A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

Trinitarian Pentecostal Organizations
gambling, playing cards, and going to horse races. (See
chapter 1.)
Florence Crawford, a leader at Azusa Street and later
founder of her own organization, took a strict stand on a
number of matters: 171
Ministers could neither solicit funds nor receive
regular offerings. An offering box near the church
entrance sufficed. Her members not only relinquished
dancing, card playing, theater attendance, smoking,
and drinking, they also distanced themselves from
those who practiced such activities. Proscribing all
makeup and short hair for women, Crawford enjoined
modest apparel and insisted that slacks, shorts, and
short sleeves were inappropriate for women.
The Second Work Trinitarians historically took a strict
stand on holiness of conduct and dress. In recent years,
most of them have moderated or abandoned these positions,
although a minority of members still adhere to them.
As an example, the Church of God formerly opposed
all jewelry. In the 1950s a controversy arose over wedding
bands, and the church decided to allow them. There was
a steady relaxing of the “practical commitments,” until in
1988 the church officially eliminated its rules against
going to movies, wearing makeup, wearing jewelry, and
women cutting their hair. 172
The Church of God of Prophecy maintained a more
conservative position on these issues than its parent
body. In the 1950s it took a stand against members owning
televisions. In its “Advice to Members” (1968), it
specifically prohibited shorts in public, rings, lipstick,
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