Just got a note from someone pointing out that the group that “ministered in music” after the Johnny Hunt sermon in the Pastor’s Conference prior to the opening of the full Southern Baptist Convention was Geron Davis and Kindred Souls (verified here). I was asked if Geron Davis was not a Oneness Pentecostal. I honestly had no idea, so I did a little looking around. Their website indicates that their home church is Christ Church, Nashville. A little bit of digging around here clearly shows they are not UPC. Instead, they seem to be a semi-Emergent, post-UPC conglomoration of beliefs. The church denies being modalistic, but leaves the nature of the godhead undefined! They do practice baptism in Jesus’ name (a practice with clearly modalistic connections). This article on “one God” is a fascinating read. It starts with clear modalistic language, “WE BELIEVE IN ONE GOD WHO EXISTS AS FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT.” It then discusses the issue of “persons,” and then honestly states, “In the Pentecostal movement, where many Christ Church leaders have their roots, it was felt by some that the word person created a serious misunderstanding of the very essence of the Godhead. These Pentecostal pioneers wanted to return to what they considered New Testament doctrine and practice. They truly believed that the word person could lead the Church toward a polytheistic concept of God.” Evidently the Emergent element of this church kicks in here, allowing for ecumenism even on the level of the nature of God. They say “We are not modalists” but then they say “We are not likely to settle the issue in this century. We are finally left confessing the inadequacy of human language, indeed of human thought itself, to fully express ‘the mystery of Godliness.'” There is surely no positive confession of the Trinity in this statement. Assuming the beliefs of Christ Church represent those of Geron Davis and Kindred Souls, this is troubling.
I’m sure I will get myself in another pile of trouble by saying this, but having watched portions of that evening’s program, I truly doubt the doctrinal accuracy of Geron Davis and Kindred Souls was ever considered in putting together the “ministry in music.” If it has a beat and it gets toes to tap, what’s the problem? Ironic, isn’t it, that right after Johnny Hunt says “God has elected everyone,” a possibly non-Trinitarian group “ministers in music.” Ponder that one a while.
