Charles Fox Parham: The Unlikely Father of Modern Pentecostalism - Paperback

by Larry Martin (Author)

Charles Fox Parham is an absorbing and perhaps controversial biography of the founder of modern Pentecostalism. Parham was a deeply flawed individual who nevertheless was used by God to initiate and establish one of the greatest spiritual movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, helping to restore the power of Pentecost to the church and being a catalyst for numerous healings and conversions.

Author Dr. Larry Martin is a lifelong Pentecostal with decades of ministry as a pastor, educator, and evangelist. He researched the life of this complicated and contradictory figure for over twenty-five years before writing this book--with a certain degree of hesitancy. By disclosing the whole truth about Parham's life--which has never fully been done before--would it give excessive ammunition to the critics of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements?

Martin uncompromisingly exposes Parham's weaknesses, faulty thinking, and transgressions while disassociating his behavior from the movement as a whole, writing with an inside understanding of Pentecostalism and a thoughtful analysis of Parham's life that goes beyond the acknowledgment of human frailty to reveal the work of a sovereign God.

If we don't confront the faults of our spiritual fathers, Martin says, we will fail to address the truth in the way the Bible lays bare the faults of some of our greatest biblical heroes of the faith. We must recognize and learn from the weaknesses of others, as well as their achievements.

The author of several books on the Azusa Street Revival, the history of early Pentecostals, and the Pentecostal Church of God, Martin presents a much-needed exploration of the life of one of the most influential religious figures of the twentieth century, whose impact is still widely felt today.

Includes photos of Parham's life and ministry.

Author Biography

Dr. Larry Martin has given more than fifty years to gospel ministry, serving almost twenty-five years pastoring churches in Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. While still in his teens, Martin launched his ministry career as a traveling evangelist. He returned to evangelism in 1997 and has continued in that work for most of the last twenty years through his ministry, River of Revival Ministries.

Dr. Martin has traveled in seventy countries, teaching in Bible schools, preaching in mission churches, and leading mass evangelism crusades where as many as 40,000 have professed Christ in one event. From 2001-2004, Martin served Brownsville Revival School of Ministry in Pensacola, Florida, as academic dean. He taught a number of courses in the college and was a regular speaker at the Brownsville Assembly of God Church. He served as president of Messenger College in Joplin, Missouri.

Considered by many to be an authority on the origins of the Pentecostal movement and especially the revival at Azusa Street, Martin is the editor of the twelve-volume Complete Azusa Street Library and the author of The Life and Ministry of William J. Seymour in that series. He is also the author of In the Beginning, We've Come this Far by Faith, and Kansas City, Here We Come, histories of early Pentecostals and the Pentecostal Church of God; and The Topeka Outpouring of 1901. Among his other books are For Sale: The Soul of a Nation; Have We Lost Our Mind? an in-your-face call to Christian commitment; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and the Hilarious, featuring stories from his ministry experiences; and The Believer, The Bible and the Bottle, a common-sense look at alcohol consumption and Christians. He has also edited and/or contributed to several other works. Additionally, as a freelance writer, Dr. Martin's articles have appeared in Charisma, Ministries Today, and a number of other publications.

Dr. Martin is a graduate of several institutes of higher education and holds a doctorate in ministry from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas. He and Lynda Morehead Goetz were married on July 3, 2016, both having lost their spouses in 2014. Larry has two children, Matthew Martin and Summer Jo Martin; Lynda also has two children, Lindsey Goetz and Ryan Goetz (Rachel). The couple has four wonderful grandchildren, Matthew Martin Jr., Isaac, Anna, and Louisa Goetz.