I mentioned in my 2009 Annual Life Lessons that I’ve been doing a lot of work on baptism this past year. Most seminarians have to grapple with this practice at some point in their studies, but it was a call for papers from the Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) that sent me into overdrive. So I’ve decided to make some blog entries to share what I’ve been studying and writing about.
Now MCC is an interesting denomination with folks drawn from practically every tradition of Christendom as well as folks who’d never stepped foot in a church before coming into one of ours. We bring a wide range of beliefs about baptism along with us and a whole lot of questions:
- What does baptism mean?
- Is it a sacrament? (What is a sacrament?)
- Can we baptize babies or only people old enough to make decisions for themselves?
- Do we immerse, pour, or sprinkle?
- Can we do it more than once?
- Can a person join the church without it?
- Does it have to be "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"?
These are some of the many questions that Christians have asked over time. And some of them will show up here in the days to come.
