On Baptism

i'm sitting in the sanctuary, listening as the baptistry fills. Alejandra has asked to be baptized, and we're going to have a baptism service Friday evening. it's a big deal. it's the first baptism (by immersion) in the hispanic community ... probably since Berenice was baptized before we came to Emmerton.

we made an open invitation at the encuentro sunday night, for anyone who would like to come and affirm, celebrate, observe, etc. ... so it will be not only an opportunity to observe the ordinance of baptism, but it will also be a teaching moment -- to explain what baptism means to us as baptists.

funny ... before becoming a pastor, i never wondered about the nuts and bolts of a baptism -- i mean actually getting the baptistry READY for the event -- there's a whole procedure (at least there is with ours) of turning on the water, running it to a certain point, then turning on the heater, and letting THAT flush out ... to see if there is any rust or any critters in the lines, then turning THAT off, and running the water ... letting the baptistry fill (I'm struggling to not call it 'the tub') and THEN running the heater again ... we're actually just going to run the water today, let it sit for the next couple of days, let the ambient temperature of the sanctuary warm the water some before cranking up the heater and pump to let THEM heat the water more ... directly ...

the last baptism we held in the sanctuary was on Easter Sunday. the last baptisms we had as a CHURCH were in July at the river. (most folks prefer the river, critters and all -- so do i, for that matter!)

i'm sure there will be pictures ... i'll post them after.