Comments on: The Evangelical Liturgy 16: Baptism

By: RonP

RonP — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:39:34 +0000

Jesus said that we must be willing to confess Him before men — but, then again, He didn’t specify a number. And, according to the book of Acts, the Ethiopian eunoch confessed his faith and was baptised before an audience of just one.
I guess what I’m saying here is that if your friend would really like to be baptised, and if there are no doctrinal hangups about it having to be done in a church building by a professional clergy member, then (in my opinion) there is no reason why your friend can’t be baptised before a more intimate gathering of close Christian friends and family. After all, swimming pools work just as well as baptistries.

By: terry

terry — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:14:57 +0000

My Presbyterian Church, and my Methodist Church before that, practiced infant and adult baptism right in the middle of the service. As for the Baptists I know here in Northern Illinois, it seems that most have a seperate service for baptism, usually a Saturday evening. My problem with the testimony is this. I was baptized as an adult. I always believed the gospel, as far as I can remember, but was too afraid to get up in front of the congregation and “testify”. To this day, my best friend is an unbaptized Christian in the baptist tradition. He is terrified of “testifying” to the congregation. Ask him what he believes and he’ll tell you. Ask him to be dunked in front of the congregation as a testimony to what he believes..fine! Ask him to articulate his faith to 100+ people before dunking…forgetaboutit.

By: RonP

RonP — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:22:17 +0000

That a baptism can be treated as a “non-event” in a church context really speaks to how relationally and emotionally detached much of Western Churchianity has become. How is it that we can just sit and observe in stoic silence while the Spirit that supposedly dwells within us is cheering?

By: Derek

Derek — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:05:20 +0000

This response really spoke to me, RonP. My daughter’s baptism was really a non-event except for our family and the other family of the kid who wanted his father to baptise him. We celebrated together at Friendly’s.

Sunday night’s baptism service moved straight into Youth Group, so not a lot of hanging out afterward.

By: Derek

Derek — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:02:50 +0000

After all this, I am reminded that I was baptised in our university’s olympic-sized pool. It was a public setting with about 50-60 of my friends from the campus ministry I attended.

The church we attended in Texas had some members with a creek running through their acreage. Beginning and end of summer was when we all headed down to the creek with our buckets of KFC and other picnicky foods for a few hours of fellowship and baptisms.

Oh, I’m reminded also. Do NOT put a microphone in or above or around the baptismal pool. Not a good idea.

By: Derek

Derek — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:51:50 +0000

That doesn’t bode well with me as a father of a baptised child. The reasons are simple from my perspective.

My 7yo wasn’t a big drinker, wasn’t promiscuous, wasn’t into drugs or cutting or other self-destructive behaviors. She was SEVEN. Many kids (especially raised in the church) I doubt understand the depravity of which we’re capable – in thought and in action. And most “churchies” keep their kids sheltered from the evils of the world anyway. So, my 7yo daughter would be relegated to “I don’t yell at my sister any more” or something like that.

And, if baptism is immediate – as it was in Scripture – then the child is not able to speak of “life after meeting Jesus”.

Yeah, that’s not solid at all for child baptism – even in credobaptism.

By: Derek

Derek — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:46:30 +0000

Mandatory classes AFTER baptism? I don’t support mandatory anything. Mandatory doesn’t offer life.

By: Derek

Derek — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:45:05 +0000

We were at a church where our daughter wanted to get baptised. She was 7, I think, at the time. I don’t remember the reasoning, but it had been 2 years since the prior baptism in the building (although every summer at family Bible camp, there was a lake baptism “en mass”). She didn’t want the lake.

There was some discussion about whether Dad (I) should be permitted to baptise. Another child wanted his Dad to baptise him. Anyone we talked to couldn’t recall a non-pastor baptising his child (unless the pastor was the father of the child, of course).

My child wanted me to baptise her and I was blessed to have had the opportunity. It took some hard discussion with some others, though. I’d encourage anyone who has a child who wished Mom or Dad to baptise him to go to bat for your child’s heart – and (if need be) do it among friends outside the liturgy if necessary.

The church we were attending at the time was non-liturgical / not “high church” and had special Sunday evening baptism times outside of the morning service.

By: Sensus Divinitatis News

Sensus Divinitatis News — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:22:07 +0000

The Evangelical Liturgy 16: Baptism…

This post was chosen as newsworthy at Sensus Divinitatis News….

By: Martha

Martha — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:25:10 +0000

dac, possibly because it’s making you an offer you can’t refuse?