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Location: Blogs Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 8/27/2008 2:34 PM | Greetings on this drizzly day,
This past Sunday the sermon was about baptism and it’s meaning in our individual lives and the life of the church. I looked at where our founders came down on the issue of baptism – believers baptism vs. infant baptism; sprinkling verses immersion; symbol vs. reality – and where the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) stand today. It is an important topic, and it can be a challenging topic. Many of us who were not raised in the Disciple tradition sometimes feel a tug between how we were raised, and what our church practices today. Many of us who were raised in the Disciples tradition can remember a time where what we accept today was not necessarily what was acceptable years ago. But all of us are here now, and it’s important that we share our experiences and our beliefs on the subject. Many of you have shared your experiences and your beliefs with me, and so I’d like to share my experience.
I am one of the “pious unimmersed” who Barton Stone was willing to welcome into the movement, even though I was sprinkled as an infant. Alexander Campbell would not be so quick to say that my baptism was legitimate. But, the fact is, I was baptized as an infant. On that day, my parents stood before their congregation at Henderson Methodist Church in Detroit and pledged to raise me in the Christian tradition; to train me up to know of God and God’s grace; to introduce me to Jesus Christ; to answer my questions and nurture my growth in Christ and in the church. At 13, I confirmed the vows that my parents made on my behalf and made my personal choice to be a member of the body of Christ and the congregation they had joined in the interim, the St. James Methodist Church in Detroit.
When people ask me if I am going to be immersed, to do it “the right way”, I politely decline. First of all, I believe firmly that Barton Stone was right in this matter: there is no need for me to be “re-baptized”, because I was already baptized and I went through a confirmation process whereby I accepted and confirmed those vows and accepted Christ as my savior. Second of all, there is something so very powerful about a parents love for a child that they will vow before God and God’s people that they will do their utmost to provide a Christian home for their children. My parents supplied that home beautifully and if I were to say, “Yes, but I need to do this over again”, I think it would be a slap in the faces of two people who loved me unconditionally, just as God loves us.
In matters of theology, there is no doubt that I am much more a follower of Barton Stone than I am of Alexander Campbell. Like Stone I believe that baptism is God’s sacrament and we cannot begin to understand the power of God’s sacraments. We practice believers baptism, but trust in God’s grace to accept any form of baptism as being from God, and celebrate that grace in welcoming folks from all kinds of backgrounds into our midst.
But there is one place where I am a Campbellite all the way: in his understanding of what Baptism means to our lives. At the end of the sermon this week I quoted Campbell in this regard, and I was asked by several of you to reprint that quote. I am glad to do so now. I hope that each of us can heed his words and take to heart that in our baptism, we are changed people. I constantly use Campbell’s words as a yardstick to see how I’m doing. Because no matter how we got here, we are here because of God’s presence in our lives. And that is something to celebrate!
“Because we are forgiven, we should forgive. Because we are justified, we should live righteously; because we are sanctified, we should live holy and unblamably; because we are reconciled to God, we should cultivate peace with all and act benevolently toward all; because we are adopted, we should walk in the dignity and purity of children of God; because we are saved, we should abound in thanksgivings, praises and rejoicings, living soberly, righteously, and godly, looking forward to the blessed hope.”
Be peaceful,
Brad
For your prayers:
Please keep Olivia Hayes and her family in your prayers. Olivia was hit by a vehicle this morning on the way to school. She is in critical condition at Eggleston Hospital, breathing on her own, but in very grave condition. Trey Hurst is a mentor to Olivia’s older brother.
Please keep Camp Hughes, newborn grandson of Linda and Bert Hughes. Camp has some congenital problems and is in neonatal ICU in Birmingham, Alabama.
Upcoming Events:
Don’t forget to mark your calendars – October 12th the Pumpkins Arrive! We need all hands on deck to unload the pumpkins on that Sunday afternoon, and then to sign up to work on the pumpkin patch from October 13th through October 31st…or whenever the pumpkins are gone! Watch for details.
I hope to see you in worship this Sunday as we celebrate the Lord’s Day together once again. We will be continuing with the sermon series “We Call Ourselves Disciples: An Exploration of Our Faith Heritage” with a sermon titled “A Covenant People.” The scriptures are Genesis 17:1-9 and Acts 3:25-26. Have a great rest of the week!
Be peaceful,
Brad
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