The Humble Beginnings Of Bishop Charles Harrison Mason

By Scott Bennett


Although there is so much that is said about this prominent figure in the Pentecostal Holiness denomination, there are still many who do not quite know the full story. It is hard to tell the complete story of Bishop Charles Harrison Mason because he achieved so many great things in his life, all while having plenty of very human struggles along the way. In spite of these, he went on to found one of the biggest churches of its kind.

Sharecropping was a common occupation for the people of Shelby County, and that is what Mason's parents did for income. His parents, Eliza and Jerry, were both former slaves and lived in an unincorporated area. Charles did not get much of a formal education while he was growing up, and that was why he came to learn as much as he could from the Bible.

The first experience in a church for anyone can be a very special moment. At the age of 12, Mason was baptized at a Baptist church in a ceremony that held some extra significance for him. This was because the reverend doing the baptism was his older half-brother.

Trouble arose in 1880 when both tuberculosis and yellow fever were spreading around the area of Shelby County, and Mason fell sick to tuberculosis when he was fourteen. In those days, hospitals would not treat African Americans, and the medical centers for African Americans didn't have enough money or trained experts. The result was many people needlessly dying, including Mason's father Jerry.

Sharecropping turned out impossible to carry on after the loss of Jerry, so the family then moved to the town of Preston. Moving was very hard for Mason since he was still very sick with tuberculosis, and at one point it seemed he would die. His family sat and prayed for him, and very quickly after that, he returned to full health.

Being a clergyman was not the lifelong dream of this man, although he spend most of his life driven by the passion of it. However, when he was young, he told his parents that he did not want to be a clergyman and that he would rather just be a normal church member. The event that changed his mind was when his health had taken a plunge from tuberculosis, and he was saved by his family's prayers.

In order to become a minister of any type of church, it is necessary to get a license to do so. That is what Charles chose to do when he was 27 years old, thus starting off a career that would be his passion for his whole life. This led him to Arkansas, where he worked at a Baptist church.

It can be very hard to take a stand and openly disagree with what others are doing. That is exactly what Mason decided he had to do in order to honor his faith when the very first Baptist church he worked at. He felt that the emphasis wasn't on the Word of God, which he felt it should, and so after only a few months, he left.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment