F.F. Bosworth's Ministry to John G. Lake

How a Simple Question Led to a Spiritual Breakthrough -- and Years of Fruitful Ministry

By Roscoe Barnes III

Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind Christ the Healer

Copyright (c) 2018

#FFBosworth

#BosworthMatters

F.F. Bosworth played a pivotal role in John G. Lake's quest for a deeper life in the Spirit. His efforts are recorded in John G. Lake: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings (Whitaker House, 2005), which is compiled by Roberts Liardon.

In 1907, several months after Charles Parham's visit to Zion City, Ill., Bosworth, who experienced his own Pentecost on October 18, 1906, gave Lake a gentle nudge to move him to the next level in his walk with God. 

Bosworth's assistance, as it turned out, helped to pave the way for Lake to receive the baptism in the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Lake would go on to experience a divine encounter that would take him to Africa and other parts of the world.

Bosworth's contribution to Lake's development occurred in three ways, each of which may be seen as an act of divine providence.

First, Bosworth used his own home for prayer meetings where Lake and others could come and learn about the Pentecostal experience. In 1904, Bosworth received a visit by the wife and sister-in-law of Charles Parham. According to historian Kemp Pendleton Burpeau, Lake had the privilege of meeting both of the women during that time. "The meeting played a most prominent role in Lake's religious development," Burpeau noted.

Second, Bosworth coaxed him into delving deeper into his faith and his walk with God. Bosworth accomplished that with a simple question: He asked Lake about his willingness to fully commit himself to Christ. "Lake," he said, "When are you going to surrender to Jesus?"

Third, Bosworth and Tom Hezmalhach (who was called Brother Tom), knelt and prayed with Lake, who then and there surrendered himself to the Lord. From that point on, he began seeking the Lord for sanctification and the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Lake’s account of his meeting with Bosworth and Hezmalhach begins with his introduction to Hezmalhach in the home of Bosworth. It ends with the three of them praying, quite literally, on a sidewalk. Lake recalled:

Some months before I was baptized, (1907) I sat in a cottage meeting at the home of Brother Fred Bosworth. Brother Tom was preaching. At the close of the meeting, he came to me and said, "Brother, what is your name?"

             I said, "John Lake."

He replied, "John Lake, as I was preaching, Jesus told me, John and I are going to preach together."

I laughed, replying lightly, "I wish it were so, but I can't preach. I am not where I ought to be with God."

He said, "Never mind. Jesus is going to fix you up." 

Some months later as he visited our town again, one day I joined Brother Tom and Brother Fred Bosworth on the sidewalk. As we walked down the street, I stepped between them, taking each by the arm. Brother Bosworth turned to me, saying, "Lake, when are you going to surrender to Jesus?"

I said, "Anytime, Fred."

Tom turned to me saying, "Do you mean it!"

I replied, "I do, Tom." We all three fell on our knees on the sidewalk and right there I surrendered to my Lord. Then I sought God for sanctification and my Baptism in the Holy Ghost.

In October 1907 the Lord in His goodness baptized me with the Holy Ghost after several months of deep heart searching and repentance unto God at the home of a friend.

That Bosworth would suggest the need to surrender was not surprising, given his own background. After all, that is what he had been taught and what he experienced before his own Pentecostal experience. Bosworth, it should be noted, was present when Marie Burgess received the Spirit baptism. “As he watched her receive the baptism, he became so hungry that the power of God fell on him,” wrote historian Gordon P. Gardiner in Out of Zion into All the World (Companion Press, 1990). During that time, Gardiner explained, “The seekers were taught that they should be sanctified before they could receive the baptism.” Because of that view, some of the believers became discouraged, according to Gardiner. However, in Bosworth’s case, he reportedly came to a prayer meeting with a made-up mind and an attitude of surrender. Citing a woman who attended the meeting, Gardiner wrote: “The bandmaster of our city [F.F. Bosworth] came in and said, ‘I put the last thing on the altar coming up the hill.’”

According to Kemp Pendleton Burpeau, Lake received the Spirit baptism in October 1907, exactly one year after Bosworth had received the same gift. Burpeau wrote that Lake received the Spirit "with tongues (glossolalia), healing power, and other charismatic gifts. This baptismal empowerment was apparently distinguishable from his prior religious experiences in magnitude and comprehensiveness."

Lake's account is certainly clear and concise. It seems credible, and in a certain way, inspiring. He undoubtedly saw his time with Bosworth and Hezmalhach as something that was vitally important to his life and ministry. But despite their assistance, he chose not to mention them in his booklet, My Baptism in the Holy Spirit and How the Lord Sent Me to Africa (Divine Healing Institute, n.d.). When one considers the presumably close relationship that he had with the two, the omission of their names is a puzzling surprise.

References:

Burpeau, Kemp Pendleton. God's Showman: A Historical Study of John G. Lake and South Africa/American Pentecostalism. Oslo, Norway: Refleks Publishing, 2004.

Gardiner, Gordon P. Out of Zion into All the World. Shippensburg, PA: Companion Press, 1990. (Available at Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center. See ifphc.org)

Lake, John G. John G. Lake -- Apostle to Africa. Compiled by Gordon Lindsay. Dallas, TX: Christ For the Nations Inc., 1997.

------. John G. Lake: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings. Compiled by Roberts Liardon. New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2005. (See http://www.EnterHisRest.org)

------. My Baptism in the Holy Spirit and How the Lord Sent Me to Africa. Portland, OR: Divine Healing Institute, n.d. (Available at Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center. See ifphc.org)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog!

You can start right here:

ffbosworth.strikingly.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer

Fred Francis Bosworth -- Reporter of Pentecost

He 'Kept the News Flowing'

By Roscoe Barnes III
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind Christ the Healer
Copyright (c) 2018

#FFBosworth
#BosworthMatters

A sampling of publications by F.F. Bosworth

In his excellent article, “Publications,” which appears in the Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, historian Wayne E. Warner discusses the importance of the printed page during the early days of the Pentecostal movement.

“The Pentecostal and charismatic movements, like other religious organizations, have looked at the printed page as perhaps the most effective medium to reach not only their own constituencies but also prospective converts,” Warner writes. “Numerous accounts are documented in these movements’ literature of people who have been either converted and/or inspired through periodicals, tracts, books, or other printed matter. This was especially true during the first half of the twentieth century, when there was no television and only limited use of radio.”

Fred Francis Bosworth, who began preaching in the early part of the 20^th century, understood the need for the literature. He also knew of its power. A Pentecostal pioneer in his own right, Bosworth effectively used the printed page in many forms, such as news articles, advertisements, tracts, books, etc., to promote Pentecost.

Bosworth is widely known as the famous healing evangelist who wrote the classic, Christ the Healer. He is correctly remembered as an associate of William Branham and Gordon Lindsay, and mentor of T.L. Osborn and other evangelists of The Voice of Healing. But during the early days of his ministry, Bosworth stood out as one of the significant promoters and reporters of the Pentecostal movement in the United States.

“Bosworth was … a prolific writer,” noted Josh McMullen in Under the Big Top: Big Tent Revivalism and American Culture, 1885-1925. “His articles on divine healing and revivals appeared constantly in religious periodicals.”

In his early writings, Bosworth told of people being saved and dramatically healed of many types of sickness and diseases. His writings captured the excitement of revival meetings that included people falling under the power of the Spirit. He wrote of people having visions and speaking in tongues that were understood by listeners. His reports appeared in both independent and denominational magazines. He brought national attention to a number of leaders who believed in – and practiced – the ministry of divine healing.

Bosworth experienced his own Pentecost with the evidence of speaking in tongues in 1906. Two years later, he wrote about Pentecostal experiences he witnessed in revival meetings in Plymouth, Ind. His report of the meetings appeared in the December 1908 issue of The Latter Rain Evangel.

Reporting from Texas

It was in Dallas, however, where his writings caught fire and swept throughout the United States and other countries. Bosworth and his family had moved to Dallas in 1909. He planted a church that would become the First Assembly of God Church. He began his work with prayer, evangelism, and revival meetings. The meetings would intensify in terms of crowd size and spiritual activity that included reports of dramatic healings and great numbers of people being saved. Thousands of people came to the meetings.

In 1911, Bosworth suffered a brutal beating for preaching the “full gospel” to a black audience in Hearne, Texas. He wrote a detailed letter about the persecution that was published in a number of Christian outlets. Bosworth had preached about Pentecost in services for the blacks and whites when the beating occurred. He wrote:

The white people urged the Col. Leaders to send for some white Pentecostal teacher to come and help them into the Baptism. And so to accommodate these white citizens, I was sent for and of course went to the campground and on Saturday night preached to two large audiences, one white and one black. God gave unusual liberty and blessing in teaching and explaining the truths for which this movement stands, both audiences receiving the truth with great enthusiasm.

Bosworth’s reporting of the incident spread far and wide as an important statement on Pentecostalism and race relations in the segregated south. The story later appeared in his official biography by Eunice M. Perkins, Joybringer Bosworth: His Life Story, and other publications.

‘Pen of a ready writer’

F.F. Bosworth has been quoted profusely in scores of publications. His writings have appeared in many periodicals. Publications that featured his work include The Latter Rain, Triumphs of Faith, Word and Witness, The Christian Evangel, Confidence, Herald of His Coming, Herald of Faith, Moody Bible Institute Monthly, Healing Waters, The Voice of Healing, Bread of Life, The Weekly Evangel, Pentecostal Evangel, Alliance Weekly, Kenyon’s Herald of Life. His tracts have been published by Gospel Publishing House, Pilgrim Tract Society, and Osterhus Publishing Company. His writings also appear in Healing the Sick by T. L. Osborn, William Branham: A Man Sent From God by Gordon Lindsay, and Maria Woodworth-Etter’s autobiography, A Diary of Signs and Wonders.

Bosworth’s reporting on the Dallas revival sparked a wave of attention that attracted some of the biggest names in the Pentecostal movement. In 1912, Maria Woodworth-Etter, a famous healing evangelist, preached for six months (some sources say five months) in the revival meetings. During that time, Bosworth unleashed a flurry of press reports about the unusual events that occurred during her ministry.

Wayne E. Warner, former director of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, noted Bosworth’s literary efforts in the article, “Maria Woodworth-Etter: A Powerful Voice in the Pentecostal Vanguard,” which appeared in Enrichment Journal:

One of the calls [Woodworth-Etter] accepted came from Fred F. Bosworth, a young pastor in Dallas, who later became a well-known evangelist himself. Despite the fact that the 1912 meeting proved to be a key Pentecostal meeting, the Dallas newspapers practically ignored the thousands who were meeting daily and nightly for almost 5 months. Bosworth, however, kept the news flowing into Christian publications around the world.

Some of the biggest names in Pentecost

Because the local/secular media gave little attention to the meetings, “it was left up to the writers friendly to the Pentecostal movement to chronicle the meeting for their contemporaries in other parts of the country,” Warner explained in his book, Maria Woodworth-Etter: For Such A Time As This: Her Healing And Evangelizing Ministry. He suggested “the one best suited for the writing task seemed to be the host pastor, Fred Bosworth.”

It wasn’t long before prominent Pentecostal leaders caught wind of the meetings. Many, after reading or hearing about Bosworth’s reports, found themselves traveling to Dallas to see for themselves what was going on. Warner noted:

Pentecostal editors around the world picked up Bosworth’s Dallas reports, and then other writers relayed to their constituency the exciting happenings in Dallas. The list of influential Pentecostals who flocked to Dallas reads like a “Who’s Who” of early Pentecostalism.

The revival in Dallas would last nearly 10 years. While it may not have been the biggest event in Pentecostal church history in the United States, historians acknowledge it was certainly a high point for the movement. Historian P.G. Chappell suggested: "This revival became a key Pentecostal rendezvous."

In discussing the role that Bosworth played in promoting Pentecost, it is important to note that his views on evidential tongues did not line up with the views of some classical Pentecostals. In 1918 he resigned from the Assemblies of God because he did not believe that speaking in tongues was the only evidence of Spirit baptism. Like Martin Luther posting his 95 Theses, Bosworth penned a detailed letter on the topic and published it as an article in Word and Witness and as a booklet. The letter, a polemic on the Pentecostal doctrine of speaking in tongues, also appeared in his biography. He titled it, Do All Speak with Tongues?: An Open Letter to the Ministers and Saints of the Pentecostal Movement.

Historian Kimberly Ervin Alexander has noted the importance of Bosworth's position on tongues in Pentecostal church history:

... [I]n Pentecostal studies, what Bosworth has been most noted for is his departure from the cardinal doctrine of initial evidence, resulting in his separation from the Assemblies of God in 1918. This was the second major theological challenge that the AG faced within its first five years of organization.

Radio pioneer and advisor to post-WWII revivalists

During the 1920s, Bosworth saw tremendous growth in his ministry as a healing evangelist. During that time, he held meetings that drew thousands of people. Despite his extremely busy schedule, he found time to write and publish on the topics that mattered to Pentecostals and evangelicals.

In 1927, when he began publishing his own magazine, Exploits of Faith, he continued to report on Pentecost, but he focused more on his own ministry, which included the works of his brother, B.B. Bosworth. Unlike the early days of his ministry, speaking in tongues was not generally highlighted. Still, he wrote, and he did so continuously, using proven methods to spread the flames of Pentecost and divine healing, while cementing his place in church history.

Bosworth also became a pioneer in Christian radio through which he shared regular reports on his revival meetings and healing testimonies. "In a few years his radio ministry processed more than a quarter of a million letters," according to historian David Edwin Harrell Jr., author of All Things are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America.

When the post-World War II healing movement began in the United States, Bosworth had retired from ministry. However, in 1948, when he was 71 years of age, Bosworth came out of retirement to work with William Branham and Gordon Lindsay. According to P.G. Chappell, "Bosworth added enormous prestige" to their salvation-healing ministry that developed into The Voice of Healing. Despite facing the limitations of aging, Bosworth continued his work as a reporter of Pentecost. His article, "Gifts of Healing Plus," provided a ringing endorsement of William Branham. It was published in The Voice of Healing magazine and also in Branham's biography. Bosworth's book, Christ the Healer, remained an important text on divine healing for many revivalists of the 1940s and 1950s. According to David Edwin Harrell Jr., Bosworth "was an important advisor to postwar revivalists, and his knowledge of revival techniques and healing theology was widely sought."

The nature of his writings

Bosworth's writings consisted of letters that were published as meeting reports as well as "Letters to the Editor." Additionally, he published articles that originated as sermons. Not a few of those  messages saw print in the form of tracts and booklets. His crowning achievement as a writer, however, was the publication of Christ the Healer in 1924.

His writings were reportorial when he sought to promote revival meetings. Sometimes he published works that were autobiographical. Testimonies of healing were a staple of his ministry.

His published sermons covered a wide range of topics, including key doctrines of the Pentecostal movement. His messages tended to be simple and straightforward. Although some were evangelistic and devotional in nature, many were instructional, especially those on divine healing, prayer, revival, and financial prosperity. The messages had a self-help/how-to quality about them. Because he found himself defending his teachings on divine healing, some of his writings were polemical and apologetic in nature. Whether in live face-to-face debates, or through his letters and printed sermons, he boldly took on debates and answered his critics using Scripture, testimonies, and church history.

Bosworth desired to reach all people with the gospel. He sought to work with a host of different church groups and denominations. Because of the inclusive nature of his ministry, it could be said that his writings were ecumenical. While it is true that he felt at home with Pentecostals, he was equally comfortable with evangelicals in the Christian and Missionary Alliance, as well as those associated with Moody Bible Institute Monthly. In his reporting, he regularly highlighted the diverse backgrounds of the people that participated in his meetings.

Closing thoughts

This article has highlighted Bosworth's contributions as a promoter and reporter of Pentecostalism in the 20th century. It has shown how he worked with respected Pentecostal leaders and drew them together for a common cause. It can be argued that his influence as a healing evangelist grew, in part, because of his networking skills, as well as the proliferation and wide circulation of his writings. Bosworth died in 1958, but because of his writings, his legacy lives on. While his book on healing continues to inspire students, preachers, and individual Christians in Pentecostal and charismatic circles, his unpublished papers, letters, and out-of-print publications provide a treasure trove of material for on-going research. Perhaps at some point in the near future, a school will recognize him by creating a class, department, lecture series, institute, library or special research collection that bears his name. That would be another great moment in church history.

References:

Alexander, Kimberly Ervin. "A Response to 'Experience as a Catalyst for Healing Ministry: Historical Evidence and Implications From the Life of F. F. Bosworth'" by Roscoe Barnes III. Presented at the 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, Cleveland, TN, March 1, 2007. (See ffbosworth.strikingly.com)

Bosworth, F.F. "Beating in Texas Follows Ministry to Blacks: F.F. Bosworth's 1911 Letter o His Mother." Assemblies of God Heritage, Summer 1986. (See ifphc.org)

------. “Confirming the Word by Signs Following -- Jesus Saves, Heals and Baptizes. Some Hear in the Language Wherein They were Born: What God is Doing in Plymouth, Ind., U.S. A." The Latter Rain Evangel, December 1908. (See ifphc.org)

------. Do all speak with tongues?: An Open Letter to the Ministers and Saints of the Pentecostal Movement. Brooklyn, NY: The Christian Alliance Publishing Company, [1920s?] (See ifphc.org)

Chappell, P.G. "Healing Movements." In Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, edited by Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee. Waxahachie, TX: Regency Reference Library, 1988.

Harrell Jr., David Edwin. All Things are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America. Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1975.

McMullen, Josh. Under the Big Top: Big Tent Revivalism and American Culture, 1885-1925. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Warner, Wayne E.  “Maria Woodworth-Etter: A Powerful Voice in the Pentecostal Vanguard.” Enrichment Journal . Accessed September 25, 2018. http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/199901/086_woodsworth_etter.cfm

------. Maria Woodworth-Etter: For Such A Time As This: Her Healing And Evangelizing Ministry. Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 2004.

------. “Publications.” In Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, edited by Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee. Waxahachie, TX: Regency Reference Library, 1988.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog! 

You can start right here:

ffbosworth.strikingly.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer

What P.C. Nelson Saw in the F.F. Bosworth Revival Meetings

How the Experience Moved Him to Begin His Own Healing Ministry

By Roscoe Barnes III

Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind Christ the Healer

Copyright (c) 2018

#FFBosworth

#BosworthMatters

P.C. Nelson (1868-1942)
Photo courtesy of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center

“Few theologians or educators made a greater impact on the Assemblies of God than Peter Christopher (“P.C.”) Nelson,” wrote historian Darrin J.Rodgers in the Foreword to Nelson’s Bible Doctrines (2009). Nelson, he noted, “emerged as one of the most articulate Pentecostal theologians of his era.”

But before Nelson gained fame as a scholar, author, and founder of Southwestern Bible School (now Southwestern Assemblies of God University), he was a healing evangelist whose ministry was inspired by the miracles of healing he witnessed in the revival meetings of F.F. Bosworth. The brief time he shared with Bosworth left an indelible impression on him as a preacher of the gospel. The experience, which included the laying on of hands, dramatic answers to prayer, miraculous healings, and multitudes finding Christ as Savior, helped to transform Nelson’s theology on divine healing. At the same time, the experience prompted him to leave his pastorate and become an evangelist who preached what he called the “full gospel” of Christ that included salvation for soul and body.

Man of many languages

Nelson, an immigrant from Denmark, was born in 1868. He was a linguist and a preacher with strong Baptist roots. He earned degrees from Denison University and Rochester Theological Seminary. He reportedly had a reading knowledge of 25 languages. According to his book publisher, “He taught Latin, Greek and modern languages at several universities and could hold religious services in several languages.”

That linguistic ability alone generated praise and respect from the people who knew him. "Nelson’s academic prowess was legendary," according to Rodgers, who is director of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center in Springfield, Mo. He suggested Nelson's "linguistic achievements, in particular, merit further attention.”

Although much has been written and discussed about his contributions as an educator and theologian, little has been noted about his experiences with Bosworth. A glimpse of his time with Bosworth is suggested by Eunice M. Perkins in Joybringer Bosworth: His Life Story (1921). She wrote: “Other ministers and consecrated laymen have gone out from the Bosworth meetings to conduct similar services, and God is working in mighty power thru them. Evangelist P.C. Nelson, formerly of Detroit, is being used marvelously in this great service, in Kansas, Minnesota, and other places."

Noticeable pattern in healing ministries

It seems that Nelson’s experience was similar to the experiences of several revivalists who participated in the post-World War II healing revival. In his book, Only Believe: An Eyewitness Account of the Great Healing Revivals of the 20^th Century (1999), Don Stewart mentioned a number of preachers who attended revival meetings of famous evangelists and became so moved by the experience, they felt led to begin their own healing ministries. He reported, for example, the testimony of T. L. Osborn who attended a meeting held by William Branham in 1947. Osborn witnessed the healing of a deaf girl when Branham commanded the spirit of deafness to leave the girl. Stewart wrote: “Osborn, sitting in the audience felt flooded with the power of God while an inner voice whispered, ‘This is what you should be doing.’ Stewart noted “Osborn began holding crusades that very year.”

Stewart reported O.L. Jaggers began his healing ministry after he attended a Branham meeting in Arkansas. When A.A. Allen attended a 1949 revival meeting held by Oral Roberts in Dallas, Texas, he felt inspired to launch his own healing ministry. According to Stewart, that experience “was the turning point for Allen.” He explained: “The miracles of healing seemed very genuine, and he found himself in an experience similar to that of T.L. Osborn in the Bill Branham crusade. Allen felt God speaking to him to launch his own healing ministry.”

In Nelson’s case, his sense of calling into the healing ministry occurred after his miraculous healing and the baptism in the Holy Spirit in 1920. He had suffered a serious injury when he was hit by an automobile on October 16, 1920 in Detroit. He reportedly endured “a week of intense suffering,” which nearly cost him his life. But on October 23, 1920, the Lord healed him in answer to prayer. His next goal was to receive the Spirit baptism.

Note: Most of the excerpts that follow were taken from a typewritten version of Nelson’s Autobiography (1924). The work is available at Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (https://ifphc.org).

“After my healing with intensified interest, I began to seek the Baptism in the Holy Spirit,” Nelson wrote in his unpublished autobiography. In a booklet about his Spirit baptism, he noted that Nov. 16, 1920 was “one of the greatest days of my life, for at two o’clock that morning, the Lord Jesus baptized me in the Holy Spirit, and filled me so full of His glory that I could not tell it all in English.” He received the baptism after a time of prayer and tarrying. When it happened, he spoke in an unknown tongue. Soon after his Pentecostal experience, he heard reports and testimonies about divine healing occurring in the revival meetings of Bosworth. He recalled:

Immediately after receiving my baptism in the Spirit, I heard of the mighty works of God in connection with the revival campaign conducted by Evangelist F.F. Bosworth in Carnegie Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Labor Tribune of that city printed most astonishing reports of the miraculous healings in that meeting, and I decided to go to Pittsburgh and make a close personal investigation of these reports and testimonies. To my delight, I found the meeting in full swing from morning to after midnight, and talked with many who had been healed by the Lord in a most marvelous way.  I was asked to preach in the afternoon, and to assist in the healing services that afternoon and night.

What he saw in the Bosworth meetings

Nelson had served for many years as a Baptist preacher and sincerely believed that the age of miracles had passed. He had read the Bible in its original languages and did not believe that miracles of healing were occurring in the 20^th century as they did in Bible days. But his views underwent a change in the Bosworth revival meetings. For it was during his time in the meetings that he saw the power of God as he had never seen it before. Below is an overview of what he witnessed.

First, he “saw the multitudes come to hear the word of God, and to receive for soul and body from the Lord. The blind, the deaf, the paralytics, and the rheumatic and people who were afflicted with all kinds of internal maladies, were there in large numbers.”

Nelson watched as massive crowds of people from diverse backgrounds came to be healed. They came with many types of sickness and disease. To Nelson, it was like watching the “early days of Christianity, when Jesus walked the shores of Galilee.”

Second, he saw “the real meaning of the Gospel and its power to minister to man in all of his needs."

Third, he saw the reason Christ "began His healing ministry along with the preaching of the gospel, and commanded the Twelve, and then the Seventy, and the whole multitude of believers to heal the sick as well as preach the life-giving message.”

Up to that time, Nelson said, he had been preaching an incomplete gospel. That was something he had done for 31 years. But thanks to the moving of the Spirit in the Bosworth revival, he decided to go forward preaching a gospel that included healing for soul and body.

Fourth, he “saw … why the multitudes came to Jesus and clung to him,” bringing to him the sick in droves from many different areas near Jerusalem. 

Fifth, he saw that Christ wanted to connect with all people on all levels who had all kinds of problems, ailments, and afflictions through the actual hands of his followers. Nelson found that the Lord wished to do that “while he himself is sitting at the right hand of Power commanding the blessings down to us humble followers on earth to distribute to the multitudes.”

Sixth, he saw why many people had turned their backs on their churches and why their congregations began to shrink under the leadership of educated preachers who had fancy equipment and “great financial resources.”

Seventh, he “saw that there was power in the gospel of Jesus Christ when preached in its original fullness in the power of the Holy Spirit to draw back the multitudes which [had] deserted the worship of the churches to receive deliverance in soul and body by the mighty Savior….”

Finally, he saw his own futile attempts in evangelism. He had been “trying to win men and women to Christ by offering them a gospel in which there was no relief for their sufferings and afflictions, and little comfort for their sorrows.” Nelson discovered that his previous method of “chasing after people to come to the services” was less effective than presenting them with “a gospel so rich and full that they could not be kept away.”

Launch of his own healing ministry

The things that Nelson saw had a profound impact on his life and ministry. That brief time that he spent with Bosworth became a turning point in his life as it set him on a course for something different – and better – than what he had previously seen in his ministry. It was time, he reasoned, for the status quo to change. Despite being well educated and having a reading knowledge of 25 languages, he saw the need for a gospel of power that includes salvation for the soul and divine healing for the body.

After holding revival meetings in a Baptist church in January 1921, Nelson returned to Detroit where Bosworth was holding another salvation-healing meeting. As he had done in Pittsburgh, Nelson assisted by praying for the sick and by leading people to Christ for salvation. “It was here that the Lord began to give me outstanding cases of healing in number,” Nelson recalled. “It was a great training school for work I was soon to undertake single handed.”

It was soon after the Bosworth meetings that Nelson sensed the Lord calling him to leave his church. “Feeling called of God to leave my pastorate to go out into the evangelistic field and close our work in Detroit, I immediately began a campaign on these new lines in Wichita, Kansas,” Nelson wrote. “We began in a small way, and soon the meeting grew to such proportions that the largest churches in the city would not hold the crowds, even on week days, and people came from ten different states to be healed by the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Nelson went on to see many dramatic healings in his ministry. In addition to cripples, he saw the blind and deaf healed. In some cases, people discarded their crutches and wheelchairs. Reports of the healings, which apparently happened on a regular basis, helped to boost the attendance at his meetings.

Closing thoughts

Nelson's ministry of healing extended far beyond his church and Bible school. Through his writings, he reached a wide audience of readers. He also had an impact on the healing revivalists of the 1940s and 1950s. A prolific writer, Nelson authored a popular book titled, Does Christ Heal Today? Messages of Faith, Hope and Cheer For the Afflicted. It was promoted by healing evangelist Jack Coe and The Voice of Healing Magazine.

In his Introduction to Nelson's book, Coe wrote about the quality of the book’s message and his relationship with the author:

"This book contains the most scriptural, yet simplified method to receive healing from God of any book I have ever read. It was my happy privilege to be closely associated with this great man of God while I was a student in his school." 

Nelson and his writings also received praise from Kenneth E. Hagin, who said he sat under the teachings of the Pentecostal theologian.

Nelson's story shows that education, while important, is not a substitute for power. Although gifted and trained as a linguist, he needed help from above to fulfill the call of God on his life. While he excelled in his knowledge of known languages, it was only after he had spoken in an unknown language did he find the power he needed to become an effective preacher of the Gospel. Through his work with Bosworth, he discovered how he could be used by "Christ the Healer" in the ministry of healing and deliverance to the masses.

References:

Coe, Jack. Introduction to Does Christ Heal Today? Messages of Faith, Hope and Cheer For the Afflicted

Hagin, Kenneth E. The Woman Question. Tulsa, OK: Faith Library Publications, 1983.

McGee, Gary B. “Nelson, Peter Christopher.” In Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, edited by Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee. Regency Reference Library, Waxahachie, TX: Regency Reference Library, 1988.

Nelson, P.C. Autobiographies (1889, 1924). Available at Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (https://ifphc.org).

 ------. Bible Doctrines (Revised Edition). Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 2009.

------. Testimony of P.C. Nelson To His Healing and His Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Enid, OK: The Southwestern Press. Available at ifphc.org.

Rodgers, Darrin J. Foreword to Bible Doctrines by P.C. Nelson. Springfield. MO: Gospel Publishing House, 2009.

Stewart, Don. Only Believe: An Eyewitness Account of the Great Healing Revivals of the 20^th Century. Shippensburg, PA: Revival Press, 1999.

Perkins, Eunice M. Joybringer Bosworth: His Life Story. Dayton, OH: John Scruby, 1921.

White, Edward Speer. Past and Present of Shelby County, Iowa, Volume 1. Indianapolis, IN: B.F. Bowen & Company Inc., 1915.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog!

You can start right here:

ffbosworth.strikingly.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer

Maria Woodworth-Etter, Prophecy, and the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

New York Times Story Evokes Memories of Prediction Gone Wrong

By Roscoe Barnes III

Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind Christ the Healer

Copyright © 2018

#FFBosworth

Maria Woodworth-Etter

----------------------------------------

To casual readers of the New York Times article, “Found Footage Offers a New Glimpse at 1906 San Francisco Earthquake” by Niraj Chokshi (April 14, 2018), the disaster may be merely an interesting story in our nation’s past. But to students of church history, particularly Pentecostal church history, the disaster evokes memories of one of the most prominent female preachers of miracles and healing in the United States. That preacher was Maria Woodworth-Etter (1844 - 1924).

During an 1890 revival meeting in Oakland, Calif, Woodworth-Etter and others predicted a tidal wave and earthquake would occur and destroy the Bay Area on April 14, 1890. People fled the area, but the prediction did not come true.

Sixteen years later, on April 18, 1906, an earthquake hit the city and left it in ruins. More than 3,000 people died in what reporter Chokshi described as “a tragic chapter in American history.” One newspaper at the time reported, “Nearly half the city is in ruins and 50,000 are homeless.”

Woodworth-Etter (formerly Maria B. Woodworth) believed the earthquake was a fulfillment of her 1890 prophecy, according to historian Wayne Warner. In his book, Maria Woodworth-Etter: For Such A Time As This, he noted “it was prudent that she not mention the fact that her 1890 prophecy also mentioned a killer tidal wave – a little of which San Francisco firemen could have used in 1906 to quell the raging fires.”

Warner has done extensive research on Woodworth-Etter, whom he called in one book, “The Woman Evangelist.” In his response to a 2009 blog post about the earthquake, Warner noted that Woodworth-Etter was 55 in January 1890 when she predicted “a tidal wave and earthquake would destroy the Bay Area.” The local newspapers featured regular reports about the prediction. Warner wrote:

The disaster was set for April 14, 1890 and an estimated thousand people fled the area for nearby hills.

What about Maria? She left with her team and set up her tent in St. Louis–far from the predicted tidal wave.

Woodworth-Etter went on to hold revival meetings in various parts of the United States. In 1912, she held meetings with F.F. Bosworth at his church in Dallas, Texas. She returned to Oakland in 1915. On her return visit, she mentioned the 1890 prediction, according to Warner. In his book, The Woman Evangelist, he cited a report she presented in her book, A Diary of Signs and Wonders, in which she appeared to claim validation. She wrote:

I remember how the Lord had shown me at that time the great earthquake that was coming on San Francisco, Oakland, and adjoining towns, and that I would live to work over the ruins. Now, after all these years, I saw that prophecy fulfilled.

Readers may dismiss the evangelist’s claim as nothing more than pure nonsense while some, especially Pentecostals, might see an element of divine truth in her prediction, even though it was off a few years. In Warner’s view, the earthquake prediction was a “false prophecy” that caused much harm as it resulted in “the worst scare since the Millerites experienced their ‘Great Disappointment’ during 1843.” Warner observed: “The good that was accomplished in Oakland during the Woodworth meetings was hardly worth the damage that came as a result of the false prophecy.”

While acknowledging that everyone makes mistakes, Warner wrote that “it was obvious that Mrs. Woodworth – who was definitely handicapped with little formal education and no theological training – chalked up several colossal mistakes in her Oakland crusade.” Unfortunately, there is no record of her ever admitting she’d made a mistake with the prophecy.

 ----------------

References:

“Found Footage Offers a New Glimpse at 1906 San Francisco Earthquake” by Niraj Chokshi (April 14, 2018): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/14/us/san-francisco-earthquake-film.html

The Woman Evangelist: The Life and Times of Charismatic Evangelist Maria B. Woodworth-Etter by Wayne Warner (Scarecrow Press, 1986).

Wayne Warner’s Response to “San Francisco Timecapsule: 01.19.09”: http://www.sparkletack.com/2009/01/19/san-francisco-timecapsule-011909/

Maria Woodworth-Etter: For Such A Time As This (Bridge Logos Publishers, 2003).

-----------------------------
For more information: 

Visit ffbosworth.strikingly.com. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer

F.F. Bosworth's Advice to A. W. Tozer

By Roscoe Barnes III
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind Christ the Healer
Copyright (c) 2018

#FFBosworth

When we hear about F.F. Bosworth teaching and mentoring young preachers, we tend to think of his work with The Voice of Healing in the 1940s and 1950s. But there was another young preacher encouraged by him who went on to become a famous author of deeper life books. That young preacher was none other than A.W. Tozer, who is read and quoted by Pentecostals and evangelicals alike.

According to Lyle Dorsett, author of A Passion for God:  The Spiritual Journey of A.W. Tozer (2008), Bosworth took Tozer under his wing and provided him with advice on a number of topics that included teaching, evangelism, and divine healing. Dorsett writes: "Bosworth, a wizened and battle-scarred warrior from years of battling both the Devil and other Christians, generously took Tozer into his counsel."

Dorsett notes that Bosworth "urged" Tozer to fully accept divine healing, but to give more attention to his ministry of evangelism. In Dorsett's view,  "Bosworth helped Tozer see that some ministers have a strong and primary healing gift while others are essentially teachers or preachers."

Bosworth and Tozer were both ministers in the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA), a denomination that believes in divine healing. Bosworth became one of CMA's most famous healing evangelists. In 1924, he published Christ the Healer, which is still in print today.

In addition to advising Tozer to embrace healing and to make it secondary to his evangelistic work, Bosworth reminded him of the need to spend time with those engaged in healing ministries. According to Dorsett, "He urged Tozer to be in fellowship with men who had healing gifts but not to feel pressured to do it all."

Bosworth also called on Tozer to "celebrate and support" those who were seen as actually having the gift of healing, according to Dorsett. Bosworth reportedly went further in his advice by addressing the issue of speaking in tongues, a topic of contention at the time. Dorsett writes: "Finally, Bosworth taught Tozer to respect the gift of tongues inasmuch as it is biblical." At the same time, he apparently cautioned young Tozer about giving the subject more attention than it deserved.

The extent to which Bosworth influenced Tozer is not known, and claims of Bosworth being his mentor are disputed by some scholars, including Tozer biographer James L. Snyder.

"To say that Bosworth was a mentor to Tozer is stretching the truth quite a bit," Snyder wrote in a 2015 email.  "Because Bosworth was part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, of which Tozer was a minister, Tozer supported his crusades in Chicago and even had Bosworth preach in his Chicago pulpit."

On the subject of healing, Snyder noted that Tozer believed in it and often prayed for the sick in his church. Such was not uncommon for CMA pastors. While Tozer may have seen people healed, he did not see "hundreds of physical healings in his meetings," according to Snyder. Bosworth, however, did see such healings, he noted.

"Bosworth's ministry was basically a healing ministry whereas Tozer's was more of a deeper life ministry," Snyder said.

Still, when one considers the enormous success of Bosworth in the 1920s, and his work with CMA churches, it would be hard to imagine a young Tozer not seeking and receiving guidance from Bosworth.

--------------------------------------

Would you like to know more about F.F. Bosworth?

Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here.

----------------------------------------

For more information: 
Visit ffbosworth.strikingly.com. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer