God historian Charles W. Conn noted that the Los Angeles revival, which lasted from 1906 to 1909, “is universally regarded as the beginning of the modern Pentecostal movement.” The revival began when the African-American preacher William J. Seymour preached a message of Spirit baptism following salvation. What started as a home prayer meeting attracted throngs of seekers and was moved to an abandoned church building at 312 Azusa Street. Hundreds traveled to the Azusa Street Mission, received a personal baptism of the Holy Spirit, and took that message to their homes, churches and communities. The Pentecostal movement quickly became a great missionary movement, and the twentieth century came to be called the “Century of the Holy Spirit.”
For more information about the Azusa Lecture contact the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center at 614-8576.
