Teaching on Affirming Members and Baptism Candidates

Introduction

Written below, you will see the baptismal vows of both the baptism candidate and the congregation.

Minus a few edits and word changes, these baptism vows are historical vows, taken from the Book of Common Prayer. You may say, “Why the Book of Common Prayer? We’re not Anglicans.” And this is true. We’re Baptists, not Anglicans. But, the Book of Common Prayer has these vows because churches through the centuries have used vows for baptism, both for the baptism candidate and the congregation. The Book of Common Prayer is simply a wonderful English compilation of these historical vows.  We chose these vows over others for two main reasons:  

Why We Chose These Vows

1. They are good vows. We felt no need to reinvent our own. These are trinitarian, biblical, historical, in good English form, and have withstood hundreds of years of use and criticism.

2. These vows have congregational vows. This remains a high priority for us as we greatly esteem our membership and the role we play together as a body. When someone is baptized, they are not baptized into nothing. Baptism is not an isolated act nor a strictly private act. To limit baptism to an individual is like saying you are on a basketball team, but you are the only player on that team. It is like saying you’re the president of a nation, but you are the only citizen of that nation. Those are meaningless claims.

Rather, Baptism’s very meaning is corporate. You are baptized into something. Or, more specifically, you are baptized into someone, namely Christ. And your union to Christ in baptism results in your union to the rest of His body, His Church (see esp. 1 Corinthians 12:12).

Therefore, when we affirm someone for baptism, it is an act of receiving a brother or sister who has been newly united to Christ as their head; we now recognize and receive them as His body.

This leads to shepherding points we need to address regarding how and why we affirm someone to be baptized into membership (or, having been baptized already, affirm their previous baptism by receiving them into membership).  

Shepherding Questions

You, as members, will be asked to affirm baptism candidates.

You may have hesitations about someone’s baptism. When these hesitations arise, you need to ask at least two questions.  

First, you need to ask:

Are these hesitations present because, “you don’t know the candidate well enough?”

If that is the case, then you can dismiss your objections to the baptism. This is simply because your lack of knowledge or relationship to the baptism candidate does not disqualify the candidate. It says very little, maybe nothing, about the person who desires to be baptized. Rather, such a statement reveals more about you than the candidate, as your lack of knowledge or relationship is your problem, not theirs.

Think about how unmeasurable and backwards the solution would be to this objection. Let’s say I, Aaron Baddeley, wanted to get baptized, and Jess Colvin said, “I don’t know you well enough to affirm your baptism.” How would we begin to measure the amount of relationship that is necessary for my baptism? Does Jess need 5 coffee dates with me before he can baptize me? 10? 20? And if that is the case, why did the whole congregation not have that many coffee dates with me? Once you follow this logic, it leads you to a place where the baptism is about you instead of the baptism candidate.

And this often happens because of the second question you need to ask.  

Second, you need to ask:

Are your hesitations about someone’s baptism based on evidence that they are not converted?

Often, as stated previously, people are hesitant to affirm because of lack of knowledge. Instead, we are asking for actual knowledge, not lack of knowledge. We are asking for real facts and real data that someone is unconverted. We are not asking about something that we cannot measure or know, such as the measuring of your relationship (or lack thereof) with the candidate.

This takes pressure off of you as members once we ask the question this way. When we present someone for baptism, we are not asking you to give an account for the candidate's entire Christian journey and conversion. That’s not possible, nor is that how your Bible describes the process of someone moving from conversion to Baptism.

When we present a candidate for baptism, it is with the understanding that we as elders discerned their conversion and involved the people necessary to do so. That is why we are presenting them to you as candidates. We believe they are converted.

We are presenting them to be affirmed, so long as you, the rest of the membership, do not have evidence to the contrary. This puts the shoe on the other foot. This may include concerns such as:

Additionally, there may be other concerns that arise based on how the elders have handled things or have failed to handle things. This may include concerns such as:

With all this information in mind, allow me the use of an analogy that may help.  

Analogy: A Wedding

Think of a wedding ceremony. We hardly do this anymore, but, if you were to go to a wedding one-hundred years ago, you would hear this statement near the beginning of the wedding:

“Into this holy union, so-and-so and so-and-so now come to be joined. If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else, forever hold your peace.”

This is precisely what we are asking of you. We are not asking you to formally bless the marriage or run the wedding ceremony. The pastor has that covered. We are asking if there are any remaining reasons that would prevent their lawful marriage. Those reasons may include something like: they have existing sexual relationships with other people. They are still married to another person. They have massive amounts of undisclosed debt, etc., etc.

That is the congregation’s role in a wedding. It is also the congregation’s role in affirming someone for baptism. You are the last line of defense to prevent a known wolf from entering a congregation. However, if you do not know of anything that would prevent them from being baptized, you may simply rest and hold your peace while you prepare to engage in discipleship and fellowship with this new member of the body.

Baptism Vows

Candidate Vows:

An Elder asks all baptism candidates: 

Do you desire to be baptized into Christ and His church?
I do.

Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
I do.

Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
I do.

Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
I do.

Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?
I do.

Do you put your whole trust in His grace and love?
I do.

Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord?
I do.

Congregation Vows:

The Baptism

An Elder asks the congregation the following:

Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support _______ in their life in Christ?
I will. 

Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. 

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God? 
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.  On the third day he rose again.  He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again to judge the living and the dead.  

Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* (universal) Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,  the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. 

Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, in the prayers, and your covenant of membership?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will, with God’s help.

Prayer.

The Baptism

Elder:  ______, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.