First Impressions

As we turned into the church driveway, I thought that this could be just about any well-to-do evangelical Church in America. There was a large steeple in the middle of the sloped roof, the driveway was paved, and the brick building looked relatively new.

But when we walked up to the door, I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

I was greeted at the door with a handshake and a “Praise the Lord!” rather than the normal “good morning” that I was used to at my home church.

We found our way into the dimly lit sanctuary. It looked like a typical Pentecostal sanctuary, except that they hadn’t replaced the large wooden pulpit with a Plexiglas lectern or a flat, round, black table that one might find in a more “contemporary” church.

Though the service wasn’t going to officially begin for 5 or 10 more minutes, the room was already fairly full of people, and a full-on prayer meeting was in progress. The leader on the stage prayed into a microphone as most people in the room were also standing with their hands raised, praying fervently.

Sunday Dress

Once the lights came up, and the worship service started, I noticed that I was the only one in the room wearing jeans. There was not a hipster in sight. And every adult male had a tie on. I figured I was okay though, since they might think I was a heathen who had come in off the streets to get saved.

I was not surprised to see that every white woman—and little girl—I saw had a long skirt or dress on and had their hair pulled up in a bun—traditionally, they don’t cut their hair. I was surprised to see, however, that many of the black women (about 80% of the congregation was black) didn’t have their hair up. Perhaps this is a difference in Oneness subcultures.

Given the high emphasis on holiness in the Oneness tradition (some would argue, legalism), I was also very surprised to see that one of the worship leaders had a tattoo on her arm. After the service I learned that she came to faith later in life and that her tattoo was a reminder of her salvation out of the sins of California.

Praise Jesus!

When the music started, the place was alive!

As one would expect at a Oneness church, the songs were very Jesus-focused. This is, in part, because Oneness Pentecostals deny the historic doctrine of the Trinity—that God exists eternally as three distinct persons. Technically, they affirm the doctrine of the economic Trinity, but deny the immanent Trinity. Or, to use their own words, the Oneness emphasize that “there is One God, and Jesus is his name.”

Personally, I appreciated the focus on Jesus. At least then I knew who I was singing to or singing about. By contrast, some worship songs I’m used to singing are so vague that I can’t be sure if I’m singing about God or my dog when I sing, “You have been so, so, good to me . . . . . . yeah.”

“ Some worship songs are so vague that I can’t be sure if I’m singing about God or my dog when I sing, “You have been so, so, good to me . . . . . . yeah.”

The second song spoke of “the name of Jesus Christ my King.” I immediately recognized it as “What a Beautiful Name,” by Hillsong.” I didn’t recognize the first song, but the lyrics proclaimed, “In the name of Jesus, enemy is defeated.” I looked it up later and learned that this was another song by Hillsong called “In Jesus’ Name.”

I bet you didn’t even know that Hillsong Church is Oneness Pentecostal.

Active Worship

During the first song, one man walked back and forth at the altar as he danced. And he pushed his arms out in front of him as we sang of how “God is…pushing back the darkness.”

Another slightly older lady, danced alongside him, with her one hand raised and the other holding someone else’s baby. She smiled as she told us she was teaching the baby how to praise the Lord. And pretty much everyone else in the congregation was dancing and clapping or jumping up and down.

The congregation remained boisterous throughout the service. They were even shouting “Amen” and “Praise the Lord!” during the announcement that parents needed to look after their children during and after the service.

Tongues, Tongues, Tongues

Throughout the morning I heard a lot more speaking in tongues than I am used to hearing in a worship service. Some people would say that this should not happen because they think that no one should hear you speaking in tongues, unless it is followed by an interpretation. But I disagree.

“ Some people think that no one should hear you speaking in tongues, unless it is followed by an interpretation. #disagree

Yes, if a person is giving a message in tongues loudly with the intent that the whole congregation hears them, it should be followed by an interpretation (1 Corinthians 14:27). But if a person is speaking in tongues simply as a way of personally praying to God or praising God (verse 28), then I think it is actually good discipleship to let others hear you…at least a bit.

The problem is, if people never hear others speaking in tongues in church, they will likely think that no one in the church speaks in tongues, and this might lead them to conclude that they shouldn’t speak in tongues either. The first-century believers obviously heard each other speak in tongues at times or we wouldn’t find reports of hearing speaking in tongues in the book of Acts—and without any interpretation at that.

Baptized in Jesus Name

The sermon was about an hour long, but they did have a guest preacher that morning. I didn’t notice anything unusual, except for a reference to one key Oneness biblical text—Acts 2:38, where Peter proclaims the need to repent, be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ,” and the reception of the Holy Spirit.

During the sermon I did notice a few little waves in the baptismal tank. It was full and ready to be used in case a heathen in jeans walked in that morning and decided he was ready to convert.

Baptism is very important in the Oneness tradition. While I’m not sure of the theology of everyone in that church, it would not be unusual to find a Oneness Pentecostal Christian who would say that you are not born again if you have not been baptized in water “in Jesus name only” . . . and if you have not spoken in tongues (John 3:5).

I also noticed that there was no American flag on display in the sanctuary. I wondered if the UPCI is less patriotic than most American churches I have visited—perhaps because they were an officially pacifist denomination until 2012. But I asked a pastor after the service and learned that they had moved the flag out when they recently replaced the carpet and that it just hadn’t been brought back in yet.

More Spiritual?

We had such a rockin’ (no ‘g’ needed) good time that morning, that I was tempted to think that this Oneness Pentecostal Church is more spiritual than the Trinitarian Pentecostal churches I often find myself in.

But I had to remind myself of what I wrote in Simply Spirit-Filled—“Although the Spirit inspires worship, our spirituality isn’t dependent on how we worship—whether we prefer to be quiet and still, or loud and animated. …Being Spirit-filled ultimately means we become like Jesus by showing love toward God and others.”

P.S. Hillsong Church isn’t really Oneness.

You might also be interested in these posts:

• Spirit Baptism in Current Pentecostal Theology: Part 2 – Amos Yong
• 10 Bible Verses You Can Legitimately Declare Over Your Life
• Pentecostal Women in Ministry: Ambiguity and Affirmation in the PAOC

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor and VP of Academics at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.

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