“And Your Daughters Shall Prophesy”—The Revival Legacy of
Aimee
Semple McPherson
BY GARY B. MCGEE
on Aimee Semple McPherson.
The headlines
declared: “Cripples Are Cured When Woman Evangelist
Prays,” and “Sick
of Soul and Body Are Relieved.” Canton, Ohio,
had never seen
anything like an Aimee Semple McPherson campaign
before, and
neither had my grandmother who was baptized in the
Holy Spirit and
brought her family into Pentecost. “Sister,” as
Aimee came to be
known, arrived with scarcely any advance
planning. So
little in fact that her recent convert and associate
Charles S.
Price—soon to become a well-known evangelist
himself—had to
play the piano during the services. Testimonies of
salvation and
remarkable healings circulated in the city. For 2
1/2 weeks people
packed the civic auditorium. Two daily newspapers
printed the name
and address of each person healed. Who could ask
for better
publicity?
Refusing to preach
Jesus Christ as the great “I was,” she
proclaimed Him as
“the same yesterday, and today, and forever”
(Hebrews 13:8).
Like other Pentecostals, she believed that only
unbelief separated
believers from seeing New Testament signs and
wonders. The
startling attention given to the miraculous drew the
interest of the
ministerial alliance whose members soon took their
seats on the
platform behind her. So impressed by the
manifestations of
supernatural power that he observed, the pastor
of the prestigious
First Methodist Church invited her to preach on
a Sunday. Charles
S. Price received a similar invitation from
First
Congregational Church. At the close of the campaign, over
3,000 conversions
were recorded.
Aimee’s methods of
evangelism, especially the priority she placed
on prayer for the
sick, contrasted sharply with those of
Evangelist Billy
Sunday who had been there 9 years earlier. His
campaigns
resembled patriotic victory rallies more than rescue
operations to save
perishing sinners. While Sunday’s view of
evangelism fit
comfortably with the cultural values of
middle–class
America, Aimee’s barnstorming techniques—a reflection
of her early experience in the Salvation Army—and
expectancy of
signs and wonders demonstrated the distinctive Pentecostal
approach to evangelism.
HANDMAIDEN OF THE LORD
Throughout her ministry Aimee retold the dramatic story
of her
life under the
announced title, “From Milkpail to Pulpit.”
Thousands listened
eagerly as she told of her Methodist father and
Salvation Army
mother and life in the 1890s on their small farm
near Ingersoll,
Ontario, Canada. Audiences were charmed by her
courtship and
marriage to Robert Semple, a Scotch-Irish
evangelist, and
their journey to Hong Kong as missionaries.
Listeners mourned
with her as she told of his untimely death from
malaria in 1910
and of the lonely return to America with their
first child,
Roberta Star, born 6 weeks after Robert’s passing.
They felt Aimee’s
struggle over whether to obey God’s call until
lying on her
deathbed she heard a voice say, “Now will you go?”
She related her
eagerness as a simple handmaiden to work for Jesus
in any way
possible. She showed her commitment by driving tent
stakes into the
ground to set up tents for revival meetings,
spending hours around the altars praying with seekers,
feeding and
clothing the
hungry in Los Angeles, debating atheists, lending a
hand in
disaster-relief efforts, and selling war bonds during
World War II. Her
listeners empathized with the stings of
persecution and
criticism that came her way. With the threads of
her story woven
together, she then invited the unsaved to
surrender their
lives to Christ and challenged believers to commit
themselves to His
service.
CREATIVE
COMMUNICATOR
In the Roaring
Twenties, when mainstream Christians despised
Pentecostals,
Aimee Semple McPherson became North America’s best-
known evangelist.
Denominational clergy and laity flocked to her
services. On
January 1, 1923, she opened Angelus Temple in Los
Angeles,
California, one of the first megachurches in the United
States with many
satellite congregations. Embellished with eight
large stained
glass windows, 5,300 seats and two balconies, and
sporting the
largest unsupported dome in North America at the
time, she
dedicated it debt free, paid for by thousands of gifts
from Protestants
of almost every stripe.
In the same year,
she founded the Lighthouse of International
Foursquare Evangelism, now known as LIFE Bible College,
to prepare
Spirit-filled
pastors, evangelists, and missionaries. In the years
when Pentecostal
Bible institutes struggled for survival, LIFE
started in a new building constructed next to the Temple.
Frank C.
Thompson, then
retired from Methodist ministry and editor of the
popular Thompson
Chain Reference Bible, taught Bible subjects and
served as honorary
dean. Although not a Pentecostal, Thompson
shared Aimee’s
enthusiasm for divine healing. Aimee cherished
unity and
cooperation with other Christians.
What made her
ministry so effective? First, Aimee promoted
interdenominational evangelism, a priority
inscribed on the
cornerstone of
Angelus Temple. Despite gaining ordination as a
Baptist minister,
licensing as a Methodist exhorter, and
credentials for a
short time with the Assemblies of God as an
evangelist, she
refused to limit her ministry to narrowly defined
constituencies.
Aimee boldly carried her “Foursquare Gospel”
(Jesus as Savior,
Healer, Baptizer, and Coming King) wherever she
went.
Second, Aimee’s
understanding of the dynamic work of the Holy
Spirit enriched
her creative talents. She understood American
culture and saw it as a bridge to take the gospel to
humanity.
Aimee took
advantage of visual and audio means of communication.
She became famous
for her illustrated sermons, her written and
produced sacred
operas, and for founding KFSG, one of the oldest
religious radio
stations in the country. The result? Thousands
visited Angelus
Temple or heard her on the radio and came to
Christ.
PROPHETIC WITNESS
Aimee used
cultural modes for Christian witness but not
uncritically. On
one occasion when hundreds of Ku Klux Klan
members entered
the Temple and expected her blessing, she
denounced their
racism as contrary to the gospel. Even though the
productions of her
illustrated sermons had a Hollywood flavor
(Charlie Chaplin
reportedly gave advice on stage arrangements),
Aimee was quick to
denounce the vices of society: alcoholism,
white slavery
(prostitution), drug addiction, and anything else
that kept people
in the chains of sin. She also attacked police
corruption—publicly denouncing corrupt
officers by name—having
recognized that
evil in human structures crushes innocent and law-
abiding citizens.
Not surprisingly, the Los Angeles criminal
underworld hated
her. In Winnipeg and other cities, she
courageously
visited houses of prostitution, distributing New
Testaments and
tenderly hugging and praying with the women.
Aimee also rejected the cultural norms that placed limits
on
women,
particularly on those called to ministry. Although on the
Day of Pentecost
the Spirit was poured out on men and women, some
Pentecostals
sought to restrict ministry activities of women,particularly from pulpit
ministry. Aimee would have none of that.
Undoubtedly, she
had been influenced by other prominent women
including
Evangeline Booth, Salvation Army commander for Canada,
and Maria B.
Woodworth-Etter, the well-known evangelist whose
ministry spanned
the decades from the 1880s to the 1920s. In turn,
Aimee became a
model for other women ministers to follow,
including Kathryn
Kuhlman. With equal rights given to women in
1919, Aimee’s
ministry reflected the seemingly boundless
opportunities that women could have in serving God.
A LEGACY OF NEW CHURCHES
While many have remembered “Sister McPherson” for her
successful
evangelism, for the well-known account of her kidnapping
in 1926,
and as founder of the International Church of the
Foursquare
Gospel, her contribution to the planting of new churches
still
remains largely unheralded. In the wake of her campaigns
across
the nation, hundreds and probably thousands of
Pentecostal
congregations took
root with some remaining independent and others
joining the Foursquare Church, the Assemblies of God, and
other
new networks of churches. Whether preaching and praying
for the
sick in Denver, Wichita, Philadelphia, or Toronto,
revival
followed. The impact of her campaigns also jump-started
growth for
many small, struggling Pentecostal churches.
Aimee’s influence spread abroad through overseas crusades
and the
fruitful ministries of dedicated Foursquare missionaries.
Today,
few are aware that a letter from the United States to
Gheorghe
Bradin describing
Aimee’s ministry and telling of the baptism in
the Holy Spirit initially sparked the great Pentecostal
revival in
Romania.
THE REST OF THE STORY
Aimee’s journey “From Milkpail to Pulpit”—with its drama
and
pathos, its triumphs and failures, its laughter and
tears—held her
listeners at the edge of their seats. In a sense it
resembled
their stories too or at least one they wished for
themselves. But
while she inspired their imaginations, she couldn’t share
the rest
of the story perhaps because Christians prefer porcelain
heros who
seem to lack the imperfections of their admirers.
Adoration turns
to disdain, however, when a chip is found. “Throw it
away,” they
say; “it’s worthless.”
At times, Aimee’s public persona masked painful
loneliness. In
1911, a year after returning from China, she married
divorcé
Harold McPherson who appeared to offer her the security
she
needed. Two years later she gave birth to their son,
Rolf.
Domestic constraints soon frustrated her intense burden
for
evangelism. When Harold agreed to travel with her in
evangelistic
ministry, she thought she had the best of both worlds.
However,
Aimee was far more gifted. In the end, he couldn’t live
under the
shadow of her growing fame and filed for divorce just as
she
reached the pinnacle of her ministry.
In the aftermath of her kidnapping in 1926, Aimee’s
energies were
consumed by her grueling schedule (sometimes preaching
and
teaching 21 times a week). The subsequent court case,
negative
publicity, and mounting financial troubles contributed to
her
suffering a nervous breakdown in 1930. Family
relationships also
turned sour when she became estranged from those closest
to her,
namely her mother and daughter. She also foolishly
entered into a
marriage with musician David Hutton that she hoped would
bring
happiness. It proved to be doomed from the start.
Finally, her
healing ministry declined in the late twenties, an acute
humiliation for any healing evangelist to face. To make
matters
worse, newspapers eagerly gave front-page coverage to
every
mistake she made
and every tidbit of gossip they could find. Aimee
had more than her fair share of sorrows but discovered
the
sufficiency of
God’s grace (2 Corinthians 12:9)—God’s love is the
greatest sign and
wonder of all.
The anointed ministry of Aimee Semple McPherson did not
exempt
her from temptations and human failings. Like preachers
past and
present, there
were occasions when she proclaimed more radical
things about
Christian discipleship from the pulpit than she
modeled. Spirit-filled clergy have no less immunity to
problems
than anyone else. In addition, comfort within the culture
can
easily distort one’s perceptions of themselves and their
ministry.
As with Aimee, every Christian has blind spots and
weaknesses that
add a certain level of jeopardy to their best intentions
of
serving God.
For Aimee, successes in ministry as well as difficulties
in
personal relationships presented the greatest challenges
to her
integrity. Since her death in 1944, other Pentecostal
ministers
have wrestled with
the same issues of success, pride, and
relationships—some
have failed. Few have risen from the ashes as
well as Aimee
Semple McPherson to continue making contributions to
the kingdom of
God.
With a twinkle in
her eye, my grandmother often reminisced about
the glory and
power of God in “Sister’s” ministry. For her and
many others, Aimee
bequeathed a revival legacy that points to what
God can do through
His servants who remain faithful to their
calling and allow
the Spirit to enrich their creative gifts. When
remembering the
grace of God in his own life, Paul wisely reminded
his critical
Corinthian friends that “we have this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be
of God,
and not of us” (2
Corinthians 4:7).
Recommended
Reading and Listening:
By Aimee Semple
McPherson:
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