A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

The Finished Work Controversy
Pinson and H. G. Rodgers, also received the Holy Ghost
under Cashwell’s ministry. Because of his widespread
impact, Cashwell became known as the apostle of
Pentecost to the South. He later left the Pentecostal
Holiness Church due to political conflict, however, and
continued his ministry in his previous organization, the
Methodist Church.
A. J. Tomlinson and the Church of God
In January 1908, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson (1865-
1943), the general overseer of the Church of God, invited
Cashwell to speak to the leaders of the organization in
Cleveland, Tennessee. While Cashwell was preaching,
Tomlinson received the Holy Spirit, falling to the floor
and speaking in tongues. Thereafter, this group also
became Pentecostal.
The Church of God had been founded in 1886 by R. G.
Spurling as a Holiness organization originally called the
Christian Union and later the Holiness Church. In 1896, a
great revival took place in the Shearer Schoolhouse in
Cherokee County, North Carolina. About 130 persons
received the Holy Spirit with tongues, and many healings
took place. However, this experience did not become a
doctrine, nor did the group as a whole seek it. When the
Pentecostal movement became widely known in 1906,
many people in the Church of God began to seek the baptism
of the Holy Spirit with tongues and to preach it.
In 1907 the organization became officially known as
the Church of God, a name already in use by another
Holiness organization that never adopted the Pentecostal
message. To avoid confusion, the two groups are identified
by their headquarters. The Pentecostal group is the
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