From the Desk of Pastor Clay

“As [Philip and the Ethiopian official] traveled down the road, they came to a place where there was some water, and the official said, ‘Here is some water. What is to keep me from being baptized?’ The official ordered the carriage to stop, and both Philip and the official went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.” - Acts 8:36-38, GNT

 

 

One of the most bizarre conversations I had as a seminarian was about baptism and the mode of baptism. An ecumenical group of us were discussing different denominational practices around modes of baptism, and I responded as the representative United Methodist that we have no official mode of baptism prescribed for us. A friend of mine from a different tradition looked mortified and said to me, “Clay, don’t you realize that in the history of the church people fought wars because of how to baptize? You guys really don’t care?” To which I responded simply, “No. That’s a really strange thing to fight about.” 

 

As you may have guessed, we are turning our attention to the sacraments in the United Methodist Church. Last month we discussed our identity as the church. Part of that identity is that we celebrate two sacraments, baptism and communion. Article XVII says that, “Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. The Baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church. 

So, going back to the story from seminary, this is where we stand: we do have no official mode of baptism. As an elder in the United Methodist Church authorized to perform baptisms, I must be ready and willing to baptize anyone at any stage of life in such a way that honors the sacrament and is agreeable to the person being baptized or, since we baptize infants, their parents or other legal guardian. Most of the baptisms I have had the honor of performing have been infants that I baptize by catching some water in my hand and putting it on the child’s forehead three times. However, I have also baptized a 45-year-old man that was similar but different and also experienced a friend being baptized in the pool at his apartment complex. 

 

We as United Methodists do not get fired up about mode of baptism, but we do celebrate when someone chooses to be baptized because baptism is a “a means of grace,” a method by which we experience the grace of God made known in Jesus Christ. 

 

But what exactly is happening spiritually when someone is baptized? According to our Articles of Religion baptism brings forth “regeneration and new birth.”

 

But what does that mean? Basically, we are incorporated into the life abundant that Jesus spoke of in John’s gospel. Through baptism the church declares that it is bound in covenant to God; through baptism new persons are initiated into that covenant. In baptism God offers and we accept the forgiveness of our sin and create covenant with God. With the pardoning of sin which has separated us from God, we are justified—freed from the guilt and penalty of sin and restored to right relationship with God. What we find with God is that God is always faithful to the covenant, meaning that our sins are forgiven and our lives belong to God and God will continue to act in that way no matter what happens next in the person’s life. This is why we do not practice re-baptism. We can reaffirm our faith and remember our baptisms when we return to the covenant or feel like we need to, but we do not repeat this action.

 

The covenant of baptism also connects the community of faith and the person being baptized. The faithful grace of God initiates the covenant relationship and enables the community and the person to respond with faith. In a practical sense, baptism is one of the paths to church membership. Baptism is the act of initiation and incorporation into the universal church of Jesus Christ, The United Methodist Church, and the local congregation. The congregation takes a vow on behalf of the family presenting someone for baptism or an adult being baptized that practically mean that we are going to help them live into the covenant to which God is calling them. We are going to teach kids at Chi Alpha. We are going to participate and lead Bible studies to help people grow in their knowledge and love of God and God’s word. We are going to encourage people to continue to grow in their faith and grow in our own faith so that we can strive to be as faithful to God as God is to us. May we grow in our understanding of God’s covenant and grow in our faith!