Born to ex-slaves in Reconstruction-era Tennessee, Bishop Charles Harrison Mason had a vision for the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) that thrives today in an international Pentecostal church with more than five million members. With Signs Following: The Life and Ministry of Charles Harrison Mason examines the social, cultural, and religious aspects of Bishop Mason's leadership and creative genius in establishing COGIC as a distinct Black Church tradition. With Signs Following shares four decades of research from leading scholars that addresses the sociological, theological, psychological, social-ethical, and historical perspectives of COGIC and Mason's ministry. Contributors: Christopher Brennan Ithiel Clemmons David D. Daniels III Glenda Williams Goodson Robert R. Owens Craig Scandrett-Leatherman Raynard D. Smith Frederick L. Ware

From hand-rendered folk signs to high-dollar church marquees, religious messages and imagery saturate the landscape of the American South. In With Signs Following, photographer and southern studies scholar Joe York introduces readers to the role of artistic, witty advertising in southern churches. In seventy black-and-white images of religious signs and other ephemera, he simultaneously presents the factual while encouraging reflection and introspection. Though York's pictures speak volumes, With Signs Following features an equally compelling essay by York. This piece seeks the stories of the sign makers through informal interviews. The combination of images and text offers an insightful, humorous, historically grounded perspective on one of the South's most familiar scenes. In collecting images of religious roadside signs from across the region and interviews with the evangelicals who put them there, Joe York shows us the "Christ-haunted" South as it has never before been considered. Joe York is a freelance photographer and a producer and director of documentary films for the Center for Documentary Projects and the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi. Charles Reagan Wilson is director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi.

The Signs that Follow By: Raphael Vasquez A major theme in the Bible is God’s use of signs to communicate with humanity. In The Signs that Follow, author Raphael Vasquez provides a plethora of scriptural support for the significance of signs for the Church and Christian believers. He also describes the biblical account of Ananias and Sapphira and the lessons it teaches about the importance of obedience, along with discussion of the deeds and doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Vasquez argues persuasively that Scripture has provided believers with signs that prove beyond a shadow of doubt the validity of their religion (faith). Vasquez’s hope is that serious readers will examine themselves to see if they are truly followers of the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:31, 2 Corinthians 13:5). This nation is in desperate need of the gospel message of the Lord

With Signs Following is undoubtedly the most accurate, comprehensive and reliable history of the early Pentecostal movement that has ever been written. It has long been recognized as the standard work in Pentecostal history.

Called "a pioneer contribution" by Church History when it was first published in 1971, this volume has now been revised and enlarged by Vinson Synan to account for the incredible changes that have occurred in the church world in the last 25 years.