It’s a New Day chronicles the rise of women and African American evangelists in the independent charismatic movement in post-World War II America. Billingsley observes  current figures such as T. D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, and Creflo Dollar, who were deeply influenced by charismatic pioneers Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin. The evangelists adopted their ministry-building and prosperity gospel tactics and are notable for megachurches, televangelism, and health-and-wealth doctrines.

 

The modern charismatic movement has grown far more sophisticated and has become a truly international phenomenon, and Pentecostals and charismatics hold a wide variety of views on race and gender.  Charismatic women ministers take to the pulpit, manage publishing empires, and lead the faithful in modern America. Similarly, both black and white charismatic ministers preach to integrated churches and hold integrated revivals, even while racial divides endure in the larger society. It’s a New Day contributes to our understanding and appreciation of one of the most vital sectors in current American religious life.

Scott C. Billingsley is Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

 “It’s A New Day not only fills a gap in the historical literature of postwar American religion, it also ably tracks the growth, success, and surprising social outlook of one of the most significant mass-religious movements to emerge in the late 20th century.”

—Randall S. Stephens, History Department, Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy, Massachusetts

 “Scott Billingsley does a good job of explaining who people are and how they relate in the modern charismatic movement. The world he describes is richly textured and enormously influential and the biographical sketches point readers toward an understanding of the origins and development of the movement.”

—Edith L. Blumhofer, Professor of History and Director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals, Wheaton College