Sunday, September 28, 2014

Under the Water, Over the Top

September 28, 2014

This morning Pastor Joe baptized three people. At the 11:00 service, it was a young girl and her toddler brother from a family that's been in my life for a number of years. It was a privilege to share in this baptism; the father has been wanting it for some time, but it's taken awhile for him to really come to an understanding of the significance of the parental role in it. It was good to have the family up front, to take part in the baptisms and in the renewal of vows for the girl's older brother. It was a big step for both of them, and a particular pleasure for me as I've watched them grow over the last couple years from not really understanding faith in Christ to making their own profession of that faith.

Our early service was witness to something I've never before had happen at a baptism. First of all, the stage was set in a most unusual fashion; most Methodist churches have baptismal fonts, but no baptistries. Ours is no exception. We've had the wonderful privilege of holding baptisms in our son's swimming pool, and lately in the pool at the foot of the waterfalls in the creek on our property. However, with the weather cooling, people are a bit reluctant to enter the creek waters, so pastor Joe poked around a bit and came up with a cattle stock tank which got rolled into the sanctuary and filled. That was today's baptistry.

The young man who inaugurated this erstwhile baptistry has been coming to Park for a few months, attending worship, men's group, and generally making himself at home. I first remember meeting him a couple years ago when he was helping our son in law set up our first ice skating rink. Dan was right in the thick of things, getting this new project off the ground. After the service, his mother told me some stories about him and his connection with Park church over the years, stories probably best left untold. One disadvantage of a long term pastorate is my short term memory. I didn't remember any of the incidents of which she spoke. Dan grew up here, is well known in the community, and had an entire crowd of well-wishers who came just to witness his baptism.

At the end of worship, pastor Joe called Dan up front, got in the tank with him, and baptized him. Joe's method is to immerse the candidate three times, "in the name of the Father (dunk), the Son (dunk), and the Holy Spirit (dunk)." When Dan came up out of the water after that third immersion, the entire congregation broke out in spontaneous cheering and clapping. It was the most enthusiastic reception I've ever seen, and powerful testimony to what it means to be translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son.

Most pastors don't get to witness what I've been seeing over the past three months as I've watched new people come to church and even more importantly, come to Christ. Pastor Joe is a people person, is passionate about Jesus Christ, and even more passionate about connecting the two. Ten years ago, my prayer was to be able to turn over a healthy church to my successor. I was given that privilege, and Joe has begun taking things to the next level. It doesn't get much better than that, and makes me a very grateful former pastor.

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