Newsgroups: bit.listserv.christia
Date:         Tue, 14 Apr 1992 09:00:38 EDT
Comments:     Converted from PROFS to RFC822 format by PUMP V2.2X
From:         Brenda Curry-White <BSCURR01@ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU>
Subject:      Water Baptism

Urban Research Institute
Phone: 502-588-6626

    1.  What is your (your church's) belief about how baptism should be
    performed?

Immersion.  The name "Baptist" kind of gives us away. :-)

    2.  What is your (your church's) belief about WHEN baptism is appropriate
        (at what age or upon what evidence of faith?)

There is no specific age, although because we require desire for baptism
to be a personal decision of public confession, infants aren't baptized.
For very young converts (i.e. children), the pastor or a
deacon will sit down with the child and his/her parents and ask certain
questions of the child to make sure that the child really understands
what is meant by salvation.  If there is any question on the part of
either the pastor or the parents that the child really understands the
commitment they are about to make, baptism may be postponed until
the child is ready.

    3.  Does your denomination baptize into the particular church/denomination
        or into the body of Christ (the first requiring re-baptism upon a
        change of denominations)?

We baptize into the body of Christ, but historically churches of our
denomination have occasionally required rebaptism in the denomination.
I think this is probably because we do not recognize infant baptism.
However, recently there has been a change to accepting new members of
other denominations based on their "statement of faith" only.  If they
request a new baptism, one would be given, but it is seldom a
requirement for membership when coming from another denomination.

    4.  What is the baptismal ceremony like in your
        denomination/church/tradition/whatever?  (i.e., are special clothes
        worn, is there a formulaic speech, are guests expected to be present,
        etc.)

No special clothing.  Our church has a baptismal pool behind the
choir loft and pulpit.  Usually a robe is worn to keep one's good
clothing dry, but this is for reasons of convenience only.
Any guests may attend as baptisms are usually performed at
the beginning of a Sunday morning service.  Speech varies from pastor
to pastor in my denomination, but usually consists at least of "I
baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost"
as the person is immersed.  There may be a lot of variation.
I have seen baptisms in swimming pools and in the river.  It also just
occurred to me that in every Baptist baptism I have witnessed, the
convert is immersed back-first, rather than face-first.  I don't know
if other denominations who practice immersion baptize face-first or
not.  To us this represents when Christ was buried (lying on one's
back).  Face-first would not have the same effect (IMO).  I don't
know if this is something we always do for that reason, or if it is
something that we always do because we've always done it that way.
But I do know that extra precautions must be made to keep water
from going up one's nose when being immersed backwards!! :-)  (Usually
the pastor covers the converts nose with a handkerchief).  And it is
almost always a pastor who performs the ceremony, although in a pinch
I don't think anyone would object to a deacon or other layperson
in the pastor's absence.

Brenda
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