Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Baylor Professor, is Doing Resear...

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 Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Baylor Professor, is Doing Research on F.F. Bosworth 

His investigation has taken him to the First Assembly of God Church in Dallas

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind “Christ the Healer”
Copyright © 2019

#FFBosworth
#ChristTheHealer
#RoscoeBarnes

Dr. J. Gordon Melton
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“Bosworth is so important to the story I am trying tell.”
– Dr. J. Gordon Melton

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Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History at Baylor University, is doing research on F.F. Bosworth, author of Christ the Healer (1924).

For several years now, he has been working on Texas Pentecostal history “since discovering how the state’s historians have neglected it,” he wrote in an Aug. 9, 2019 email. He said his work in this area “has turned out to be most exciting.”

One of the fascinating discoveries Melton has made so far is the possible identification of someone connected to the meetings in Hearne, Texas, where Bosworth was beaten for preaching to a black audience. “I have even tracked one black person who was probably in the service that occurred before Bosworth was beaten,” Melton said. In highlighting the significance of Bosworth’s contributions, Melton noted: “Bosworth is so important to the story I am trying tell.”

Melton holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He is the author of more than 50 books and scores of scholarly articles and papers. Melton is also an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.

Information on Dr. J. Gordon Melton is available here.
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Carrie Wagliardo Loftis and the ‘Renewed interest in F.F. Bosworth’

I learned about Melton’s work on Bosworthduring a phone conversation I had on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019, with historian Carrie Wagliardo Loftis. Loftis is the author of First Assembly of God Dallas: A History of First Assembly of God- Dallas, Texas, 1912- 1992 (First Assembly of God, 1992), which is now out of print. She said Melton had reached out to her pastor who provided him with a copy of her book.

A growing number of people are inquiring about Bosworth, Loftis said. “There appears to be renewed interest in F.F. Bosworth,” she said, noting her surprise by the attention he’s receiving. Over the past few years, people have contacted her -- or someone at the church -- with questions about her book and Bosworth.

My phone conversation with Loftis was prompted by an email I received from a Dallas pastor who had asked about Bosworth's role in the founding of the First Assembly of God Church in Dallas. The pastor, a reader of my blog, Bosworth Matters, wanted to know where the church was founded and where it had moved during its history. According to Loftis, Bosworth first came to Dallas in 1909 and held tent meetings on North Haskell Avenue near what is now North Central Expressway (Highway 75). “He moved the tent to East Side Avenue and Washington Street,” Loftis said. “Then he secured a larger tent and placed it on Parry and Fletcher streets. In that tent he had Maria Woodworth-Etter for meetings in 1912 with up to 5,000 people in attendance.”

Bosworth and his congregation later formed a church and built a permanent building. They called it the Pentecostal Tabernacle. It was on the corner of Fourth and Grand, according to Loftis. On Nov. 1, 1912, they held their first service in new building.

Loftis said her Wagliardo family has been members of First Assembly since 1921. “My family has been in this church for five generations,” she said, adding they have had “continuous attendance.”

After learning about my own interest in Bosworth, Loftis recommended a book about leaders in Pentecostal church history. The books is titled, Portraits of a Generation: Early Pentecostal Leaders (University of Arkansas Press, 2002). It is edited by James R. Goff Jr. and Grant Wacker.

“This is a book you need to read,” Loftis said. “It has so much to offer on church history and the Pentecostal movement.”

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Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: bosworth25.

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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 @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMention #BosworthMatters