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

Bishop C.H. Mason

Bishop Ithiel C. Clemmons

Largo, MD

Copyright 2012 Bishop Ithiel C.Clemmons

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ISBN 9781562298036

All scripture quotations, unless otherwiseindicated, are taken from Holy Bible, King James Version,Cambridge, 1769.

ENDORSEMENTS

"Our younger generations need to know therich legacy bequeathed to them by the pioneers of the Church of Godin Christ."

Bishop Chandler D. Owens
Presiding Bishop
Church of God in Christ Worldwide

"This valuable book should be in the handsof every member of the Church of God in Christ."

Bishop C. L. Anderson
First Assistant Presiding Bishop

"God gave Bishop C. H. Mason an anointing topreach powerfully, to heal the sick, and to sing out in spontaneousworship. May we covet the same anointing that transformed thousandsin his day."

Bishop J. Neaul Haynes
Second Assistant Presiding Bishop

"We are the descendants of a mighty move ofGod that began at Azusa Street. This book will help us to pass onan equally dynamic spiritual life to our successors, taking theChurch of God in Christ into the next century."

Bishop P. A. Brooks
Secretary
General Board

"Church leaders would do well to emulate thedynamic spiritual life of our founder; Bishop C. H. Mason."

Bishop O. T. Jones, Jr.

"Every pastor in our denomination and beyondshould have a worn and well-read copy of this book."

Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr.

"Bishop C. H. Mason knew that a dynamicencounter with God propelled him into effective ministry. May wealso pursue God wholeheartedly, believing Him to empower us forservice."

Bishop Roy L. H. Winbush

"For us to transform our society, we must befaithful to the vision of our founder, Bishop C. H. Mason."

Bishop Leroy R. Anderson
Assistant Secretary

"Bishop Clemmons reminds us that ourdenomination was forged in the fires of a pentecostal revival thatcontinues to impact our society today."

Bishop Gilbert E. Patterson

"You will be inspired to hunger and thirstfor God as you read the biography of Bishop C. H. Mason."

Bishop L. E. Willis

"May God grant us a return to Azusa Streetwhere barriers of color, race, sex, and social status weredemolished by the power of the Holy Spirit and may the Church ofGod in Christ lead the way."

Bishop Samuel L. Green, Jr.

"God enabled Bishop C. H. Mason to lead bothblacks and whites in an interracial fellowship at a time whensegregation permeated our society. May we likewise tear down wallsof separation."

Bishop W. W. Hamilton
General Secretary

"Years of research make this one of the mostthorough documentaries of our denomination that I have everseen."

Bishop Frank O. White
Financial Secretary

"Bishop Clemmons paints a realistic pictureof the dynamics that gave birth to our denomination."

Bishop Samuel L. Lowe
Treasurer

"Our roots establish our legacy and providethe springboard for the future. This documentation is a must forthis generation and the generations to come."

Mother Emma F. Crouch
Supervisor of the Women's Department
Church of God in Christ
President of the International Women's Convention

"This is must reading for every seminarystudent preparing to minister in the Church of God in Christ. Thiswill be extremely valuable to students of church history regardlessof denomination."

Dr. H. Vinson Synan, Ph.D.
Dean of the School of Divinity
Regent University
Virginia Beach, VA

"Finally, a documentary written by a blackhistorian/theologian and a lifelong member of the Church of God inChrist. Bishop Clemmons' perspective is insightful, informative,and refreshing."

Dr. William C. Turner, Ph.D.
Professor of Theology
Duke Divinity School
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

"This book tells the amazing story of afledgling movement that became a powerful presence in our innercities in just a few decades."

Dr. Dorothy Webster Exume, Ph.D.
Missionary to Haiti

"Allow Bishop C. H. Mason's vision to gripyou, to challenge you, and to change you."

Raymond C. Pierce
J.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary
U.S. Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights

DEDICATION

To my parents,

Bishop Frank and Mrs. Pauline Clemmons,

and other pioneers of the Church of God inChrist.

: About the Founders

: The Formative Years

: The Roots of the Azusa StreetRevival

: A New Spirituality

: The Holy Convocation

: Moving into the City

: Mothers Roberson and Coffey

: Facing Change and Challenge

A Prayer and a Vision of BishopC. H. Mason

100 COGIC Congregational Songsand Choruses

FOREWORD

Twenty-five years ago, I had the pleasure ofmeeting Bishop Ithiel C. Clemmons at a Youth Congress of the Churchof God in Christ. Being a third-generation Church of God in Christmember, I was excited by his insights into Church of God in Christhistory back then. Now with the advent of his book, Bishop C. H.Mason and the Roots of the Church of God in Christ, I am evenmore excited by his accomplishment. This book is an amazing feat,for it presents the disparate pieces of Church of God in Christhistory in a sound narrative for the first time, providing thegeneral reader and the Church of God in Christ membership with aninteresting introduction to Church of God in Christ leaders andachievements.

With this publication, Bishop Clemmons hascatapulted the Church of God in Christ into a new era ofvisibility. Now to the many queries from around the world forinformation about the Church of God in Christ this book can serveas an adequate response. Drawing upon his lifelong collection ofresearch, Bishop Clemmons joins the ranks of denominationalhistorians. Within the historiographies of pentecostalism andAfrican-American Christianity Bishop Clemmons fits within the"school" defined by James Tinney, Leonard Lovett, CherylTownsend-Gilkes and Cheryl Sanders. He argues for theAfrican-American roots of pentecostalism and slave religion as thebasis of the African-American Christianity which finds expressionin pentecostalism.

This book tells the story of the Church of Godin Christ in an engaging and thoughtful manner, crafting a storyabout the Church of God in Christ's accomplishment of forming amajor denomination from the few churches which reorganized in 1907in Memphis, Tennessee as a pentecostal denomination. The genius ofBishop Charles Harrison Mason is lauded; the verve of the manyChurch of God in Christ men and women who "preached out" churchesis heralded; and the spirituality which birthed a vital prayer,preaching, prophetic, and gospel music tradition is brought intofocus. The outstanding ministry of Bishop Mason is finallyinterpreted for the general public. The book introduces readers tothe great women and men who mentored Bishop Mason, shaping thevision which Bishop Mason would forge within the Church of God inChrist as well as the men and women who made the Church of God inChrist an international denomination.