A. B. Simpson and the Pentecostal Movement

Based on impressive research the author has offered the spiritual heirs of A. B. Simpson as well as the larger church world an accurate interpretation of Simpsons spiritual pilgrimage. The information about Simpsons belief in speaking in tongues and the ministries of those who remained or left the Alliance over the issue provides valuable insights into the close relationship between the organization and emerging Pentecostal movement. -- Gary B. McGee Professor of Church History Assemblies of God Theological Seminary It is good news indeed that Charles Nienkirchens A. B. Simpson and the Pentecostal Movement is being republished. This is a very important and well written work which sheds light not only on A. B. Simpsons quest for the tongues-attested baptism in the Holy Spirit but on the milieu surrounding the early spread of Pentecostalism in America and especially in the Christian and Missionary Alliance. This is a historical treasure. --Vinson Synan Dean Emeritus Regent University School of Divinity Simpson has long deserved an in-depth study. A pivotal turn-of-the-century figure who never found full acceptance in any wing of American evangelicalism this prolific Canadian nonetheless profoundly influenced popular evangelicalism and Anglo-American Pentecostalism. Nienkirchen makes careful use of long-unused primary sources to illuminate Simpsons relationship to early Pentecostalism. The result is a suggestive work that offers perceptive insights into early Pentecostalism and the context from which it emerged. -- Edith L. Blumhofer Project Director Institute for the Study of American Evangelicalism Wheaton Nienkirchen provides a splendid study of the relationship of A. B. Simpson to Pentecostalism. This book demonstrates wide knowledge of primary materials and great care in documentation (with about one-third of the text devoted to footnote material). Nienkirchen clearly delineates the major elements in Simpsons religious thought and gives attention to the most significant ways in which his thought changed. His major interest in this book focuses on the ways in which Simpson influenced the formation of early Pentecostalism. Pentecostals accept some elements of Simpsons teaching and rejected or modified others but Nienkirchen argues persuasively the case for Simpsons importance in understanding Pentecostalism; moreover he clearly illustrates specific ways -- both direct and indirect -- in which that influence was felt in the complex story of early holiness-pentecostal relationships. -- William Pitts Professor of Church History Baylor University Charles Nienkirchen has supplied those interested in the history and theology of American Evangelicalism the Christian and Missionary Alliance or the Pentecostal movement with an invaluable reference tool and an interpretive lens through which to understand them. This must-read has shown its worth by remaining as relevant informative and provocative as when it first went to press. --Bernie A. Van De Walle Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology Ambrose University College and Seminary Calgary AB In A. B. Simpson and the Pentecostal Movement Charles Nienkirken has combined prodigious research with mastery of historical and theological sources to produce a superb study of Simpsons relationship with early pentecostalism. This is a most important and useful work. -- Randall Balmer Barnard College Columbia University Charles W. Nienkirchen PhD (University of Waterloo) is Professor of Christian History and Spirituality at Ambrose University College in Calgary Canada and Visiting Professor of Christian Spirituality at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto Canada. He has been a Scholar in Residence at Oxford University in England and Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem as well as Visiting Professor in Residence at Tamilnadu Theological Seminary in Madurai South India. His teaching research publications and ecu