Author Shares Rare Insight into Classical Pentecostalism

LOVELAND, OH –The year 2006 marks the centennial of the Azusa Street Revival, generally regarded as the birth of modern-day Pentecostalism, which has been the fastest growing religious movement of the past century. Much has been written concerning the early beginnings of the Pentecostal movement, and new books are coming out continually about Pentecostals today, but relatively few records exist about the crucial transitional period of the movement in the mid-20th century.

J. Stephen Conn helps fill that gap from a very personal perspective in his new book, “Growing up Pentecostal” (ISBN 1600340857). It is a true confession of an ultimate insider among Pentecostal preacher’s kids. The third of twelve children in the home of one of America’s most prominent Pentecostal ministers, Conn’s tremendous gift of storytelling eloquently portrays his childhood antics and personal spiritual odyssey. He pulls no punches. Conn gives a disarmingly honest and sometimes outrageously funny account of his struggle to come to terms with his own calling as he traveled throughout America as a teenage preacher.

Conn grew up in the home of the General Overseer (CEO) of the Church of God, the world’s oldest Pentecostal denomination. This gave him an insider’s view of the church, both locally and globally, even as a child. After spending more than 30 years as a Pentecostal minister, Conn now considers himself a post-Pentecostal. He has been ordained as a minister in three different denominations – two of them Pentecostal. “I do not write as a theologian, a sociologist, or a historian, although what I write is historically accurate,” says Conn. “I am a storyteller, with no ax to grind and no hidden agenda to either criticize or defend the Pentecostal faith.”

“People often ask me if my theology changed over the years to cause me to leave one church and affiliate with another. I answer that my theology has not changed so much as it has expanded” explains Conn. “I have discovered that God is much bigger than any one church body or movement. The God I knew as a child lived in a tiny box. The better I get to know Him, the more I realize that God is far greater than my finite mind can comprehend.”

Writing after enough time passed to give clear perspective, Conn had two audiences in mind when he wrote the book. “One group is those who either are or have been Pentecostal. Many of these have already told me that the book was therapeutic for them, even healing, because they have suffered under the abuses of legalism in the Holiness/Pentecostal tradition.” Conn said. “My other audience is those who know little of Classical Pentecostalism, including my own grandchildren. I wanted to leave a record with them of the way things were before Pentecostals gained more respectability – when we were despised, persecuted and ridiculed as ‘Holy Rollers.’ Hopefully it will help them better appreciate their own roots.” Conn’s recollections are reinforced by conversations with family members, diaries, letters, photos, mementos, and clippings that were kept throughout the years.

J. Stephen Conn has spent 45 years in Christian service. He grew up in Cleveland, Tennessee, a virtual Vatican of Pentecost. He became a born-again Christian at the age of 7, and started preaching at age 16. His unique journey has included planting 12 new churches and serving as a pastor in three different Evangelical church bodies: Church of God, Assemblies of God, and Southern Baptist. He has also been a guest speaker in over 500 local churches of more than a dozen different denominations. He is an award winning author of five books and more than 300 articles, which have appeared in a wide variety of both secular and Christian periodicals. For 15 years Conn was a syndicated editorial page columnist, appearing in 60 newspapers throughout the Untied States. Recently retired, Conn now devotes his time to travel, writing and guest-speaking. “Growing up Pentecostal” is available at online bookstores. For more information go to www.growinguppentecostal.com.



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