Because EB feels the need to totally denigrate me, and because in some ways I leave myself open to the body blows he lays on me, in that I as a oneness believer, attend a Trinitarian church, I feel it useful to the reader to give an explanation.
I was saved in January 2000 in a very conservative UPC church. I remained a member until 2008, when I moved 40 miles away and ended up joining the only apostolic church in the county*. It was an independent holiness church. Long story short after 2 years there, and preaching weekly and studying, and 10 years in the conservative apostolic movement, I came to the conclusion that a man was justified by faith, not by works, and not by the 3 step formula we are prone to affirm. I left this church in June of 2010 due to a change in view on soteriology, not theology. Essentially I went from being a “3 stepper” to a “1 stepper” (I don’t like these terms, but that will help clarify for those who read here).
Upon this happening, my previous pastor contacted me, visited my home, and we discussed doctrine and church philosophy for hours. He informed me he had turned in his card, and asked for my assistance with the church. I was pleased to help, and started July 2010. This seemed great. A oneness church, baptizing in Jesus name, affirming the gifts of the Spirit, and justification by faith. But after a year I was uncomfortable with the direction of that church. Not in core doctrine, but in philosophy. The church was moving very much into the seeker sensitive realm, along with a growing influence of TBN like prosperity gospel. Towards the end of my time there, it was said from the pulpit that the message that was being preached was the same as what Joel Osteen was preaching, just a different style of delivery. I was driving an hour to attend and help here, and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I felt like the benefits of having the right beliefs on paper didn’t outweigh what I was observing, and the shift the church was making.
So I decided to stop the 1 hour one way drive to church and join something local. This was July 2011. There was only one apostolic church in the entire county, and it was the one I had left in 2010 (the pastor preached against me for 6 months, and prophesied that I would lose my marriage, kids, and even later on, be killed by God), so this wasn’t an option, and there was still the soteriological issue. Thus we visited a few churches, but out there, it’s a few mainline denominations (Baptist of about 6 flavors, church of Christ, Methodist, and catholic) then several word of faith churches (this area is only about 30 miles from Kenneth Copeland headquarters), and a few seeker sensitive churches. Basically for anything even half conservative, you choose from fundamental Baptist or a Bible church.
Long store short, we choose the Bible church, in August 2012. It had a refreshing emphasis on Christ, His Word, and Christian living. I didn’t share that I had been in ministry. We just came to hear the Word, and be in a church somewhere. Again, to cut to the chase, after about 8 months there, the church had a split, the Calvinist group left, the non calvisinist, who were the original occupants of the building stayed. I stayed, and we worked out a statement of faith which I had much influence on. Because of the split we wanted it to be true to the Word of God, but allow freedom of conscious. (The split was because the Calvinist insisted everyone adopt a Calvinist view or be barred from being a member or in ministry). At this time I had not preached here, but had befriended the pastor. (I will post the statement of faith in the following post). The statement of faith was oneness in nature, and affirmed baptism in Jesus name. After this split, I began to fill in when the pastor would travel (he had a orphanage in India, and was working on a Chinese Bible translation). He traveled more and more often, and I began taking on more of a responsibility for the church. Over the course of a year it happened that I became pastor.
I pastored here for 3 years. April 2013 to April 2016. In the last year and a half we unexpectedly began to foster a 13 month old boy, then 6 months later his 4 year old brother was placed with us.
The 4 year old had leukemia, and was undergoing chemo treatments. All of this was a major adjustment for our household, plus having a family, 2 teenage children, and a full time job. After about 10 months of having both boys, and not feeling like I could devote the necessary focus and energy on the church, I resigned the pastorate. (We did eventually successfully adopt both children, and it has been a great blessing to our home to have them here, and a ministry to the Lord, to raise them up to serve Him, considering their former circumstances).
We then had need to find a church, and we choose to drive again. We visited a UPC for several weeks, but I couldn’t feel comfortable joining because of a difference in soteriology. EB paints me as someone who hates the UPC, is mad and bitter, etc. The facts is, I left because of a doctrinal view, not personal reasons. If the UPC adopted justification by faith, or if I found a UPC church that allowed some freedom in this area, I’d seriously consider joining. The issue is doctrinal.
So then we tried another church, a well known oneness minister in the Fort Worth area who recently “left” the UC OP ranks. But after a couple of visits, I was concerned by the influence of the seeker sensitive movement, and the way that Bill Johnson and Steven Furtick are quoted as some type of church gurus. It may seem weird to some that I attend a Trinitarian church, but when the rubber meets the road, I’d rather have a strong Bible believing conservative church, where the Bible is exposited, and the focus is solely on the glory of God, than a oneness church that doesn’t even have a pulpit, but starbucks like table, and where Steven Furtick is an authority on church philosophy. Count me out.
So then in August of 2016 I ended up attending a Trinitarian Bible church. I continue to do so until this day, yet I am not a member of this church. I do agree with them on soteriology, and the inerrancy and authority of the Word, along with tithing, and holy living. I don’t agree with the Trinitarian doctrine, nor cessationism.
On March 1st, I moved back into the D/FW metroplex, and so my options for churches are going to be wide open. I would assume I can find a oneness church that believes justification by faith. But the problem is that, at least in my limited experience, there is a tendency of former oneness churches to actually go down the proverbial slippery slope, and they become uber charismatic, prosperity gospel, seeker sensitive, Bethel, Gateway, Lakewood knock offs with a hint of their former oneness theology in the background, and sadly, many times embrace a very worldly pseudo Christian culture. I am not interested in being a part of one of these type oneness churches, just to silence criticism.
So I write this to give a brief explanation of what I believe (oneness theology, justification by faith soteriology), show how inaccurate EBs constant barrage of insults are, and to give an explanation of why I go to church where I do.
Now then, I am quite comfortable allowing God to work all things out in my life according to His good purpose.
Doing so also has given me a lot of real interaction with both sides. I do find myself defending Trinitarians to oneness people, as I’ve come to know many true brothers and sisters who are Trinitarians. And I do find myself defending oneness people to Trinitarians, who are often quite uninformed of what oneness people truly believe.
I don’t believe either view point is going to cause a person to be condemned to hell. Both view points affirm one God. Now the Trinitarians can use language that borders on tritheism, and is quite unbiblical (councils of the trinity, referring to God as them, separate persons, etc), and oneness people can borderline heresy through denying the distinctions between Father and Son to the point Jesus’ prayers were just a façade, questionable views of the wills or nature of Christ, or even the divine flesh view. Within both trinitarianism and oneness there are errant views held, and neither view is monolithic. However, the common lay person on either side, affirms the basics of the faith, that there is one God, Jesus is the Son of God, fully human and fully divine, the Holy Spirit regenerates us, we must repent of our sins, and trust in the atonement and forgiveness of sins that Christ achieved for us through his perfect sinless life and subsequent substitionary sacrifice through death on the cross, and glorious bodily resurrection. That baptism is a form of obedience to Christ’s command as well as a public declaration of our union with Him, come what may. Most affirm the second coming of Christ, and the establishment of God’s eternal Kingdom wherein dwelleth righteousness. I personally, see no Biblical grounds,
to wholesale condemn all these people to hell.
Yet, EB and Steve Epley are quite quick to do so. You two are mortal men, how greatly you err in pronouncing certain damnation on these people. Don’t you have a shred of humility? Do you not have a sense of your own fallability? Or do you not consider the day of your own death drawing near? Do you even fear God, or must you usurp Him in pride and arrogance, placing yourselves hypothetically on the great white throne?
Threaded Mode
