his academic career, Oral Roberts, a friend of the family, offered him a full scholarship to earn a PhD in theology at Harvard, Yale, or Princeton if he would return and teach at Oral Roberts University. Synan, however, declined the offer since he had already received a full scholarship with a stipend from the State of Georgia to prepare for his calling as a historian. In 1965, he completed his MA and in 1967 his PhD from the University of Georgia in American Social and Intellectual History. In order to prepare his dissertation for publication, Synan spent the summer of 1968 reading through major Pentecostal journals. His travels took him to the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) where he met with several leaders. Significant among them was Horace Ward who was serving as the dean of students at Lee University. Together they discussed the possibility of a future colloquium where Pentecostal scholars could share ideas. He later met with William Menzies while reviewing the Assemblies of God archives in Springfield, MO. Following a similar conversation regarding the organization of Pentecostal scholars, Ward, Menzies, and Synan proposed their idea at the Pentecostal World Conference held in Dallas, Texas in 1970. The outcome was the birth of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Synan was elected as the first General Secretary and served as the editor of their newsletters for several years. From 1973 to 1977, Synan served as the General Secretary for the Pentecostal Holiness Church while also teaching at Oklahoma City Southwestern College and served as the acting president in 1980. He was elected as Assistant General Superintendent of his denomination in 1977 and served until 1981 when he became the Director of Evangelism, a position which he held for the next four years. In 1977, Synan was the chairman of the Pentecostal track for the General Conference on Charismatic Renewal held in Arrow Head Stadium in Kansas City. This event packed the stadium with 50,000 charismatic worshipers and attracted attention from around the world. It also opened up many doors of ministry for Synan and he became a frequently invited guest on such television programs as The PTL Club, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and The 700 Club to discuss the Renewal that was occurring among Catholics and the exploding growth of Pentecostalism around the world. During the years of 1990 and 1994, Synan was a professor of Pentecostal and Charismatic History