I’m baptizing one of my great student leaders this Sabbath, and I’m really excited about it, because I’ve really gotten to know him over the past year he’s been in the youth group (he’s a freshman), and he played basketball for me and I’ve played music with his praise band quite a bit. I can’t say enough good things about him.

 

He told me he wanted to get baptized, so we studied what baptism is all about, what the Christian life is all about, and answered any other questions he had about faith or God. It was so great to study with him; I had a really good time.

 

In some ways I am almost considering this my first real baptism, or at least, how I’d like to think it should be. You see, last year at this time was the actual first baptism for me. But it all just didn’t feel right. I didn’t even know I was performing the baptism until that day, for a kid I hadn’t even met yet. Somehow he decided he wanted me to baptize him, it was in the program, and despite my hesitation, no other options where presented to me, so I went through with it.

 

I really struggled with baptizing someone I didn’t even know. “This isn’t supposed to be how it goes,” I kept thinking. “What if they turn out to be a terrible Christian and it’s all my fault for baptizing them without knowing anything about them?!” :)

 

But when we look in the New Testament, we see a very different model. There is no 8-week Bible study, there is no baptismal class, there is really no relationship, really. Just the personal decision, and the request. And what more do we really need than that? So, I think most people would agree that it is so much sweeter when they know the person, have studied with them, and have seen them grow; but that is no more of a real baptism than the person you don’t know who says, “I want to get baptized, can you do it?”

 

At the same time, I wonder if we live in a completely different context than the original apostles, and need to require different protocol for baptism (in regard to study and preparation)? What do you think?