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Rare Insight of a Child Growing up in Classic Fundamental Pentecostalism

The early to mid 1900's8217;s reeled with fundamentalist religions 's8211; each feeling they had exclusive access to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.One of the front runners of this movement was Pentecostalism. Until the early 1960s, Pentecostalism was confined almost entirely to the Classical Pentecostal denominations. During the mid-20th century, many religions went through dramatic shifts, including the traditional Holiness/Pentecostal churches. Due to a growing need to rethink their former stand on some of their isolationist and legalistic attitudes, a crucial transitional period of the mid-20th century ensued for the Classic Pentecostals.



The year 2006 marks the centennial of the Azusa Street Revival, generally regarded as the birth of modern-day Pentecostalism, which is by far the fastest growing religious movement of the past century. Due to the significance of this milestone, J. Stephen Conn decided to write his biography, 's8220;Growing Up Pentecostal's8221; (ISBN 1600340857), a true confession of an ultimate insider among Pentecostal preacher's8217;s kids. The third of twelve children in the home of one of America's8217;s most prominent Pentecostal ministers, Conn's8217;s tremendous gift of storytelling eloquently portrays his childhood antics and personal spiritual odyssey. He gives a disarmingly honest and humorous account of his struggle to come to terms with his own calling as he traveled throughout America as a teenage preacher. 's8220;My story focuses on growing up in the 1950s and early 1960s, the crucial midway point of Pentecostalism's8221; explains Conn.



Conn grew up in the home of the General Overseer (CEO) of the Church of God, the world's8217;s oldest Pentecostal denomination. This gave him an insider's8217;s view of the church, both locally and globally, even as a child. After spending more than 30 years as a Pentecostal minister, Conn now considers himself a post-Pentecostal.Ordained

in three different denominations 's8211; two of them Pentecostal, he writes with no hidden agenda to either criticize or defend the Pentecostal faith. 's8220;People have often asked me if my theology changed over the years to cause me to leave one church and affiliate with another. I answer that my theology has not changed so much as it has expanded's8221; explains Conn. 's8220;I have discovered that God is much bigger than any one church body. The God I knew as a child lived in a tiny box. The better I get to know Him, the more I realize that God is far greater than my finite mind can comprehend.'s8221;



Recently retired and with enough time passed to give clear perspective, Conn had two audiences in mind when he wrote the book. 's8220;One group is those who either are or have been Pentecostal. Many of these have already told me that the book was therapeutic for them because they have suffered under the abuses of legalism's8221; explains Conn. 's8220;My other audience is those who know little of Classical Pentecostalism, including my own grandchildren. I wanted to leave a record with them of the way things were. Hopefully it will help them better understand their ancestors, and appreciate more the life that they now have.'s8221; Conn's8217;s recollections are reinforced by conversations with family members, diaries, letters, photos, mementos, and clippings that were kept throughout the years.



J. Stephen Conn has spent 45 years in Christian service. He grew up in Cleveland, Tennessee, considered the virtual Vatican of the Pentecost. He became a born-again Christian at the age of 7, and started preaching at age 16. Conn's8217;s unique journey has included planting 12 new churches and serving as a pastor in three different Evangelical church bodies: Church of God, Assemblies of God and Southern Baptist. He has also been a guest speaker in 500 local churches representing more than a dozen different denominations. He is an award winning author of five books and more than 300 articles, which have appeared in a large variety of both secular and Christian periodicals. For 15 years Conn was a syndicated editorial page columnist, appearing in 60 newspapers throughout the United States. Recently retired, Conn now devotes his time to writing and guest-speaking. 's8220;Growing up Pentecostal's8221; can be purchased at online bookstores. For more information go to www.growinguppentecostal.com

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