Church of God (Cleveland) - Racism in Early Pentecostalism

Rev. Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson (1865–1943) was the first General Overseer of the Church of God (Cleveland), one of the oldest sects to shape the Pentecostal Movement. Tomlinson was an American Bible Society agent who believed in John Wesley's "second blessing," which was adopted by the Pentecostal Movement as the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit." Under Tomlinson's leadership, the Church of God (Cleveland) experienced substantial growth, both attracting followers who embraced Pentecostal doctrines and influencing the Pentecostal movement.

At the same time, the Church of God was filled with internal conflicts and doctrinal disputes that led to divisions. The first major schism came in 1923 when Tomlinson advocated for abandoning the sect's constitution to establish a theocracy. On July 24, 1923, Tomlinson declared a separation from those opposed to a theocratic governance.

Church of God (Cleveland) was a predominantly white organization as opposed to the predominantly black Church of God in Christ. The Cleveland group openly advertised white supremacy organizations and leaders of those groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, Roy E. Davis, the second-in-command of the Klan, and John Roach Straton. Davis was a bishop and evangelist for the Church of God and claimed to be on the executive committee of the Davis-McPherson Institute, a Church of God school in Dahlonega, Georgia. Davis spoke at the general conference of the denomination in Chattanooga in 1927, where he was a familiar face among white supremacy. He and Ku Klux Klan founder William Joseph Simmons established the more militant Knights of the Flaming Sword in Chattanooga. This eventually led to a group of black ministers addressing the Church of God General Assembly to advocate for equal rights.

Quote:
We feel... somewhat embarrassed and handicapped to the extent we cannot make much progress that we really desire, and we are asking you brethren, with the consent 2 of all our brethren present at this Assembly, if there can be a way formulated by which we can arrange better to take care of our affairs among the colour work.- Black Ministers in the Church of God (Cleveland)

In 1927, another schism began to form in the Church of God. Tomlinson's group had passed a resolution in an earlier conference at Chattanooga requiring "all affiliated churches to make over deeds to all real estate owned by them." During the process, it was learned that Tomlinson had appropriated $14,000 (almost $341,000 in today's money). Tomlinson was ousted over the misuse of funds and worked to establish a new Church of God organization. He did so by organizing a hostile takeover of the Cleveland group, leading to a suit in the Tennessee Supreme Court. Just weeks fter the split from the "Lee-Llewellyn" faction of the Church of God, Tomlinson invited Davis to hold a revival for his sect, openly advertising Davis' association with the Ku Klux Klan.

Quote:
Tomlinson, one of the founders of the Church of God, was ousted when it was found that he had appropriated about $14,000 of the church's funds, and since that time he established a new church and sought to obtain members of the first and their contributions on the ground that the Church of God had departed from the original faith. - Knoxville Journal.

In 1951, A. J. Tomlinson's son, Homer Tomlinson, tried to push his father's theocratic agenda in American Politics. Homer formed the "Theocratic Party" and ran for United States President. Homer Tomlinson appointed another Davis, Roy Lee Davis, as campaign manager. Though he did not win, Homer ran for President multiple times. The platform established by his party claimed to "1) Maintain the U. S. constitution as an 'instrument of God', 2) Substitute Bible tithes for taxes, 3) Abolish all taxes on whiskey, gambling and tobacco because it is wrong to tax the weak, 4) Freeze wages and profits at the present level and 5) Guarantee farms 10 percent profit."

A. J. Tomlinson:
https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/a._j._tomlinson
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