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{"id":2470,"date":"2012-02-06T07:44:15","date_gmt":"2012-02-06T12:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tmatt.net\/?p=2470"},"modified":"2012-02-06T07:44:15","modified_gmt":"2012-02-06T12:44:15","slug":"t-d-jakes-and-the-trinity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/02\/t-d-jakes-and-the-trinity\/","title":{"rendered":"T.D. Jakes and the Trinity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

For more than a decade, Pentecostal<\/a> Bishop T.D. Jakes has lived in the shadow of a Time<\/em> magazine cover that asked, \u201cIs this man the next Billy Graham?\u201d<\/p>\n

That was a loaded question, because of tensions behind the scenes between the multi-media Dallas superstar and many mainstream Christian leaders.<\/p>\n

Now, this legendary preacher \u2014 often listed as one of America\u2019s most powerful evangelicals \u2014 has taken a big step toward convincing his critics that he is, in fact, an evangelical. Jakes has, after years of rumors about private assurances, publicly affirmed that he believes in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.<\/p>\n

The Rev. Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle asked the question directly, during the recent Elephant Room conference at the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. This annual event brings together Christian leaders from a variety of backgrounds to discuss tough subjects. Baptist Press has circulated the interview transcript<\/a> nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you believe,\u201d said Driscoll, that \u201cthere\u2019s one God, three Persons \u2014 Father, Son and Holy Spirit? You believe Jesus was fully God, fully Man?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jakes didn\u2019t flinch: \u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n

That one word represents a significant change for Jakes, the leader of The Potter\u2019s House, a 30,000-member megachurch that serves as the base for his thriving work in books, Gospel music, social-justice causes and a host of other ministries. While the church is nondenominational, the preacher has long been associated with an unorthodox stream of faith known as \u201cOneness\u201d Pentecostalism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The ancient doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is one God, yet this God has been revealed in history as three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is a core doctrine that unites Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians worldwide \u2014 including most who embrace Pentecostal and \u201ccharismatic\u201d Christianity, the world\u2019s fastest growing Christian movement.<\/p>\n

The split between Trinitarian and the \u201cOneness\u201d Pentecostals occurred in stages early in the 20th Century, soon after the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles. That famous spiritual earthquake ignited the interracial Pentecostal movement, with its emphasis on spiritual gifts such as prophecy, healing and \u201cspeaking in tongues.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOneness\u201d leaders denied the reality of the Trinity, saying there is one God \u2014 period. Thus, they continue to baptize in the name of Jesus, alone, rather than using references to \u201cFather, Son and Holy Spirit.\u201d Critics call this approach \u201cmodalism.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the Elephant Room interview, Jakes noted that his father was Methodist and his mother was Baptist. However, he stressed that he made his own decision to become a Christian in a \u201cOneness\u201d Pentecostal church. Thus, he said, \u201cI ended up Metha-Bapti-Costal, in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several scripture passages influenced his change of mind on this issue, he said, especially the account of the baptism of Jesus.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus was baptized in the Jordan River, for example, coming up out of the water [and] the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, the Father speaks from heaven and we see all three of them on one occasion,\u201d said Jakes. This and other references \u201cbegan to make me rethink some of my ideas and some of the things that I was taught. <\/p>\n

\u201cI got kind of quiet about it for a while. Because when you are a leader and you are in a position of authority, sometimes you have to back up and ponder for a minute, and really think things through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOneness\u201d churches represent a relatively small piece of the global Pentecostal movement \u2014 about 5 percent of an estimated 640 million believers. Nevertheless, Jakes has clearly been trying to find a way to keep expanding his work into the evangelical, \u201ccharismatic\u201d mainstream without cutting his ties to his past, said historian Vinson Synan of Regent University, author of numerous books on Pentecostalism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that he had to address this issue sooner or later because he has all kinds of followers, including lots of Trinitarians,\u201d said Synan. \u201cThis man sells millions of books, makes movies and is an award-winning Gospel singer. He\u2019s a major force in Christian culture in this land. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he might not be able to keep doing all of that if millions of evangelicals think he is some kind of heretic. So he makes this one statement and he\u2019s cleared with most evangelicals and charismatics, most of the time. He\u2019s on his way to being more acceptable to just about everybody. That\u2019s big, in the post-denominational world in which we live.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"