Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians - Way of Life Literature

Even though Dowie was a wild-eyed heretic, GordonLindsay wrote Dowie’s sympathetic biography and gave himcredit for influencing “a host of men of faith who have hadpowerful ministries,” referring to generations of Pentecostalpreachers.Original board members of Gordon’s Voice of Healingministry included W.V. Grant, A.A. Allen, and Jack Coe.Acclaimed as great healing evangelists, they were actuallyhypocrites and phonies.W.V. Grant was jailed for tax fraud and divorced his wife.A.A. Allen was a drunkard and a charlatan. His MiracleMagazine was filled with incredible claims, such as the cure ofa woman who allegedly shed 200 pounds instantly during oneof his healing services. In the 1960s Allen launched a “raisethe dead” campaign, urging his followers to believe God forresurrections, though he had to stop this when some refusedto bury their dead loved ones (David Harrell, All ings ArePossible, p. 199). Many of his books promised prosperity. Inone story oen related by Allen, he was praying for themoney to pay a $410 printing bill when the $1 bills in hispocket were instantly changed to $20 bills. His vastevangelistic empire took in about $3.5 million annually, amassive amount of money for that time, and he built his own2,400-acre community in Arizona called Miracle Valley. Allenwas arrested for drunk driving during a revival in 1955 andthen fled bail and refused to face his crime. He divorced hiswife in 1967, in spite of the fact that she had stood by himduring the many troubles he had brought upon himself, andthree years later he died alone in a cheap motel in SanFrancisco while his team was conducting a healing crusade inWest Virginia. He was 59 years old and he had destroyed hisliver with his drunkenness.Jack Coe taught that consulting physicians was associatedwith the mark of the beast (Eve Simson, e Faith Healer,1977, p. 164). In February 1956, at a healing crusade inMiami, Florida, Coe laid hands on a little boy who was60