I am finding that my thinking on baptism is an amazing opportunity for polarisation (which is rather sad), fixed positions and failing to bring about any real dialogue at all thus far.
I have had a number who can see the logic and, through their own experiences, the reality of what I am playing with and stating. There are others who see in baptism something rather magical and, in my extremely limited and humble opinion, something magical that it really isn't.
A few friends have put forward the view that, 'Once you are baptised then you are a Christian!' and you know what, I think they are wrong - and here's why:
Neither engagement or wedding creates a relationship.
In fact the marriage service does not create a marriage either (nor does the signing of the registers)
All of them recognise that a relationship exists
In the same way a 'bill of divorce' does not break up a marriage
but it recognises that the marriage has been broken (and permits a new relationship*)
Baptism does not 'make you a Christian' or 'confer eternal life' or make you a disciple'
But it does make you a member of the Church and that opens the door to becoming a disciple. Eternal life comes through Jesus, the Cross, the resurrection, and all that stuff not through baptism.
Because baptism is the joining moment - it then is up to the believer to decide to become a disciple and this is where it all starts to challenge my previous thinking around baptism. I have to admit that I have made baptism something that it is not (and don't forget there's a 'sacramental' moment within it too) and so I'm reading, challenging and being challenged.
And here's a fun bit:
SO baptism is an act of recognition of who Jesus is and what He did and all that and so
It comes about because because of faith, but whose faith is it?
And that's a good question for as a pioneering church I would expect the people who come to faith, to make that decision of being baptised, to be adults - then, as the church becomes settled I would expect that the children, as they are born to the adults who have come to faith (and I am using the words 'faith' and 'come to faith' quite loosely here) would be added to the church and that, as baptism is the obtaining of the membership card (and we could do covenantal here too of course) that says 'I belong' that this would be the means by which it was done.
But faith is a requirement for baptism!!!
So it is, but then again what is faith and how would you like to measure it? I ask this because I have met people who have come into a church I have been at and told me that they'd been baptised in 'somewhere or other' and how they never went any further. In fact some people have told me how they had been 'a scalp' and then left to their own devices in the church on more than one occasion!
The problem is that some I have met had no faith but were persuaded to be baptised because, 'It would save them from hell!!!'. Others have told me that they were baptised because of convincing arguments and yet they did not believe as some might have expected. More still have told me that they were baptised to please parents, pastors and other influential people in their life.
Baptism is great - but it is the act of discipleship, of personal belief, of 'going on with God' that rings the bell and makes the faith real - bringing with it the badge 'Christian'.
Yes indeedy ladies and gentlemen of the jury - I am having a struggle here because just as I asked whether Matthew 28 was formulaic 'in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit' or a statement of the authority (the name of those in whom we go) we do it in.
An interesting question that has been raised is perhaps the formula was that we should make disciples first and then baptise them:
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations
Find them, teach them and when they are disciples we take them to the river and
Baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
we baptise them (in the name of or using the names?)
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.
But isn't teaching them to obey part of becoming a disciple?
I think I'd better think it out again :-)
*Now here's room for another battle some time soon I'm sure :-)
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