Riss on Hawtin, Watt and the Movement

 

It is undeniable the ABC rose directly from the "Latter Rain Revival" movement, primarily through those who followed it's precepts after it's decline. James A Watt in Seattle, during the Broadway Tabernacle era, being the largest influence of the doctrinal platform on which it was built. 

Watt eventually separated himself, mostly, from the Sharon Orphanage, and the movement it spawned, but still held to some of the teachings.  These were then adopted, as a whole, by my father, Ramon A Haas, when he founded the ABC. The "Foundation Truth" notebooks, the use of Stegenga's Greek Concordance, Panin's New Testament, the "Daily Reading Card", all of these were the development of James A Watt, and he learned it from his time at Sharon Orphanage, and the influences that followed that movement.

For many years I tried to acquire a copy of Richard Riss's out of print book on the Latter Rain Revival Movement, His book gives one of the best accounts of this movement and what soon followed it. I was recently able to acquire a copy of this book after it was withdrawn from circulation at the Assembly of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri and find most of the information I have already acquired from other sources. However, of great interest is a quote in this book shown highlighted below. It is titled, 

"George Hawtin's Evaluation of His Ministry as Sectarian"

Clicking on the picture will enlarge the text on your screen.

 

George Hawtin produced a periodical called "The Page", of which many articles were later turned into a compiled booklet. My father, Ramon A Haas, referenced Hawtin's writings often, especially the three titled, "Mystery Babylon"; "Tribulation or Rapture, Which?" and "Where Do They Worship Who Come Out of Babylon".

 

I was able to speak to George Hawtin, by telephone, in about '93 or '94, not long before he passed away. He expressed to me then, as he looked back on the entire movement, some of his exasperation on where the Latter Rain Revival Movement had gone. He talked of the wake of devastated lives and families it left behind. Born from this movement were things like the Shepherding / Discipleship movement, the five-fold ministry, the Florida Five, and other crushing and isolationist doctrines that resulted in the separating of friends and families. Some of his exasperation is evident from this quote in this book (shown above).

 

Remarkably, or perhaps not, the path the ABC took ended at precisely the same place as Hawtin described. A group of people who have completely lost the ability to show Godly love ,and left many broken and shattered persons, and families, in it's wake. I share many of the same sentiments about the ABC Hawtin expressed regarding the Latter Rain Revival movement. All movements, like this one, eventually fade away then disappear into other lesser movements. There is little doubt this too will be the path the ABC follows as well since it is built on an unsustainable foundation and is given to isolationist doctrines.