Is The Trinity For Real? One Man's Journey Through The Oneness Movement

In 1983, at thirteen years of age, I walked into a United Pentecostal church and had the experience of “speaking in tongues.” I was then taken, along with my mom and sister, to a baptismal tank and baptized “in the name of Jesus.” All of this took place at a “revival” service we attended at the invitation of a lady my mother knew from work.

My family attended a Southern Baptist church in those days. Although we were not associated with a church in my earliest years, I heard the story of God’s love for us, demonstrated in Jesus Christ, and fell in love with it. This led to a passion to read the Bible and, encouraged by the Baptists in my life, to look for opportunities to share the good news with others.

I was heavily involved in our youth group, and my pastor very much encouraged the “call to preach” that I had recently professed. The “call to preach” is a Baptist way of talking about a vocation to ministry.

Another similarly minded youth at the church, Ronnie, shared my enthusiasm. We could be seen at school carrying our Bibles and, when the opportunity presented itself, sharing our understanding of the Christian faith.

My experience of speaking in tongues and my re-baptism “in the name of Jesus” were tucked away in my memory, but they did not immediately affect my church attendance or growing desire to spend my life in ministry among the Baptists.

I was simply not sure what to make of this experience.

Some months later, shortly after I began high school, another freshman youth, Ricky, noticed I had a Bible. After initiating a conversation on religious matters, he invited me to a church he had recently begun attending with his family.

He invited me to a youth service at the church the upcoming Friday evening. I talked my mom into allowing me to attend.

When I walked into the building, I found no youths. I questioned a middle-aged, balding man whose office door was slightly ajar. He explained that the youth were meeting at someone’s house that evening and then questioned me about my background.

“I go to a Baptist church but was invited by a friend of mine at school to come to a youth group meeting here tonight,” I explained. He then questioned me about my Baptist faith. I did my best. I had memorized a small arsenal of texts supporting basic theological claims we made.

The subject quickly turned to baptism. He gently asked, “Did you know that the early Christians baptized in the name of Jesus only?” I was able to locate Matthew 28:19 and explain that this text indicates baptism is performed “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

He patiently explained, with a grin, “The ‘name’ of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is Jesus! ‘Father’ is not a name. We call many people fathers. This is a title, not a name,” he reasoned. “According to John 5:43, the Father’s name is Jesus!” Who would argue against the conclusion that the Son’s name is Jesus? He cited Matthew 1:21 in support.

“The Holy Spirit, too, has the name Jesus (John 14:26). Since Jesus came ‘in his Father’s name’ and the Holy Spirit is sent in the name of Jesus, it follows that baptism in the name, singular, of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is none other than baptism in the name of Jesus.” The clinching observation on this subject was a barrage of texts from the book of Acts that appear to confirm this conclusion (Acts 2:38, 8:16, 10:48, 19:5).

“Where,” he asked, “is there any indication that people were baptized saying, ‘in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit’?”

His reasoning seemed quite cogent. He then took me a step further.

“Where is the word Trinity in the Bible?”

If you enjoyed this excerpt, and want to find out more, order your copy of All in the Name:How the Bible Led Me to Faith in the Trinity and the Catholic Church today!