It was an action-packed night last night. We had our biggest baptism service since we launched, with six people taking the plunge. Everyone had dramatically different stories, but they all had a common thread – a desire to take seriously their commitment to follow Jesus. Especially remarkable were the Weston family and a character named Bobby. I was getting a little teary eyed listening to the brief testimonies shared.
As I was watching I had a chance to reflect a little about what this would look like in my future. I am still having a hard time imagining myself in Phil’s shoes at a new church plant. I am still having a hard time imagining what kind of honor it will be to baptize new followers of Christ when it’s my turn.
That may be sooner than later. Dylan my oldest son has been asking me when it will be his turn to baptimatized (his word). When he came to Christ a few months ago, I was overjoyed, but something in me just feels like he’s too young to be baptized. I keep thinking I need to see something else in him as proof of the Holy Spirit’s work in him. I could just be too skeptical, but I don’t want to see him grow up and stray because he didn’t really mean it when he was seven.
Another highlight of last night was what came out of Cheryl’s sister attending the baptism. For a week now she’s been staying with us and I’ve been feeling awful because I’m not initiating conversations well with her, let alone spiritual ones. I am probably putting too much pressure on myself, but dang, if I am going to make serving God a career, I should at least be able to start spiritual conversations.
In this case though, Cheryl did it. She asked her if she’d ever been to a baptism before. This got the ball rolling, and she was able to learn that while Shannyn owns her own Bible, she doesn’t really understand it, and doesn’t really believe in anything at this point. She is a very quiet girl so getting that much out of her was quite impressive. Cheryl thinks we should do some kind of Bible time with her in the evenings. She thinks that she was affected by the testimonies, and it has opened her up a little. I am inclined to agree, though I wish that all this could have been discovered when she first arived with us – we’ve lost a week of precious time. Now she’s leaving in seven days. Praying that God can make these six days count. It is a fine line to walk between caution and zeal. She’s so shy and quiet, and she hasn’t actively asked us anything, so direct discussion may be out of place.
Tags: baptism, church planting, evangelism
