Holy Rollers Vs. Pentecostal Movement
After more than eight years of God’s mighty workings in the Pentecostal movement the world over, There is still much misunderstanding as to the movement. A minister who is lately getting awakened to the reality of the baptism with the Holy Ghost accompanied by tongues, and who sought last night for the first time and was mightily laid out under the power of the Spirit, said to me: “Brother Morse, I can’t see how people read the Bible and now it could oppose you people.” I said to him: “Brother, here is where Satan gets his nad in. In many cases he does not tell them that our teaching is wrong, as many really do not know what we teach, but the majority of
Church people and the world’s people have heard their preacher, evangelist or some friend in whom they place confidence, tell something slanderous, and many have read some scandalous report as to something about the so called “holy rollers”, and they of course, believed it”. Now, in most cases, these people have never once gone to our meetings but just took it from hearsay and therefore they are against us.
About eight years ago I was in San Pedro, Calif., in the Holiness work, when the Pentecostal work was new, and a leading Holiness paper had commissioned a well known holiness writer, Dr.---, to come to the Pacific coast to investigate the “tongues movement” so called. Well, he paid us a visit one night at San Pedro, and in the morning before leaving he asked me to do some writing for him, as he dictated it to me. The first to be written was an article, for the paper mentioned, on “The tongues movement.” I wrote on at his dictation about half a sheet. At this point he was dictating something to the effect that, in his opinion, this movement …composition of spiritism, and devilism. He went on …Brother B and Brother F and some of the old war horses of the Holiness movement did not endorse it, etc. Well, about this time I was pretty nervous, writing things down which I knew positively were false, though he may have meant all right. Finally I paused and looked up at the old doctor and said:” Brother, have you been to investigate for yourself ?” He said “No.” I said, “I have, and I have found it to be very different from what you state.” He immediately spoke up very nicely and reasonably and said ” “Well, Harry, tear it up and I will go and see for myself.” So I tore it up and went on with the other matters.
He went to investigate and visited old Azusa Street Mission. A reliable brother told me he came in to the meeting one night and walked back and forth with his cane (as was his custom) meditating, and finally he began to advertise his books. They did not interfere with him. Well, he left quite satisfied that the old war horses of the holiness movement were mistaken. When he reached Peniel Hall, where he had been holding meetings, they were very anxious to know his opinion after having been there himself. His answer to the leaders was something to this effect: “I felt the sweet spirit of Jesus there and saw nothing wrong, only I could not endorse all of their teaching.”
Now, this was true of all of us ministers when we first came into this movement, which is perfectly natural in view of our having all been taught differently. Well, he did not write his article for that paper, as it did not come out. For quite a while this doctor was not against this movement, but finally I heard he was utterly opposed to it. I do not know why unless the way was too straight and narrow, too much persecution going on with it, and perhaps it would mean disaster to many of his writings which had become so popular. Some havemore to give up than others, especially those who have much literature on the market.
Well, my point is, many are not as reasonable and thoughtful as the dear old Brother, to go for themselves and see so as to know in reality just what they are talking about, and they thereby become prejudiced by simply taking a hearsay report for granted. It manifests a very small principle in one to so do.
The devil has an old trick and it is very ancient. It is to blind the minds of them that believe not (
2 Cor. 4:3-4), and these unbelievers are not mere worldlings, but you find plenty of them right among the professed followers of Jesus Christ, and in the holiness movement at that. The blind are leading the blind. In Jesus’ day he met them as elders of the church. He said they would not enter in neither would they let others enter in. Of this class Peter says:”They willingly are ignorant,”
2 Pet. 2:5, and God will allow them to be so, if they are determined to be. In
1 Cor. 14:38, we read: “But,if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” But, I do feel sorry for the saints who are kept in ignorance and from the deep rich experiences that so many are entering into who are allowed to see the light.
Let me in the following lines correct some of the modern lies and misrepresentations that are being thrust at us. Believe me, I am ready to prove my statements to any honest souls who really want to know the truth.
The first common false report is that we are “holy rollers.” One man who passes as an evangelist among the Nazarenes, was here in Boise lately and he tried to down the movement in this way. He told the public that he knew all about it and that it was identical with the “holy rollers” who had the shooting scrape in which Creffield and Mitchell were killed in Oregon and Washington. Honest souls believe these men and say, “How about it ?” Well, I am glad to say that intelligent people are not all dead yet and some of us lived just far enough back to know all about the real Holy Rollers. Let me say that this man or any other people who say such things are either totally ignorant on that subject or they are trying to do malicious dirt to tear down one movement with the hope of building up another. But, it doesn’t work, as truth will out. Listen ! I publicly deny these statements: First, that we are holy rollers, and second, that we have any relation whatsoever to them, and third, that there is any similarity between us. Emphatically, they did not speak in tongues as we do.
Now, listen ! The real holy rollers broke out in a smaller part of Oregon and Washington under the leadership of one Capt. Creffield, who was an exSalvation Army officer. He taught some erroneous things and his actions and that of his few followers were very fanatical and disgraceful. I understand on good authority that many things which the newspapers reported at the time of the happenings were fairly correct, such as fanatical rolling and going to have a holy child of promise by a girl, the sister of Young Mitchell, and a lot of rot. I followed it up closely at the time. Well, it ended by young Mitchell (the girl’s brother) who was unsaved, being so enraged at this kind of doings that he shot and killed Mr. Creffield, the leader of that cult. Then the girl was so enraged at her brother for killing her leader that she shot and killed her own brother, young Mitchell. This soon ended the doings of the holy rollers. The whole thing came to naught.
Now, some two or three years after all this happened, about April of 1906, news began to reach the world of something new in the city of Los Angeles, people having a new manifestation (
Acts 2:12) speaking in other languages and mighty shakings of the Holy Spirit as in Apostolic days, as recorded in the book of Acts. See
Acts 2:4; 10:44-46, and 19:1-6. Note, also, this is in harmony with the words of Jesus just before he left for heaven. See
Mark 16:16-17. Now, these things were admitted to be real in Los Angeles. Well, soon the reports began to come in of the same …happening in different parts of the United States and Canada before speakers from Los Angeles had gone to such places and soon news came that it had broken out in India,
Russia, Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, South America and many other foreign countries.
Well, the newspapers immediately connected this wonderful thing with the holy rollers of some years before, and naturally laid at its feet all the sins of the real Creffield holy rollers. Yet, they were entirely separate, and always have been.
I soon went to Los Angeles to investigate for myself, and as I heard they rolled over one another and stuck their tongues out like snakes and had other awful contortions, I was very suspicious of them. I was at the time in Peniel Mission work and my heart was hungry, realizing my need of deeper things of God for the ministry and wanting the real, genuine baptism from God. So I went to investigate, but was very cautious, extremely so because of these bad reports. But I wanted to see for myself. When I went into the old Azusa Street Mission that Monday night in the month of September, 1906, I was utterly surprised to find merely a good old time red hot gospel revival meeting going on, and I tell you it hit the spot in my soul. While I did not understand everything, yet I soon changed my opinion and after a few more investigating visits, to be perfectly sure, I publicly put myself on record as being in favor of God’s work there. In a few weeks more I began to seek the baptism.
Let me say too, that, having been in close touch with the work since 1906 on the Pacific Coast, where it is most strongly represented, and being well acquainted with most of the leaders, I declare to you that I have not seen any fanatical rolling, nor the strange things which are reported, but I have found some of the most saintly and deep thinking people who were in the Holiness Movement, and some from many of the churches, with a new glory in their souls, standing for this work.
These leaders, myself, among them, do not believe in any nonsense or fanaticism. So, when preachers say they saw people rolling over one another or any one doing anything indecent, I am prepared to believe that they are maliciously lying, or that they happened onto some fanatic and his doings which the Movement itself does not endorse, neither do its leaders. Neither do you see anything of the kind endorsed by any of our Pentecostal literature which is flooding the country. Look into it. Be wise for yourself.
On the other hand, we do not deny that it is common to see people slain under the power of God and fall down in a heap on the floor sometimes trembling or shaking under the power of the Spirit, but they never act in an indecent manner and enver roll over one another, as reported. Order and refinement are advocated by all responsible leaders and workers, and if anything ever happens uncomely and out of order, it is not the fault of the movement but of some fanatic not a part of the movement, whom the devil sent along to hurt it. We believe in a clean, holy, chaste life; every woman to have her own husband and every man to have his own wife, one companion for life, and that everyone should abstain from even the very appearance of evil, much more, every evil itself. But, I have watched this all along that, when something outrageous took place with some old fanatic, the name “holy rollers” was tacked onto it and we, as a Pentecostal movement, were given the credit for all this nonsense or devilment, when we had nothing to do with it, and were really opposed to it.
This is a part of the reproach that comes from the devil who hates God’s truth little ones, and so he gets preachers and so called Christians to do his lying work, through many times done in ignorance. I am prepared to answer any honest enquirer concerning these things, and to give you any true information regarding it.
Harry Morse
2304 Fairview Ave.
Boise, Idaho
The Christian Evangel, 8/29/1914
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