Baptism Discussion with Care and Humility
Mark A. Taylor introduces a Christian Standard discussion on baptism by urging readers to respond with patience, charity, and careful attention. He reflects on his own baptism as a child while emphasizing that personal experience should not be the sole basis for drawing conclusions about the subject.
- Readers are encouraged to wait for the full series before responding.
- The article highlights respectful disagreement as a model for doctrinal discussion.
- Taylor recalls his own baptism while pointing readers beyond personal experience.
By Mark A. Taylor
A discussion of baptism in Christian Standard usually stimulates spirited response, and that will probably happen after readers digest this issue, too. As always, we welcome your letters and e-mails, but we hope readers will keep two things in mind as they write us:
Remember the Wider Conversation
Remember that a fourth article, Part 2 of Theresa Welchโs โsearch for a new model,โ will appear next week. She offers a balanced, careful approach, one that does not reject current understandings, but only serves to enrich them. You may want to read the next issue before writing us about this one.
Notice the Careful Tone
Notice the careful tone of this weekโs writers. We knew some would take issue with brother Hicksโs conclusions, so we invited one of our contributing editors to start that discussion. Notice the gentle respect Jeff Faull expresses as he explains where he disagrees. He presents a perfect model of an approach weโve been trying to foster: we can disagree without being disagreeable. We may think a brother is misinterpreting Scripture or confusing precept and opinion. If so, our vigor should be reserved for explaining our position, not questioning his faith.
Perhaps many of you will react as I have to reading these essays: I thought back to my own baptism.
A Personal Baptism Memory
I was in fourth grade, worshipping at the Hill Street Church of Christ in Marion, Ohio, where my parents were members and Nathan Black was the minister. My parents took me with them to a revival meeting at the nearby Kirkpatrick Church of Christ, and I remember my distinct sense of discomfort one night when we stood for the invitation hymn. I canโt sing with these people, because Iโm not one of them, I thought. The song theyโre singing is for ME to respond to. The preaching had convicted me. I was a sinner needing to be saved.
I couldnโt resolve that feeling of being separated from God and his church until the Sunday some weeks later when I, too, walked the aisle at the converted house where our little church met. With trembling lips I repeated the Good Confession and was baptized later that afternoon in the same country church where weโd attended the revivalโtheir building had a baptistery; ours did not.
No one forced me or pushed me. This was a decision I knew I needed to make. I donโt think I was too young to make it, but as Faull points out this week, I dare not frame my conclusions about this subject solely by personal feelings and experiences.
While drawing on both, this weekโs writers look beyond themselves for conclusions that honor God and help families. They help all of us to do the same.
Author: Mark A. Taylor
Mark A. Taylor, who served as Christian Standard editor from 2003 to 2017, retired in June 2017 after almost 41 years with Standard Publishing (Christian Standard Media).
