Truth Revealed: Religion Divided
The setting? Arroyo Seco, California
The event? Camp Meeting for the Newly Formed Assemblies of God
The key players?
Rev. R. E. McAlister
Rev. McAlister, a minister who joined the movement early on, is the man who initially introduced the topic of Jesus’ name baptism before the Assemblies of God to be heard. He was conducting a baptismal service during the Arroyo Seco camp meeting; before baptizing those who had come to the baptismal, he announced that the apostles baptized everyone in the book of Acts in the name of Jesus. In fact, never were the titles used in baptism! This sparked curiosity in countless saints and preachers alike, who began to earnestly search the scriptures regarding baptism!
John Schaepe
John Schaepe was simply a man attending the camp meeting when news of Rev. McAlister’s revelation spread about the congregation. While in prayer during one of the days of the camp meeting, John Schaepe received the revelation that the power of remission, of salvation, of God was in the name of Jesus. As Colossians 3:17 states, And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus!” It was “by his stripes” that we are healed so we need to invoke His name in prayer! And it was His blood that remits sin so His name should be called upon in baptism! From this man’s testimony, many more began to see not only the importance of the name of Jesus but also the oneness of God in Christ Jesus!Rev. Frank Ewart
Rev. Ewart was one of the ministers attending the Arroyo Seco Camp Meeting in 1913. Rev. Ewart did not automatically jump on the bandwagon; instead, he took almost six months to study the issue in detail for himself. By April of 1914, he was preaching baptism in Jesus’ name. He and his co-evangelist, Rev. Glenn A. Cook, re-baptized one another in Jesus’ name. They received the revelation of oneness as opposed to the Trinitarian theology of the time, which declared God to consist of “three self-conscious persons.” (Many Trinitarians today try to find a middle-road between this definite three persons and a oneness sort of God with three parts; the only thing to do when you see oneness in the scripture though, is to get in and live it!)
G. T. Haywood
Rev. Haywood, a mightily used Indianapolis pastor, received the preaching of Rev. Cook; he and his congregation were re-baptized in Jesus’ name! Despite the urging of a Trinitarian pastor, Rev. J. Roswell Flower, Rev. Haywood would not postpone his baptism for the sake of unity within the Assemblies of God organization. It was a matter of salvation!
Rev. E. N. Bell
The Trinitarian-based ‘Enrichment Journal’ has labeled him “the voice of restraint in an era of controversy.” However, he appeared more likely to be a man conflicted between a yearning to follow the scripture and a desire to maintain his political influence in the Assemblies of God. Having served as the first Chairman for the Assemblies of God, he became convinced of the validity of baptism in Jesus’ name and was indeed baptized. When it came down to decision time, however, he chose to remain with the Assemblies of God in their Trinitarian beliefs, being asked to serve as Chairman a fourth time. Perhaps he felt responsible as its first chairman? Perhaps he planned to lead the organization toward his revelation in time? Or perhaps he thought he could play both sides, being baptized in both manners? And then, perhaps he was a driven by ambition? We will never know. All we know is that, despite having little to say on the subject, he remained in the Assemblies of God without publicly recanting his revelation of Jesus’ name baptism.
Rev. J. Roswell Flower
After Rev. E.N. Bell was baptized in Jesus’ name, countless Assembly of God ministers were re-baptized. In fact, according to James L. Tyson’s record, The Early Pentecostal Revival, most of the churches in Canada were re-baptized and the entirety of Assembly of God churches within Louisiana were re-baptized. Louisiana remains to this day a bulwark for the Oneness Apostolic Pentecostal movement. Rev. Flower found himself the only man on the board of the Assemblies of God who had not been baptized in Jesus’ name by 1915! In response, he assembled a meeting of the leadership of the organization.
Just What Happened At That Meeting?
Although discension between oneness and trinitarian ministers began to really be felt in 1913, the organization experienced a split in 1916.| Share this page: |
