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Alexander to Present Azusa Lecture; Sibley to Receive Azusa Award

Dr. Estrelda Alexander will present the Tenth Annual Azusa Lecture, “From Azusa to Cleveland: Embracing Our Common Heritage” on Tuesday, October 27, at 7:00 p.m. in the North Cleveland Church of God’s Dixon Chapel. Following Alexander’s presentation, the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center will honor Dr. Wallace Sibley with the Spirit of Azusa Award and a reception for his life-long leadership of the Pentecostal Movement. The lecture and reception honoring Sibley are free and open to the public.

Alexander is president of William Seymour College as well as an ordained minister in the Church of God. Prior to her founding the college, she served as Professor of Theology at Regent University School of Divinity and as Associate Dean for Community at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. Having previously served as a pastor and church planter, her recent ministry has focused on providing theological education for underserved communities.

Alexander is a leading scholar of Black Pentecostalism and author of numerous books, essays, and journal articles. Her published books include Black Fire Reader; Black Fire: 100 Years of African American Pentecostalism; Limited Liberty: The Ministry and Legacy of Four Pentecostal Women Pioneers; and The Women of Azusa Street. She also co-edited two books with Amos Yong: Phillip’s Daughters: Women in the Pentecostal Movement and Afro-Pentecostalism: Black Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in History and Culture. Her current project is a multi-volume Dictionary of Pan African Pentecostalism.

Dr. Alexander has lectured and preached across the United States and has served as President of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. The Society honored her book, Black Fire: 100 Years of African American Pentecostalism, with their Pneuma Book of the Year Award in 2012 and granted her their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Following the lecture, the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center will honor Dr. Wallace Sibley with the Spirit of Azusa Award and a reception. Currently Third Assistant General Overseer of the Church of God, Dr. Sibley began his ministry in 1963. Following his service as pastor and evangelist, the Church of God has appointed or elected him to numerous leadership offices at state and international levels including Administrative Bishop of Florida (Cocoa) and Southern New England, Regional Director of Evangelism for the Southeast Black Churches, Director of Cross-Cultural Ministries, Assistant Director and Director of Evangelism and Home Missions, and Secretary General. According to Church of God Historian Dr. David Roebuck, “Dr. Sibley has been an exemplary model of a spiritual father to sons and daughters around the world, and he has pioneered efforts to reach a multi-cultural harvest. Like William J. Seymour, Dr. Sibley has preached the Pentecostal message, been a beacon of racial reconciliation, and led with distinction.”

The Azusa Lecture is being held in conjunction with Heritage Week at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Dr. Alexander will preach in the Seminary’s chapel service on Tuesday, October 27, at 11:00 a.m. She will also present a lecture on “The Women of Azusa Street” on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. The public is welcome to attend these events.

The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center is sponsoring the Tenth Annual Azusa Lecture in partnership with other Church of God ministries. The purpose of the Azusa Lecture is to celebrate the rich heritage the Pentecostal Movement. The Dixon Pentecostal Research Center launched the annual lecture in 2006 on the occasion of the centennial of the revival at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. 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 Los Angeles revival began when African-American Pastor William J. Seymour preached a message of Spirit baptism following salvation and sanctification. 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.”

Founded by Dr. Charles W. Conn on the campus of Lee University, the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center is one of the world’s 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 use the Center’s holdings of materials related to the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement. Dr. David G. Roebuck is director. For more information about the Azusa Lecture contact the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center at 423-614-8576 or dixon¬[email protected].