The Apologetic Apostolic

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, I open up about a difficult but necessary topic: church scandals. As a Christian who loves the Church and believes in the gospel of Jesus Christ, facing stories of moral failure, abuse, corruption, and cover-ups within church leadership has been heartbreaking and faith-shaking. But instead of turning away or shutting down, I chose to lean in—to listen, to learn, and to wrestle with the hard questions.

This isn’t a hit piece. It’s not a deconstruction manifesto or a defense of everything that’s gone wrong. It’s a Christian perspective rooted in faith, Scripture, and a desire to grow in spiritual maturity. I share what I’ve learned from pastors, victims, theologians, and former insiders—and what the Holy Spirit is teaching me about humility, justice, and the true mission of the Church.

Whether you're someone who’s been personally hurt by the Church, someone who's struggling with their faith in the wake of scandal, or someone who wants to better understand how to navigate these conversations with grace and truth, this episode is for you.

🙏 My Prayer for You: That this episode meets you in a place of honesty, brings clarity to confusion, and points you back to the heart of Jesus—even through the messiness of human failure.

📲 Listen now and don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.

Hello TA Squares! This episode is Part 2 of a two part series speaking about why the title of this podcast is what it is and the foundation of what next steps are! Thank you for being a part of this journey and hope you enjoy!

what does "apologetic" even mean. Join me as I go through this in this episode. 

We're BACK!

If you’re new here, I want to invite you to follow us on Instagram and Facebook as well as subscribe to our YouTube channel @theapologeticapostolic, Twitter @_tasquared_, and give us a visit on our website, subscribe to our email list, and get you and a loved one some nice TA squared merch at theapologeticapostolic.com. 

Welcome to the third and final part of this conversation between myself and Andrew Elliott. If you are just jumping into this conversation, I would encourage you to listen to the two previous episodes to hear the first 2 parts of the talk. For returning listeners, I do apologize for being a week and a half late in this but I believe you will enjoy all the same. The video of the full conversation will be on YouTube so keep an eye on our social media for that announcement. In this part of the conversation, Andrew and I talk about differing views of orthodoxy and heresy between Oneness and Trinitarian thought.

If you’re jumping in halfway through,welcome and let me clarify that here at the Apologetic Apostolic, we unwaveringly believe in the absolute numerical oneness of God, the essentiality of baptism in Jesus name, and reject the Trinity. 

I’ll also repeat what my prayer is for this and the other parts of this conversation. If you’re a Oneness Pentecostal listening to this podcast, I pray that it removes the false assumptions that surround your Trinitarian friends’ beliefs and make for more productive conversations with your neighbors. If you’re a Trinitarian listening to this podcast, I pray that you feel well represented and enjoy a peek into the world of Oneness Pentecostalism, and If you’re not part of either of these camps and want to hear a great conversation, I hope that you enjoy two twenty something talking about theology, thai food, and cheeto hot dogs!

Welcome to part 2 of three where you get to continue to eavesdrop on a conversation between myself and Andrew Elliott. In this part of the conversation, Andrew and I talk about a few of the differences between oneness and Trinitarian thought as well as other views of the Godhead and salvation. If you’re jumping in halfway through, let me clarify that here at the Apologetic Apostolic, we unwaveringly believe in the absolute numerical oneness of God and reject the Trinity. With that being said, if you’re a Oneness Pentecostal listening to this podcast, I pray that it removes the false assumptions that surround your Trinitarian friends’ beliefs and make for more productive conversations with your neighbors. If you’re a Trinitarian listening to this podcast, I pray that you feel well represented and enjoy a peek into the world of Oneness Pentecostalism, and If you’re not part of either of these camps and want to hear a great conversation, I hope that you enjoy two twenty something talking about theology.

Today’s episode is the first of three episodes where you get to eavesdrop on a conversation between myself and Andrew Elliott. Andrew is going to give us the details of his journey from growing up as a Oneness Pentecostal into later adopting the Trinitarian view of the Godhead. Just to remind everyone where we stand on the Godhead here at the Apologetic Apostolic, we unwaveringly believe in the absolute numerical oneness of God and reject the Trinity. With our beliefs being so different you could expect a heated debate right? Well, yes but not in this series of episodes. If you’re a Oneness Pentecostal listening to this podcast, I pray that it removes the false assumptions that surround your Trinitarian friends’ beliefs and make for more productive conversations with your neighbors. If you’re a Trinitarian listening to this podcast, I pray that you feel well represented and enjoy a peek into the world of Oneness Pentecostalism that Andrew outlines as being a former Oneness Pentecostal and myself as still being part of that world (in Ariel Tune). If you’re not part of either of these camps and want to hear a great conversation, I hope that you get cozy and enjoy two guys talking about everything from theology, pizza, and dad jokes. 

Go show him some love on Instagram and TikTok @AndrewDoesApologetics.

Per the recording of this episode Roe v. Wade was overturned over a month ago, sparing the lives of many unborn babies. This was a moment of celebration for a lot of us because it meant that babies had a fighting chance at life again. While that is true, this decision also brought about mourning for other Americans. The question then could be asked, “why would there be mourning over unborn babies having a chance at life?”. We’ve seen the memes from both sides posting divisive and insulting things about the other side of this issue such as quote “Imagine being upset about not murdering babies” and quote “Imagine taking rights away from women.” This kind of language is not productive for unity and is not loving our neighbor well as the church is instructed to do alongside following the statutes and principles of the Gospel. I’ve quoted this in multiple episodes and I’ll quote it here. Teddy Roosevelt said “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. 

When we actually listen and pay attention to the posts, stories, and rhetoric that is from our fellow Americans on the other side of this issue, they’re not upset about fewer “dead babies”, they’re upset, as far as I can tell, about the absence of options and choice, not to mention the perceived rights being taken away by the government. There’s an agenda that has been pushed by politicians and media that abortion is the only option for an unwanted pregnancy because adoption is everything that is portrayed in Lemony Snickett’s and Charles Dickens’ novels. These images of adoption depict a godless machine that drains the soul of a child and reminds said child about how unwanted they are. This is not an accurate depiction of adoption by the longest stretch of the imagination.

In today's conversation my wife, Alyssa, and I discuss the adoption option with Tom and Debbie Velie. Tom has been serving as President of New Beginnings since 2002. He earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work from the University of Mississippi and then a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Southern Mississippi. Tom served as a Master Trainer through the National Council for Adoption’s Infant Adoption Awareness training program, as an adoption agency accreditation evaluator for the Council on Accreditation, and is a member of the National Council for Adoption Hall of Fame. Debbie has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and has been at New Beginnings for 27 years, since the founding of the agency.  She chose a career in social work because of the blessing adoption has been in their lives. Tom and Debbie have two daughters adopted internationally. Their daughters are now grown, married and each have two beautiful children. They love and believe in the beauty of adoption, and it has touched their life in so many ways. In looking back on 27 years of adoption work, it would be impossible for them to pick a most memorable event, but they say the reward has been in working with many courageous birth moms, their beautiful babies and the wonderful adoptive parents.

Connect with New Beginnings at:
Website: newbeginningsadoptions.org
Facebook: New Beginnings International Children's and Family Services
Instagram: @newbeginningsadoptions

Connect with The Apologetic Apostolic:
Website: theapologeticapostolic.com
Instagram: @theapologeticapostolic
Twitter: @_tasquared_

In this conversation, Student Pastor and author, Samuel Vaugn and I respond to a series of tweets voicing concerns of the doctrinal stance of Oneness Pentecostal in regards to the Godhead. Namely John 10:30 and the language that is used when Jesus says “I and my Father are One.” We hope you enjoy this conversation between two friends as we talk about salmon, Hanukkah, and mean tweets. 

If you would like a copy of Samuel’s book, “It Filled the House: The Journey from Tabernacle to Temple to Earthen Vessels.” click this link!:

https://www.amazon.com/Filled-House-Samuel-Vaughn/dp/0578506254/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=it+filled+the+house+samuel+vaughn&qid=1657126817&sprefix=it+filled+the+house+%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-1

Don't forget to follow us:
Instagram: @theapologeticapostolic
Facebook: @theapologeticapostolic
Twitter: @_tasquared_
YouTube: The Apologetic Apostolic

Visit us on our website: theapologeticapostolic.com

We talk about the utility of having a public discourse and what good it can do for the society, particularly those that hinge on theology.  In this episode particularly, we go through a discourse, or demonstration rather, between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal. What utility came from this discourse/demonstration and what principles can we learn and apply in our future disagreements? Hope you all enjoy.