User:Bacmac1/Bishop Robert C. Lawson

Robert Lawson was born on May 5, 1883 in New Iberia, Louisiana. His parents passed away when he was very young and he was raised by an aunt, Peggy Fraser, during his early childhood.

Although he sprang from a family of ministers as far back as his great-grandfather, Lawson had no plans to enter the ministry. He had great plans for the future as a lawyer and businessman. After graduating from Howe University in Louisiana, Lawson traveled extensively throughout the United States, becoming a cabaret singer and gambling and hustling when he had the chance. Because of his melodious singing voice, Lawson sang in many fine taverns and nightclubs.

In 1913, Lawson was stricken ill while in the Midwest. During this illness, he began coughing up blood. While hospitalized in Indianapolis, Lawson was diagnosed with tuberculosis. At that time, this diagnosis was tantamount to a death sentence, and doctors felt that nothing could be done to save his life.

While in the hospital, Lawson was visited by an elderly woman, a “Holy Ghost Woman”, as he described her, who urged him to start praying.

In later life, Bishop Lawson enjoyed telling the story of his call of God to the ministry: “As I was kneeling beside the bed saying my prayers, suddenly there entered the room the presence of God in a whirlwind. This presence enveloped me while I lay upon my bed, and the voice of God Spoke out of a whirlwind in words I distinctly heard, saying, ‘Go preach my word, I mean you…I mean you…I mean YOU. Go preach my word’”.

A short time later, the frail young man was healed and followed his divine orders by heading the Apostolic Faith Assembly in Indianapolis and becoming baptized.

When Lawson first became “saved”, he belonged to a Pentecostal church. Pentecostals are not a separate religion. Pentecostalism is a form of Christianity. Therefore, Pentecostals are identified first Christians, not as Pentecostals. The term "Pentecostal" comes from the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when the promised Holy Spirit was poured out on the original disciples:

From Acts chapter 2, verse 1: “When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” The two things that distinguish Pentecostals from other Christians are generally-

•	Firstly, the belief that the activity of the Holy Spirit in the believer begins with salvation (called the "infilling with the Holy Spirit”) and baptism.

•	Secondly, Pentecostals share a belief that all spiritual gifts described in the Bible are at work in the church at this present time. They believe in supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit such as faith, healing, miracle-working, prophecy, and a God-given phenomena known as "tongues" ("glossalalia").

Glossalalia, or speaking in tongues, is a very interesting phenomenon. Generically, the term glossalalia refers to any unintelligible speech, often to speech that is 'nonmeaningful' - i.e., even the speaker knows he or she is talking gibberish which nobody can understand.

More popularly, however, it refers to the curious religious practice commonly called 'speaking in tongues,' whereby the speaker, moved by the Holy Spirit of God, is inspired to utter a string of nonsensical-sounding words and sounds; presumably, the sounds comprise a real language - spoken by someone, somewhere - but which make absolutely no sense to the listeners present. Pentecostals are generally characterized by vibrant faith, aggressive evangelism, bright worship services, prayer for the sick, the laying on of hands to impart spiritual blessing, the acknowledgement of demonic activity and the occasional need for unbelievers to be "delivered" from demons. Some Pentecostals also practice snake handling.

Pentecostalism, from day one, has not shied away from welcoming women preachers and leaders in churches and denominations. The church to which Lawson initially belonged, The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, or PAW, had these liberal beliefs towards women church leaders. This troubled Lawson, as did PAW’s relaxed attitude towards divorce and re-marriage. Lawson felt that strict Biblical interpretations contradicted these beliefs, and in 1918 Lawson split with PAW.

That year Lawson founded another church, Refuge Church of Christ, after the members of a prayer band in Harlem welcomed him and turned their meetings over to him. That small church grew and became known as Refuge Temple. At its height, the enterprise on 133rd Street contained a grocery store, a bookstore, record and radio shop, and daycare. In the basement of the church was a complete printing office where many tracts, booklets, and songs were published.

The Refuge Temple in Harlem was the hub of Lawson's evangelistic efforts in the Northeast, which ultimately grew into the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, or COOLJC. Lawson's field work took him up and down the East Coast, throughout the West Indies, and as far as West Africa, where Lawson appointed missionaries to carry on the church’s spiritual work.

The following is a quote from The Life, Legend and Legacy of Bishop R.C. Lawson, written by Dr. Robert C. Spellman and Sister Mable L. Thomas: “When Bishop Lawson stood up to preach, he would immediately electrify his congregations with a melodious outbreak of a song sung from the heart. Often, not worrying about what key it was in, or whether there was even a musician around, he would prepare his listeners with an inspirational song…His voice was powerful and his style profound.”

Lawson was a leading figure in an influential Pentecostal organization at a time when Pentecostal churches were rare. Other contemporary African-American Pentecostal organizations included the aforementioned PAW and the Church of God in Christ, as well as smaller "storefront fellowships." Nevertheless, COOLJC leader Lawson worked hard to keep his church at the forefront. Lawson's dynamic preaching style, outstanding teaching ability, and lively Pentecostal hymnody set the pace for the organization and made his name and the church well known throughout the United States.

Most pastors who were Lawson’s contemporaries felt that religious leaders should not delve into secular matters. However, in addition to being a man of God, Lawson had a good head for business. In his lifetime, Lawson founded a chain of funeral homes, a seminary, a radio station, a magazine, and several businesses, among other endeavors. However, his chief talents always were his charismatic singing and preaching.

By the time Lawson died on June 30, 1961, the membership at his headquarters Greater Refuge Temple had grown to over 3,000 members. Lawson’s Harlem church is still thriving more than 45 years after his death.

In 1998, COOLJC had about 30,000 members in 450 churches in the United States. There are now 582 churches world-wide, including congregations in West Africa, Mexico, Canada, the British West Indies, the Dominican Republic, England, Haiti, and the Philippines. Its U.S. membership remains predominantly African-American.

The current mission statement of COOLJC is “To evangelize the world for Jesus Christ; to equip every believer to become true Disciples of Christ; and to engage those social problems that challenge the communities we have been called to serve.”

The rise of the African-American Pentecostal movement occurred during the beginning of the US civil rights movement. Wikipedia defines the African-American civil rights movement to have occurred in the years 1955-1968. In fact, in 1957, Lawson spoke with a young Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for the “First March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”.

During the second half of the twentieth century, a small yet clearly distinguishable African American middle class largely composed of professionals and small businessmen and women had been established in several urban centers. Like many urbanites, they wanted the opportunity for recreational pursuits in a setting removed far from racism and discrimination in the cities. In this time period of strict racial segregation, such an escape was nowhere to be found for most African Americans. Before the civil rights movement, black Americans weren't just hemmed in by Southern legal systems and Northern ghettos. Travel was tough. Hotels and restaurants, not to mention resorts, were mostly off-limits.

By the mid-1900's there were around 30 U.S. resorts devoted to African Americans. These resorts were oases from sweltering hot cities for many African Americans. Under towering evergreens, blacks could enjoy the ordinary summertime pleasures—boating, fishing, swimming, hanging out at the roller rink—that others took for granted. One of the oldest and most famous African American colonies – Idlewild in Michigan – was hailed as “a haven from Jim Crow” and “the black Eden of Michigan”.

In 1927, Bishop Lawson founded the Barger Street Colony, variously known as the Emmanual Inn, Lawsonville, or Larksburg, on 121 acres in Putnam Valley. The property contained a 20-room summer inn, a cattle barn, a grocery store, and a gas station.

By the early 1930s, busloads of people, mostly from Lawson’s Harlem church, perhaps several hundred for a summer weekend, would make the trip from the city to Putnam Valley.

When the 1964 Civil Rights Act opened up other resorts to African-Americans, the boomtown period for African American resorts subsided. These communities continue to be important as heritage landmarks.

Today, little remains of the once-thriving resort of Lawsonville. Most of the bungalows were sold and converted to single-family homes, and the acreage sold off little by little. Records indicate that the old hotel was demolished around 1970. The gas station building is being used for storage by its present owner.

The 20-acre cemetery remains, although it is in poor condition. Records show that about 30 people are interred there, the most notable being Bishop Lawson himself. However, most of the grave markers have been overturned and/or are illegible.