It is nearly time for my infant son to be baptized, and I would love to hear how all of you personalize your baptisms. We have had many infant baptisms, and the pastor says the exact same thing every time -- same explanation of the sacrament, same charge to parents, same scripture reading, even the same jokes (a topic for another thread). The congregation has heard it so many times, it has become rote.

1. Is it wrong for me to want this to be a special and unique occurance in the life of my son? Should I be content with the gift of the sacrament and not be concerned with the manner in which it is administered?

2. Please share your methods for infant baptism, and maybe I can get pastor to agree to switch things up a bit.

Thanks,

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Samuel
Ruling Elder, PCA
Snellville, GA

There is a strange proneness in us to make our opinion and practice a rule and a law to every body else, to judge of all about us by our standard, and to conclude that because we do well all do wrong that do not just as we do. Matthew Henry

These debates about how to properly do baptism have been going on for half a millenium or so. I personally don't like the idea of ''personalizing'' a sacrament instituted by Christ and given to his church. I leave room for liberty however God has called your pastor to do this thus I think it may be best not to try to americanize baptism because it is not a ''design-it-your-self'' kinda thing. It is important to protect what it represents and why and why not we baptize our infants (for those reasons see the Reformed standards), but I don't think this is a big issue. granted perhaps if I have some kids some day I might feel different. But I rather like the reformed liturgy!

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J. P. Grigoletti II * Lay-man * Église Réformée du Québec
Québec, Québec Canada * Member: Église Reformée St. Marc
http://Grigoletti.blogspot.com - blog
<<There are three things necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily: the first, how great your sins and miseries are; the second, how thou may be delivered from all thy sins and miseries; the third, how thou shall express thy gratitude to God for such deliverance.>>

I'll echo things a bit above, but put a slightly different shade on it. Baptism is, by its very nature, a "special and unique" event in the life of your son - so whether the same words are said, or those which you have written for the occasion, it's still a very unique and blessed event. I would hope that you share this perspective.... it is a GREAT day for your son, plain and simple.

The idea of "personalizing" the event seems to me to take the wind out of the sails of the fact that this is a community event of welcoming your child into the covenant community. Yes, it is an individual being baptized, to be sure... but it is not an individual being baptized into a "me-and-Jesus" sort of solo relationship. The community of the flock of God is VERY much in view in this ceremony. The very fact that the same words are used, I think, carries a great deal of significance with it.

If baptism were disconnected from the covenant community, and were individualized like, say, marriage, then I can see room for "personalizing" the words used. As it is, though, I don't think this fits the picture of baptism that historically has been understood in the reformed churches.

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Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://inprincipiodeus.solideogloria.com
http://puritanwisdom.blogspot.com

"As God did not at first choose you because you were high, He will not now forsake you because you are low."
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To paraphrase the WHI guys, we are discovering our our place in Christ's story, not figuring out how HE (or the church) fits into our story.

I would happily do without "the same jokes," I would certainly try to say some introductory words a bit uniquely on each occasion, but the NAMES of the children are certainly unique. And the SAME ceremony happens to all of us. I am partial to using the standard forms, myself. Although I understand if some minister's paraphrase them, or write their own material (to same the same thing).

I also think that, if the occasion is occasional enough (in a small church like ours, one baptism a year would seem like a lot), then a sermon on the topic would be appropriate, much like we preach Communion messages. There's enough passages on Baptism that the pastor wouldn't need the same sermon every time, IMO.

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Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


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You are a ruling elder in the PCA, so you already know that the sections of the Directory of Worship in the BCO are more than suggestions. The minister is given some liberty and leeway based upon the needs of the congregation as a whole.

And your comments can be taken to seem that you want the focus to be on your child during the worship service. I would remind you that he is not the star of the show.

I hope I've misunderstood what you are asking; I could understand this coming from a member, but find it somewhat bothersome coming from a RE.

PCA Book of Church Order: Chapters 56 - 63

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Edward
Deacon
PCA
Texas

Thank you all for your responses.

I might have been a little misunderstood here. What I am after is not that my boy get a "special" baptisim, or some great attention drawn to him, but that we do something to make all baptisms special.

When I was baptised, the pastor took me in his hands and showed me to the congregation as he gave them the charge (straight from the directory of worship). The sermon that day was on baptism, and it was a big deal, not because much was made of me, but because much was made of God because of me. That is what I'm after here.

We have had many infant baptisms in recent years, and they have become such a formality that it seems that we are no longer glorifying God appropriately for the wonderful gift of the covenant.

I have been a memeber of the same church all my life and I simply wonder how things are done other places that might be edifying to my church family and to myself.