William F.P. Burton and the Rupture with the PMU.

This paper is the third and last in a series on the period covering the association between William F.P. Burton and the PMU which lasted from June 1911 until February 1914 and needs to be read in the light of the previous articles. This covers only the final months of Burton's association with the PMU during which differences he had with the Council came to a head. It is likely that had Burton lived in today's postmodern era no one would have thought much of his questioning of authority but in a day when such questioning would have been greatly frowned upon it is understandable that it was this aspect of the man which finally led to his rejection by the PMU. It is necessary to grasp that there were a number of reasons for this final breakdown but it is evident that what appeared to be Burton's intransigent position on doctrine and practice were ultimately the reason for this separation. In any case this parting of the ways signalled neither the end of Burton's ministry nor that of the PMU which was eventually amalgamated with what became the Assemblies of God in 1924. The rupture with the PMU does not mean that all those who were part of organisation ceased to have any meaningful fellowship with him. There were men like Thomas Myerscough4, Burton's mentor and friend and John Nelson Parr, the well known and unconventional pastor from Bethshan Tabernacle in Manchester, as well as a number of his colleagues in the training centre at Preston, who continued to have an important role in Burton's life and ministry. Nevertheless, it is the goal of this paper to underline the significance of the issues leading to the rupture between Burton and the PMU Council and especially Alexander Boddy's central role in terminating their association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]