Morristown Elder Position Paper: Why and how we practice baptism
As part of our desire to serve the church and offer clarity on commonly-asked questions, our elders study, discuss, and form a summary position on various topics.
What is baptism?
Baptism is a first next step that an individual takes to profess faith in Christ. We baptize by immersion those with a clear testimony of having been forgiven of sin, and thus having been buried with Christ and made brand new. This act represents burial and resurrection and follows the pattern of New Testament baptism. For many being baptized, this faith is new and the baptism we are speaking of is a first step. The “reality” or “substance” of what has happened in someone’s life is seen in Romans 6:3-4. We are baptized into Christ. The water is a portrayal. Baptism doesn’t save!
Baptism and Church Membership
Baptism and membership in the family of God, and thus the local church, are closely connected. Those added to the church in Jerusalem in Acts 2 were baptized. To be united with Christ is to become a member of His body (1 Cor. 12:12-26, Eph. 1:23, Col. 1:18, 1 Pet. 2:10). In baptism, a Christian commits to loving, serving, and submitting to Christ’s people. By becoming a follower of Jesus, we enter into a covenant with Christ and His Church. Every covenant is ratified by a symbol, and so baptism is a requirement for membership. Baptism is like the passport of the kingdom of God.
In our world, it’s not unusual for baptism is practiced very loosely by any and every one in any context. We believe this should be reconsidered. The New Testament paints the picture of the life of the body of Christ being lived out in local churches, and so we believe baptism should take place through those local churches. We shouldn’t overly-formalize these practices, but we should attach baptism to the church.
Matthew 18:20 bestows on the church an authority to affirm a believer’s salvation. Jesus’s authority is granted not to one person, but to a gathered and covenanted body, to look at the evidence in someone’s life of genuine faith and repentance and affirm a public and binding verdict. Jesus authorized his Church to affirm through baptism the testimony of those claiming to believe in and follow Him, and so we believe baptism usually initiates the process of becoming a member of our church (or partner, in our terminology). Though there are exceptions to this, a conversation with an elder or staff member should be part of this season in which someone is baptized to inform him/her about how to formally covenant with the church in partnership, and to speak of how he/she is involved in the life of Arrowhead Church in volunteering and/or Connect Group or small group Bible study of some sort. For some, this step of pursing partnership here comes after years of following Jesus and possibly having been baptized earlier. We do not ask those who have been baptized by immersion after their salvation experience to be baptized again.
One point of clarification is in regard to children and teenagers and partnership. We recognize that the Lord often regenerates children (causes them to be born again) and students through hearing of His word either from parents, friends, or the ministry of the local church. We do baptize children and teens who demonstrate a saving knowledge of the gospel, but we believe them to be under the discipline of their parents and thus outside the realm of the authority of the local church, so we do not allow them to join the church until they graduate high school or leave home.
Who can baptize?
At Arrowhead, every partner is able to baptize. Most often our pastors and elders will do so, but because we believe the Great Commission is given to every disciple, every disciple may baptize. A disciple is someone who knows and loves Jesus and is committed to His Church, having submitted him/herself to the membership process for accountability and fellowship. So, any partner may represent the authority Jesus gave to his Church for baptism. In light of this truth, we do not believe that just any Christian should baptize another Christian. A disciple is submitted to the local church.
Where should baptisms occur?
Ideally, baptisms should be performed at gatherings of the whole church. It’s very normal that baptisms should be in the Sunday service. Since baptism is initiating the membership process and this individual is likely going to be welcomed into our family, it only makes sense for this celebration and testimony to take place in the most public way possible. It may at times make sense for us to host church-wide gatherings off-site, whether at a lake or pool, or in a ministry-specific context (like a college or student gathering), but in that case the entire church should be invited to attend, and where possible we should use the blessing of technology and take pictures to show on a Sunday. We are not rigid on this rule, but if someone desires to be baptized outside a church gathering, we would love to be able to celebrate that by showing pictures or video with the whole church so we can enjoy it together.
What if I disagree? How “closed-handed” do we hold these doctrines and practices?
All elders and partners must affirm “believers’ baptism” by immersion as a public testimony of saving faith. If an individual places his or her faith in Christ, we believe the submission to his Lordship required to do so would lead him or her to desire public profession through baptism. In order to join Arrowhead, alignment with the church covenant requires baptism by immersion. Baptism positions are an important issue - one we believe means we must agree in order to be in the same church - but disagreement doesn’t mean we would believe someone with a different conclusion to not be a Christian. Faithful disciples of Jesus may see this issue differently, like so many other questions. But, since so much significance is attached to the public testimony of baptism, we believe it to be a very important issue! Our elders and staff would love to discuss any question or clarification that might arise.
