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Location: Blogs Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 6/11/2008 10:40 AM | Greetings on this beautiful morning!
Earlier this week I received a phone call from my friend and colleague Jonathon Holston, Senior Minister at St. James United Methodist Church. He remembered a conversation we had a while back when we were talking about the different forms of baptism. It had taken place at a meeting of the Brookhaven Ministers group, an ecumenical group made up of Disciple, Presbyterian, Catholic, Episcopalian, United Methodist, Lutheran, and United Church of Christ ministers. Part of the discussion centered around how we all practiced baptism in our different traditions. I let them know that Disciples practiced believers baptism where a conscious decision is made by the person to be baptized. This differs from infant baptism where parents take the baptismal vows on behalf of the child, and then at the age of 12 or 13 the child chooses whether or not they will confirm these vows for themselves through a service of confirmation. I was quick to point out that Disciples accepted all baptisms of any Christian denomination as valid, and did not require new members to be “rebaptized.” This led to a discussion of some of the wariness that some denominations have at recognizing “other” forms of baptism than their own and the question was raised about how a minister from a church that practices infant baptism would react to being asked to conduct a baptism by immersion, or vice-versa. One of the Catholic priests said that they now have a baptismal pool for just such an occasion, even though they had never done it before. Jonathan offered that that he would find a place to do it, and would comply with the request of the parishioner. I added that I had once baptized an infant at the request of her parents, just before she was taken in for open heart surgery. I was asked by the group how that was viewed by people at the church I was serving at the time, and I said that I really didn’t know, but that I decided that there were times when theological stances and denominational rules needed to be set aside to provide comfort and assurance. And I still believe that. Besides, we all know that it is sometimes easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission! It was an interesting discussion from which I learned a lot.
Well, this week when Jonathan called he said that he had a situation arise where a parishioner would like to be baptized by immersion and he wondered if they could borrow our baptismal pool. I was quick to say yes and the baptism will take place early this afternoon.
While it always feels good to be able to help someone out, and it always is nice to be able to welcome friends into our church, this shows me once again that no matter who we are, no matter what our traditions, no matter what our denominations, when we put our differences aside to serve God’s purposes, we are all the better off. And most importantly, I think God is pleased. It is too easy to be divided on doctrinal grounds. We can talk all day about what separates us. But when it comes right down to it, it is far more gratifying, and far more fruitful to spend some time celebrating what we have in common: the grace of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. We call ourselves so many different names, but in the end, as the Apostle Paul pointed out, we are one church, with one God, one Spirit, one purpose to which we are called. And wait…there was something else in that list….oh,,yeah…one baptism in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Please pray for:
The Womack Family, Dan and Carol Ann and all of Dan’s family as they say goodbye to Dan’s brother John, who passed away suddenly on Monday afternoon. Even as we celebrate the life of one who we know we will meet again, the separation of death is a terribly difficult thing to handle. Please pray for peace and strength for those who will miss John terribly.
Announcements:
Due to Father’s Day this Sunday, June 15th, there will be NO FELLOWSHIP POT LUCK LUNCHEON THIS SUNDAY…join as we resume our lunches in July.
Don’t forget that VBS starts for our kids on Saturday June 21st and runs on Sunday night and Monday night. Sign up in the narthex this Sunday.
Don’t forget the short 30 minute board meeting to be held in the sanctuary immediately following worship on June 22nd. Stay and hear about what is afoot for BCC…especially the committee that has been put together to explore our building enhancement needs for the future. It will be short, it will be informative, it is important that as many people as possible come to hear about how this process will work.
Remember, we can all participate in the Miracle of Abundance by bringing 1 or 2 canned goods each this Sunday (and every Sunday) and depositing them in the basket in the Narthex.
I hope to see you all in worship this Sunday as we once again celebrate the Lord’s Day together. The sermon is titled “The Miracle at Bethsaida” and the scripture is John 5:1-18. Have a great rest of the week!
Be peaceful,
Brad
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