William Howard Durham (June 10, 1873 in Brodhead,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

– July 7, 1912 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

) was an early

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement Finished Work The Finished Work is a doctrine that locates sanctification at the time of conversion, afterward the converted Christian progressively grows in grace. This is contrary to the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification that locates complete sanctif ...

doctrine.

Early life and career

Durham was born in 1873 in rural

and joined his family's

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

church; however, he would only experience conversion later. He joined the

Holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emp ...

and by 1901 founded the North Avenue Full Gospel Mission, a store-front church in Chicago. When the influence of the Los Angeles

Azusa Street Revival The Azusa Street Revival was a historic series of revival meetings that took place in Los Angeles, California. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African-American preacher. The revival began on April 9, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915. ...

spread to Chicago, one member of his congregation was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Initially, Durham was dubious about the new Pentecostal movement, but when he visited the Azusa Street Mission for himself, he had his own experience of Spirit baptism with speaking in tongues and was convinced. Upon returning to Chicago, Durham transformed his North Avenue Mission into a center to disseminate the Pentecostal revival in the Midwest and among ethnic minorities. Durham started publishing a periodical, ''The Pentecostal Testimony'', and travelled extensively to diffuse the Pentecostal message.Riss, R.M. "Durham, William" in ''

The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements ''The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements'' is a comprehensive reference work on charismatic Christianity which includes the three streams of Pentecostalism, the Charismatic Movement, and the Neocharismatic move ...

'', 2002. pp. 594-595. Raised in a Reformed tradition, Durham found difficult to accept the then-widespread

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

doctrine of a three-stage salvation process held by most Pentecostals. Quickly Durham acquired supporters among Pentecostals of Reformed, Baptist, and Christian & Missionary Alliance backgrounds, and many missionaries abroad, but entered at odds with the older Pentecostal preachers, such as William Seymour, Charles Parham, and Florence L. Crawford.Hollenweger, Walter. ''The Pentecostals'' Durham planned to systemize this theology Blumhofer, Edith L. "The Reformed Roots of Pentecostalism", ''PentecoStudies'' 6 (2): 78-99. and published drafts of it in his periodical, but he would not complete it as he died of pneumonia in Los Angeles in 1912.

Legacy

Durham was a mentor to a whole generation of Pentecostal leaders:

Louis Francescon Louis Francescon (March 29, 1866 – September 7, 1964) was a missionary and pioneer of the Italian Pentecostal Movement. Several Pentecostal denominations and fellowships acknowledge him as their pioneer, including the Christian Church of North A ...

, who preached among Italians in North America, Argentina, Brazil, and Italy; F.A. Sandgren, a pioneer among Scandinavians in the Midwest, one of them Daniel Berg, a Swedish Pentecostal missionary in Brazil; A.D. Urshan, a leader in the Persian,

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyri ...

, and

Oneness Pentecostalism Oneness Pentecostalism (also known as Apostolic, Jesus' Name Pentecostalism, or the Jesus Only movement) is a nontrinitarian religious movement within the Protestant Christian family of churches known as Pentecostalism. It derives its distincti ...

s; Andrew H. Argue, pastor in Canada; Eudorus N. Bell, a leader in the

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

;

Aimee Semple McPherson Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson (née Kennedy; October 9, 1890 – September 27, 1944), also known as Sister Aimee or Sister, was a Canadian Pentecostal evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s,Obituary ''Variety'', October ...

, evangelist and church founder; John C. Sinclair, pastor in Chicago and church founder; and

Frank Ewart Francis John Ewart (Australia 1876 – August 13, 1947) was a Pentecostal preacher, author and one of the founders of Oneness Pentecostalism and the UPCI. Early ministry Ewart was born in Australia in 1876 and worked as a Baptist bush missionary ...

, and Howard A. Goss, leaders in the Oneness Pentecostalism. Although he was a staunch congregationalist and against denominationalism, there are many denominations that trace their roots from Durham's work:

General Council of the Assemblies of God in the United States of America The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially the General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States founded in 1914 during a meeting of white Pentecostal ministers at Hot Springs, Arkansas (with ...

;

International Church of the Foursquare Gospel The Foursquare Church is an Evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1923 by preacher Aimee Semple McPherson. The headquarters are in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The church has its origins in a vision of ...

;

Open Bible Standard Churches Open Bible Churches (OBC), formerly known as Open Bible Standard Churches (OBSC), is an association of Pentecostal churches with headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Open Bible is similar in doctrine and practice to the Assemblies of G ...

; New Testament Christian Churches of America, Inc.; the Scandinavian-American

Fellowship of Christian Assemblies The Fellowship of Christian Assemblies ''(FCA)'' is a Pentecostal Christian association with roots in a revival during the 1890s among the Scandinavian Baptist and Pietist communities in the United States. In 1907 most of those congregations that ...

and the

Independent Assemblies of God, International The Independent Assemblies of God International (IAOGI) is a pentecostal Christian association with roots in a revival of the 1890s among the Scandinavian Baptist and Pietist communities in the United States. ''Independent Assemblies of God Intern ...

; the Italian-American

International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies The International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies (IFCA), formerly known as the Christian Church of North America (CCNA), is a North American Pentecostal denomination with roots in the Italian-American community. Central offices are located ...

and its counterparts abroad, like the

Christian Congregation in Brazil The Christian Congregation in Brazil ( pt, Congregação Cristã no Brasil) was founded in Brazil by the Italian-American missionary Luigi Francescon (1866–1964), as part of the larger Christian Congregation (Pentecostal), Christian Congregati ...

; the

Assembleias de Deus The Assembleias de Deus () are a group of Pentecostal denominations in Brazil founded by Daniel Berg and Gunnar Vingren, who came to Brazil as missionaries from the Swedish Pentecostal movement. The Assembleias de Deus are related to the world ...

of Brazil; Pentecostal Church of God; the

Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) (french: Les Assemblées de la Pentecôte du Canada) is a Pentecostal Christian denomination and the largest evangelical church in Canada.United Pentecostal Church The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Weldon Spring, Missouri, United States. The United Pentecostal Church International was formed in 1945 by a merger of the former Pentecostal ...

; and many independent Pentecostal congregations, mainly in the Northeast United States.

Early life and career

Legacy

References

Further reading