Without a doubt, Frank Avant vs. C. H. Mason is the most critical juncture in the entire history of the Church of God in Christ (COGIe. The Pentecostal-Holiness Movement of the early twentieth century began with an aggressive legal confrontation between two of the movement's leading African-American pastors and their adherents. Charles P. Jones and Charles H. Mason's up-close and personal relationship was torn apart over their fundamental differences of the baptism in the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues. Up until the Azusa Street Revival, Jones and Mason shared an extraordinary profundity for each other; and their relationship was maximized when Jones united Mason and Lelia Washington in marriage in 1905. In 1907, Jones filed a lawsuit in Memphis against Mason after leading the way in having Mason excommunicated from the General Ministerial Council of Holiness Churches and Meetings for proliferating speaking in tongues. Jones and Mason founded the organization in 1897 after both of them were expelled from the Baptist denomination for teaching holiness. When Mason lost the case in Memphis Chancery Court, it was merely an opportunity to lead the Jones faction to theRed Sea. Mason and his attorney, Elder Robert E. Hart, appealed the case to the Tennessee Supreme Court in Jackson, where the judges decided in their favor, devastating the Jones faction and their attorney, Benjamin F. Booth.

The CME Church and COGIC are profoundly connected by the rich histories both denominations share of the struggles and successes of the black church. Through Elder Robert E. Hart's desire for spiritual change and freedom, a schism developed, and he set the two denominations temporarily but gently at odds; however, the CME Church didn't feel threatened by the Sanctified Church or its doctrine and their existence.

The Church of God in Christ through the efforts of its founder, Bishop Charles H. Mason, and Elder Robert E. Hart, who was appointed the first Overseer of Tennessee, chose Memphis as the nucleus of the denomination; and from there, they went into all parts of the country with the pentecostal-holiness message. With the help of others, Mason and Hart introduced primarily to the African-American religious community a gospel that helped change history and lives in their struggles for spiritual freedom and social justice.

Elder Hart represented and protected COGIC for twelve years as their attorney and represented Bishop Mason when he was jailed for preaching and teaching holiness. Through his legal advice, the reorganized church was protected from the lost of valuable property and hostile litigations in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas throughout his tenure.