When I was twelve years old in the Brethren Church in Eaton, Ohio, I went through the Pastor’s Class to prepare for baptism. As much as any twelve-year-old can comprehend what it means, I was ready. I believed in Jesus -- that he died for my sins, he was born of a virgin, crucified, and raised from the dead!
(Like I said, as much as any twelve-year-old can comprehend all of that...)
I got baptized in a stream on a farm. Typically, baptisms took place in the baptismal at the church, wearing a white robe. So my baptism was a little outside the box. I can still remember the feeling that all of my sins had been washed away in that moment!
Over my 30 years of ministry, I have baptized people in a river, a hotel pool, a neighbor’s hot tub, and a bathtub. Over the decades as a church, we have used an inflatable pool and a drinking trough that we got from Farm and Fleet as a baptismal.
That makes me think of the story in Acts chapter 8 when Philip encountered an Ethiopian official who was reading from the scroll of Isaiah. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading. The official replied, “How can I unless someone explains it to me?” So Philip spent some time with him, explaining how that passage was about Jesus. The passage goes on to say, “As they were going along the road, they came to a place where there was some water. The official said, “Look! Here is some water. Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the chariot to stop. Then they both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. After they had come out of the water, the Lord’s Spirit took Philip away. The official never saw him again, but he was very happy as he went on his way.”
For us, baptism services have always been a celebration, an opportunity to celebrate what God is doing in peoples’ lives and in the life of our church family. It’s like payday. It’s being able to step back for a moment, catch our breath and see the results of all our hard work.
Even Jesus got baptized. One day he approached John the Baptist about getting baptized, and John exclaimed, “I need to be baptized by YOU… and you’re coming to ME??” What Jesus said next is so important: “We must do this to fulfill all righteousness.”
Baptism is not a literal “washing away of our sins”; it’s symbolic. It’s not salvation… but it’s part of the process. One step along the journey.
Back in July, a friend of mine from church messaged me that his wife’s cousin was visiting from out of town… and in talking with him, he indicated that he wanted to get baptized. We didn’t have a baptism service scheduled, so I called some friends who have a pool in their backyard to see if I could use their pool. (Sometimes you just gotta make it happen!)
They graciously agreed, and we set a time. Before entering the pool I talked with Chris about baptism, its symbolism and its significance in the life of every believer.
He wanted to rededicate his life and get baptized. I’m pretty sure he had been baptized at some point along the way (although I can’t recall for sure.) I’m happy to baptize someone a second time, as long as they understand that baptism and salvation are two separate (but related) issues.
It’s going to be a powerful weekend as we all get to witness people making a public confession of their faith in Christ!
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