When Fr. Peter first visited our community (then called AHOP) in 2010, part of the discussion with him was about our library. He asked about how we chose the books in our library, and recommended that we change from “everyone’s discarded books that they drop by the prayer room” approach, to a more curated library of books we can enthusiastically recommend. Felipe asked him for books that he would specifically recommend, and one author he mentioned was David du Plessis.
A Man Called Mr. Pentecost is the wonderful and easy-to-read autobiography of this important man. David du Plessis was born into a Pentecostal missionary family in South Africa in 1905. Chapter 1 begins with a prophecy given to David du Plessis by Smith Wigglesworth in his early 30’s, that David would see the Pentecostal movement spread into the established churches (mainline Protestant & Catholic) … which was unthinkable at the time.
The first half of the book then traces his childhood, conversion, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and early ministry and leadership experiences. The chapters are short and filled with a combination of the excitement of the Holy Spirit’s activity and the disappointment of immaturity in himself and other Pentecostal leaders.
Everything turns in Chapter 18 - Revolution. God does a serious work in David’s life, that prepares him to begin to work with the mainline churches. The remainder of the book is a remarkable account of the doors that open to him in church after church, as the Holy Spirit blows through the windows of the established churches in the 60s and 70s. One highlight is the invitation from the Roman Catholic leadership to be an official observer at Vatican II.
I highly recommend A Man Called Mr. Pentecost for our community. It is important to understand the Pentecostal movement, and the history of David du Plessis is a wonderful on-ramp to this important topic, that will be highly accessible for Protestants and Catholics alike. (Note that is seems to be out of print, so you will need to search around for a used copy to purchase, or come to CTR to read the one that is in our library!)