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Who You Gonna Dunk?

Here’s one thing I don’t understand: Churches that have the audacity to tell people they can’t be baptized for one reason or another. For instance what about a pedophile? Would you feel comfortable baptizing a pedophile? What about a young unmarried pregnant girl? Someone that is stoned or drunk? Someone that is gay or lesbian? How can you look at those people and say “We don’t baptize people like you”. We tell them they’ve got to change. For some reason their sin is worse then ours. I went into the water when I was 13 years old a full fledged sinner. Unfortunately when I came up I was still a sinner. But I thank God that he sent Jesus to die for my transgressions. I thank God that He gave me the gift of the Holy Spirit when I was baptized. For it is only through God’s power and the guidance of the Holy Spirit that anyone can truly change. So in effect, when we deny someone being baptized we are in essence refusing them the only thing that can bring about change in their life. It’s like yelling at a kid for not doing their math homework but refusing to give them a pencil. Church’s think that by baptizing someone we are somehow condoning that person’s sin. When what they are actually doing is providing the only means by which the person can rid themselves of the sin they are so appalled by. Now if a person refuses to grow and to change that is a different matter all together. But we’ve got to provide ALL the tools necessary to change. And no tool is more important then the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

How was your weekend?

I had a really good weekend. Friday night I got to babysit for two of my best friends so they could have a fun night out. That was good. Saturday I had a meeting at church, which was good. Then a wedding, that was fun. And then Saturday night I got to help my good friend Bill set up the portable baptistery at our Madras campus. As I drove home that night I reflected on how awesome it was to have the privilege to do that. To know that the next day someone was going to take the most important step of their life. Sunday morning I got to direct. I have one word to describe that experience: INSANE! But I got to work with a smoken’ hot Assistant Director, Sarah, and my good friend Andrew, and the always crazy Matt Brown. So of course it was fun. (Plus someone brought biscuits and sausage gravy to the green room. Yummmmy). Then Sunday night after group I had a teenager walk up to me and say a phrase that I can never hear too much “Hey Kelley, I want to get baptized.” So to sum it up, I got to:

Help two of my best friends
Hang out with a bunch of people dedicated to God and reaching those who don’t know Him
Watch a friend get married
Help another friend set up a baptistery so a person I don’t know could get baptized
Direct and eat biscuits and gravy at the same time
Have a teenager tell me they want to get baptized

Pretty good weekend if you ask me.