Remembering...

This past Sunday we did something a bit different at New Life.  What did we do?  We remembered our baptism.  In part this meant reflecting on events surrounding (leading up to and after) the personal immersions (baptisms) of people at New Life. It could be described as ‘testimony’ time, but there was more to it than that…

There is too much to explain for a succinct summary. I had thought about posting the whole service on-line at www.nlccoe.com (it consisted of praising God in song, confessional readings, confessional prayers, teaching on baptism (biblical and historical), "remembering" our baptism, the Lord’s Supper, etc.), but due to the personal nature of some stories shared during the "remembering our baptism" part of the service I will not.

Sitting and listening to the stories of others I was struck that this needs done more often. What is “this” you may ask? Well, a better (more holistic) understanding of baptism is one. Yet another is remembering it (how has it shaped you; how should it shape you; etc.), which necessitates remembering and telling your story.

Hearing the stories of others is a part of living in community (to which Christians are called). This is so helpful because we may hear someone who (heaven forbid) had it “worse” than us and God saw them through the time; therefore we have a new found hope. In addition to that, we all know people; someone we know may be in a similar spot to a brother/sister in Christ and we only know that because of knowing their story. What then is the responsibility of the “story-bearer” (i.e., the Christian to whom God was faithful)? To share what God has done with the person who now finds himself/herself in a similar situation. It may in fact be the last thing needed for a commitment to a King and His Kingdom to take place.  

Oh yeah, and please do not make the mistake of thinking your story is "too much" or "too little" for others to hear.  God is bigger than everything; nothing is insignificant.  Let me clarify what I mean by “too little” - it is the false notion some may have that their story “isn’t any good because I grew up in Church and followed God then and still do now…”  THE TRUTH IS WE SHOULD ALL HOPE FOR MORE OF THOSE STORIES!!!  (I.e., people who have done their best to be faithful to God their entire life and never “walked away" from church or anything like that.)  There is power in someone who “gets it” at a young age…and continues to “get it” (in increasing measures) the rest of their life. 

What do you remember about your baptism? How has it shaped you? How should it shape you?