{"id":4454,"date":"2020-03-16T15:36:51","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T20:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/?p=4454"},"modified":"2020-03-20T08:34:03","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T13:34:03","slug":"celebrating-dr-vinson-synan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/2020\/03\/16\/celebrating-dr-vinson-synan\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Dr. Vinson Synan"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

UPDATE: The memorial service at Oral Roberts University has been rescheduled for May 30, 2020, at 1:00pm. Regent University’s service has been rescheduled for June 20, 2020 at 2:00pm. <\/strong><\/p>\n

D\"\"<\/a>r. Vinson Synan passed away early Sunday morning, March 15, 2020, at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City. In declining health for several months, the outpouring of love for him and his family reveals the magnitude of his influence in the IPHC and across the global Christian community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IPHC is grateful for the life of Dr. Vinson Synan,” Dr. Doug Beacham, General Superintendent of the IPHC. “No one in our movement has been more influential in global Christianity than him. He was a pillar in the mid-twentieth century move of the Holy Spirit that impacted Christians from nearly every faith family within Protestantism and Catholicism. We are grateful for his scholarship, his passion for Jesus Christ, his love and service to the IPHC, and for the way he and his wife Carol and their children consistently demonstrated what it means to live in the Holy Spirit. He will be greatly missed by us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family’s formal obituary<\/a> includes detailed information about visitation and memorial services.<\/p>\n

Though his name is recognized in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles around the world, Harold Vinson Synan was a true son of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC). By the time he and his twin brother, Vernon, arrived on December 1, 1934, their father was well on his way to becoming an influential and revered leader in the denomination. Having completed only the fifth grade, the Reverend Joseph Alexander Synan was what some might call a \u201cself-educated man.\u201d Yet his lack of formal education didn\u2019t deter him. He planted five PH congregations in the Tidewater area of Virginia before being elected bishop of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, a position he held for six four-year terms.<\/p>\n

Vinson and Vernon were the fourth and fifth of seven children born to Joseph and Minnis Evelyn (Perdue) Synan in Hopewell, Virginia. Like his father, who was converted at age 16 at a Pentecostal Holiness tent meeting near Fredericksburg, Virginia, Vinson also accepted Christ as his personal Savior when he was 16 years old. He made that decision at the Tri-State Camp Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1951. The following night he experienced sanctification, \u201cthe second blessing,\u201d and was called of God to preach the gospel. Nine months later, at age 17, he was baptized in the Holy Spirit and began his preaching ministry the same year. He was ordained in the Eastern Virginia Conference in 1954.<\/p>\n

Throughout his life, Vinson has held 2 Timothy 2:15 as his guiding principle: \u201cStudy to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed.\u201d He followed that sage biblical advice by availing himself of every opportunity to prepare for his calling. After graduating high school, he completed a two-year liberal arts degree from Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Georgia. In 1955, he left a one-year pastoral apprenticeship to become an evangelist in the Eastern Virginia Conference. He graduated from the University of Richmond with a BA in American history in 1958 and in the fall of that year, he began his teaching career.<\/p>\n

From 1956 to 1962, Synan planted three churches in Virginia, and from 1967 to 1974, he launched a new church in Georgia. From 1963 to 1975, he taught history at his alma mater, Emmanuel College.<\/p>\n

Vinson was the speaker at a youth camp in his home conference when he met Carol Lee Fuqua from Richmond. Reflecting on the day they met, he described her as \u201ca dark-haired beauty whose smile seemed to light up the entire room.\u201d They were married on August 13, 1960. Together they had four children: Mary C. Clark (Curtis) of Dunn, North Carolina; Virginia Lee Taylor (J. Mark), of Edmond, Oklahoma; H. Vinson, Jr. (Laura), also of Edmond, Oklahoma; and Joseph A. (Ashley), who lives in Piedmont, Oklahoma. They have eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n

As Vinson was preparing for his academic career, the Reverend Oral Roberts, a family friend, offered him a full scholarship to earn a Ph.D. in theology at Harvard, Yale, or Princeton, if he would return and teach at Oral Roberts University (ORU) in Tulsa. He declined the offer, since he had already received a full scholarship with a stipend from the State of Georgia to prepare for his calling as a historian. In 1965, he completed his M.A. and graduated from the University of Georgia in 1967 with a Ph.D. in American Social and Intellectual History.<\/p>\n

The denomination recognized the leadership giftings in Dr. Vinson Synan. Delegates to the 1973 General Conference elected him as General Secretary of the PH Church. He served four years in that office while also teaching at Southwestern College in Oklahoma City. (He was acting president of the school in 1980.) In 1977, he was elected as Assistant General Superintendent of the denomination and served until 1981, when he became director of Evangelism, a position he held for the next four years.<\/p>\n

But Synan’s leadership reached beyond the denomination. In 1972, he was invited by Kilian McDonnell to speak at the third annual Catholic Charismatic Conference at Notre Dame University. This life-changing experience marked the beginning of many years of leadership in the ecumenical movement.<\/p>\n

In 1977, he chaired the Pentecostal track for the Conference on Charismatic Renewal held in Arrow Head Stadium in Kansas City. That event drew 50,000 charismatic worshipers and attracted attention from around the world. The success of the conference also opened doors of ministry for Synan, and he became a frequent guest on such television programs as The PTL Club, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and The 700 Club. During these televised interviews, he discussed the Charismatic Renewal that was occurring among Catholics and other mainline denominations and the exploding growth of Pentecostalism around the world.<\/p>\n

Dr. Synan has held numerous other ecumenical positions, including president and founder of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (1970-73); chairman of the North American Renewal Service Committee (1985-1991); chairman of the New Orleans Congresses on the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization (1986-87); member of the Board of Trustees of Oral Roberts University; member of the Global Council of Empowered 21; and others.<\/p>\n

As a renowned church historian, Dr. Synan has authored at least 20 books, many of which chronicle the development and growth of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Perhaps his best-known work in IPHC circles is The Old-Time Power: History of the Pentecostal Holiness Church <\/em>(1973, Advocate Press, Franklin Springs, Georgia). In 2010 he published his memoirs titled, An Eyewitness Remembers the Century of the Holy Spirit<\/em> (Baker Publishing Group, Ada, Michigan).<\/p>\n

Dr. Synan\u2019s career as an educator included four years as professor of Pentecostal and Charismatic History and director of the Holy Spirit Research Center at ORU (1990-1994). For the next 12 years (1994-2006), he served as Dean of the Regent University School of Divinity in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Under his leadership, the school implemented both a Doctor of Ministry and a non-residential and online Ph.D. program in Renewal Studies, which was the first of its kind in the world. Though he is retired, he continues to bear the title Dean Emeritus of the School of Divinity.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Synan returned to Oklahoma to re-join the faculty at Oral Roberts University as Interim Dean of the College of Theology and Ministry, where he served for two years. Synan then served as a Scholar in Residence and Ph.D. Program Director for the Graduate School of Theology and Ministry.<\/a><\/p>\n

(Profile of Dr Synan by Shirley G. Spence)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":4458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,22,284],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4454","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"category-news-from-archives","9":"category-phpp","10":"entry"},"title_es":"Vinson Synan","content_es":"Aunque su nombre es reconocido en los c\u00edrculos pentecostales y carism\u00e1ticos de todo el mundo, Harold Vinson Synan era un verdadero hijo de la Iglesia Internacional de Santidad Pentecostal (IPHC). Cuando \u00e9l y su hermano gemelo, Vernon, llegaron el 1 de diciembre de 1934, su padre estaba en camino de convertirse en un l\u00edder influyente y venerado en la denominaci\u00f3n. Habiendo completado solo el quinto grado, el reverendo Joseph Alexander Synan era lo que algunos podr\u00edan llamar un \"hombre autodidacta\". Sin embargo, su falta de educaci\u00f3n formal no lo disuadi\u00f3. \u00c9l plant\u00f3 cinco congregaciones de PH en el \u00e1rea de Tidewater de Virginia antes de ser elegido obispo de la Iglesia de Santidad Pentecostal, un cargo que ocup\u00f3 durante seis per\u00edodos de cuatro a\u00f1os. Vinson y Vernon fueron el cuarto y quinto de siete hijos nacidos de Joseph y Minnis Evelyn (Perdue) Synan en Hopewell, Virginia. Al igual que su padre, que se convirti\u00f3 a los 16 a\u00f1os en una reuni\u00f3n de carpa de santidad pentecostal cerca de Fredericksburg, Virginia, Vinson tambi\u00e9n acept\u00f3 a Cristo como su Salvador personal cuando ten\u00eda 16 a\u00f1os. Tom\u00f3 esa decisi\u00f3n en la Reuni\u00f3n del Tri-State Camp en Memphis, Tennessee, en 1951. La noche siguiente experiment\u00f3 la santificaci\u00f3n, \"la segunda bendici\u00f3n\", y fue llamado por Dios para predicar el evangelio. Nueve meses despu\u00e9s, a los 17 a\u00f1os, fue bautizado en el Esp\u00edritu Santo y comenz\u00f3 su ministerio de predicaci\u00f3n el mismo a\u00f1o. Fue ordenado en la Conferencia del Este de Virginia en 1954. A lo largo de su vida, Vinson ha sostenido 2 Timoteo 2:15 como su principio rector: \"Estudie para demostrar su aprobaci\u00f3n ante Dios, un trabajador que no debe avergonzarse\". Sigui\u00f3 ese sabio consejo b\u00edblico aprovechando cada oportunidad para prepararse para su llamado. Despu\u00e9s de graduarse de la escuela secundaria, complet\u00f3 un t\u00edtulo de dos a\u00f1os en artes liberales de Emmanuel College en Franklin Springs, Georgia. En 1955, dej\u00f3 un a\u00f1o de aprendizaje pastoral para convertirse en evangelista en la Conferencia del Este de Virginia. Se gradu\u00f3 de la Universidad de Richmond con una licenciatura en historia estadounidense en 1958 y en el oto\u00f1o de ese a\u00f1o, comenz\u00f3 su carrera docente. De 1956 a 1962, Synan plant\u00f3 tres iglesias en Virginia, y de 1967 a 1974, lanz\u00f3 una nueva iglesia en Georgia. De 1963 a 1975, ense\u00f1\u00f3 historia en su alma mater, Emmanuel College. Vinson fue el orador en un campamento juvenil en la conferencia de su casa cuando conoci\u00f3 a Carol Lee Fuqua de Richmond. Reflexionando sobre el d\u00eda en que se conocieron, la describi\u00f3 como \"una belleza de cabello oscuro cuya sonrisa parec\u00eda iluminar toda la habitaci\u00f3n\". Se casaron el 13 de agosto de 1960. Juntos tuvieron cuatro hijos: Mary C. Clark (Curtis) de Dunn, Carolina del Norte; Virginia Lee Taylor (J. Mark), de Edmond, Oklahoma; H. Vinson, Jr. (Laura), tambi\u00e9n de Edmond, Oklahoma; y Joseph A. (Ashley), que vive en Piedmont, Oklahoma. Tienen ocho nietos y cinco bisnietos. Mientras Vinson se preparaba para su carrera acad\u00e9mica, el Reverendo Oral Roberts, un amigo de la familia, le ofreci\u00f3 una beca completa para obtener un Ph.D. en teolog\u00eda en Harvard, Yale o Princeton, si regresara y ense\u00f1ara en la Universidad Oral Roberts (ORU) en Tulsa. Rechaz\u00f3 la oferta, ya que ya hab\u00eda recibido una beca completa con estipendio del Estado de Georgia para prepararse para su llamado como historiador. En 1965, complet\u00f3 su maestr\u00eda y se gradu\u00f3 de la Universidad de Georgia en 1967 con un Ph.D. en historia social e intelectual estadounidense. La denominaci\u00f3n reconoci\u00f3 los dones de liderazgo en el Dr. Vinson Synan. Los delegados a la Conferencia General de 1973 lo eligieron como Secretario General de la Iglesia PH. Sirvi\u00f3 cuatro a\u00f1os en esa oficina mientras tambi\u00e9n ense\u00f1aba en Southwestern College en Oklahoma City. (Fue presidente interino de la escuela en 1980.) En 1977, fue elegido como Superintendente General Asistente de la denominaci\u00f3n y sirvi\u00f3 hasta 1981, cuando se convirti\u00f3 en director de Evangelismo, un cargo que ocup\u00f3 durante los pr\u00f3ximos cuatro a\u00f1os. Pero el liderazgo de Synan lleg\u00f3 m\u00e1s all\u00e1 de la denominaci\u00f3n. En 1972, fue invitado por Kilian McDonnell para hablar en la tercera Conferencia Carism\u00e1tica Cat\u00f3lica anual en la Universidad de Notre Dame. Esta experiencia que cambi\u00f3 la vida marc\u00f3 el comienzo de muchos a\u00f1os de liderazgo en el movimiento ecum\u00e9nico. En 1977, presidi\u00f3 la pista pentecostal para la Conferencia sobre Renovaci\u00f3n Carism\u00e1tica celebrada en el Arrow Head Stadium en Kansas City. Ese evento atrajo a 50,000 adoradores carism\u00e1ticos y atrajo la atenci\u00f3n de todo el mundo. El \u00e9xito de la conferencia tambi\u00e9n abri\u00f3 las puertas del ministerio para Synan, y se convirti\u00f3 en un invitado frecuente en programas de televisi\u00f3n como The PTL Club, Trinity Broadcasting Network y The 700 Club. Durante estas entrevistas televisadas, habl\u00f3 sobre la Renovaci\u00f3n Carism\u00e1tica que estaba ocurriendo entre los cat\u00f3licos y otras denominaciones principales y el crecimiento explosivo del pentecostalismo en todo el mundo. El Dr. Synan ha ocupado muchos otros puestos ecum\u00e9nicos, incluidos presidente y fundador de la Sociedad de Estudios Pentecostales (1970-73); presidente del Comit\u00e9 de Servicios de Renovaci\u00f3n de Am\u00e9rica del Norte (1985-1991); presidente de los Congresos de Nueva Orleans sobre el Esp\u00edritu Santo y la evangelizaci\u00f3n mundial (1986-87); miembro de la Junta de S\u00edndicos de la Universidad Oral Roberts; miembro del Consejo Global de Empowered 21; y otros. Como reconocido historiador de la iglesia, el Dr. Synan es autor de al menos 20 libros, muchos de los cuales narran el desarrollo y crecimiento de los movimientos pentecostales y carism\u00e1ticos. Quiz\u00e1s su trabajo m\u00e1s conocido en los c\u00edrculos de IPHC es The Old-Time Power: History of the Pentecostal Holiness Church<\/em> (1973, Advocate Press, Franklin Springs, Georgia). En 2010 public\u00f3 sus memorias tituladas, Un testigo ocular recuerda el siglo del Esp\u00edritu Santo<\/em> (Baker Publishing Group, Ada, Michigan). La carrera del Dr. Synan como educador incluy\u00f3 cuatro a\u00f1os como profesor de Historia Pentecostal y Carism\u00e1tica y director del Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n del Esp\u00edritu Santo en ORU (1990-1994). Durante los siguientes 12 a\u00f1os (1994-2006), se desempe\u00f1\u00f3 como Decano de la Regent University School of Divinity en Virginia Beach, Virginia. Bajo su liderazgo, la escuela implement\u00f3 un doctorado en ministerio y un doctorado no residencial y en l\u00ednea. programa de estudios de renovaci\u00f3n, que fue el primero de su tipo en el mundo. Aunque est\u00e1 retirado, contin\u00faa teniendo el t\u00edtulo de Decano Em\u00e9rito de la Escuela de Divinidad.","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/DrSynan.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-19Q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}