Finis J. Dake collection
Dates
- 1902–1987
Conditions Governing Use
This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use any digitized or otherwise copied material from our holdings for private study, scholarship, or research. Though the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.
Biographical / Historical
Finis Jennings Dake was born to James Henry and Mary Ellen Dake on October 18, 1902 in Iberia, Missouri. He became a Christian in May 1920. He received his nickname “The Walking Bible” for his memory of the scriptures which he said he received as a gift from God after Holy Spirit baptism.
He received his diploma from Central Bible Institute in 1925. Later, Dake helped start Texico Bible Institute, Southwestern Bible School, and Shiloh Bible Institute. In September 1925, he met his wife Dorothy Virginia Dobbins at the General Council of the Assemblies of God meeting. After knowing each other only a matter of weeks, they married on October 7, 1925 in Greenville, Missouri.
While residing in Amarillo, Texas, in 1927, he was ordained by the Assemblies of God. In October 1932, Dake accepted a pastorate in Zion, Illinois. On February 9, 1937, he received a six-month jail sentence because he pled guilty to breaking the Mann Act, ending his relationship with the Assemblies of God.
Dake attended his first Church of God General Assembly in 1940 and was named a bishop. In 1942, Dake pastored the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) in Saxton, Pennsylvania for about one year. The following year, the Church of God appointed Dake as pastor in Washington, Pennsylvania. During his time with the Church of God, Dake’s radio show made him popular and grew his ministry. Dorothy was also a well-respected minister within the Church of God. Nevertheless, according to biographer Leon Bible, Dake left the Church of God because he thought he had the opportunity to reach more people outside of it.
The New Testament Church, Inc. ordained Dake on September 25, 1955. From this time he preached without Dorothy at his side, because the church did not allow women to preach.
Finis Dake wrote God’s Plan for Man and Dake’s Annotated Bible, the first annotated Bible by a Pentecostal. The Dakes had four children: Anabelle, Finette, Steven, and Finis Jr.
In the later years of his life, Dake attended a Church of God congregation. Finis J. Dake died on July 7, 1987 due to complications from Parkinson's disease.
Extent
3.83 Linear Feet (5 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Metadata Rights Declarations
- License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Creative Commons license.
General
Finis J. Dake spent a significant portion of his ministry as a credentialed Church of God minister and ended his life as a retired attendee of a Church of God. However, some of his theological positions are not representative of the mainstream or official Church of God stances. As with any of the materials we collect or make available, their presence is not an endorsement, but a recognition of their presence and influence within or connected to the movement.
Source
- Dake, Finis Jennings, Jr., 1939 – 2015 (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Finis J. Dake Collection
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Madison Olson, Kaytlyn Slotterback
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Hal Bernard Dixon Jr. Pentecostal Research Center Repository
Dixon Pentecostal Research Center
260 11th Street NE
Cleveland TN 37311 USA
423-614-8576
dixon_research@leeuniversity.edu