Still Beaming Over Baptism Sunday!
Faith & Commitment
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Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
It’s been over a month since Christ Church Birmingham’s first Baptism Service, and we’re still beaming over the 5 public professions of faith and commitment to the Lord. It was an honor to witness each of their testimonies and be an active part of God’s redemptive and restorative work in each of their lives. Many tears of joy were streaming from all those looking on as the buzz of excitement and exuberant shouts of joy filled every square inch of the church hall! For each of these fab-5, this is just the beginning of the life-long adventure we call Christianity. As with any extended journey, one’s commitment will be tested and tried, but our prayer is that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Ryley – a professional footballer playing for Notts County FC was recently offered a contract this year. His dad, who resides in London, took him and his girlfriend, Elouise, to the church one Sunday as an introduction to the faith. He has grown in his love for the Lord and has the potential to reach other footballers on his squad.
Shaffa – a Ugandan from a Muslim family who was born and raised in the UK. He has become a mainstay in our community and has found a place of belonging before forming faith. He has helped me in various ways as a mobile mechanic and gardener (amongst other entrepreneurial endeavors) and has formed a great relationship with our kids.
Mary – a lovely family-oriented, hard-working (proper) Brummie with whom we first got acquainted at the Food Pantry. She’s had a challenging year, having experienced hardships and enduring bereavement, yet her presence in our community is truly one of a kind, and she has begun expressing her newfound faith serving in Hospitality.
Tanya – a single mother with two daughters, Gracie and Lily, who are currently residing in temporary accommodation across the street from the church. She has a powerful testimony, and it’s always great to interact with the girls on their level when I serve at Kids’ Work or during the summer fun day events (in August). During preparation for our mission, Steph and I prayed for broken families and single parents, specifically mothers in the UK. (In 2023, there were 3.18 million single-parent families in the UK, making up 16.3% of the total number of families).
Elouise – a very personable and kind hairdresser who absolutely loves interacting with the children in Creche or at the Craft Table in the back during church services. Steph hopes to develop a friendship with her over time—learn more of her story, talk about life, and get into the nitty-gritty of practical faith applications.
Great Co-mission & Baptism
Jesus states in Matthew 28 (a passage known as the Great Commission) that all who come to faith in Him, fundamentally trusting in His finished work and authority over all creation, should “go and make disciples of all the nations.” When we come to faith in Christ, it isn’t merely a statement of belief in God—roll credits, and that’s the end of the story. There’s so much more!
When you put your trust and faith (believe) in Christ, He begins a transformative work in you and through you. This work is Jesus’ redemptive and restorative objective or mission. This is why the Son, one person of the three in the Triune being of God, condescended by entering into human history to execute this rescue mission—the culmination of all of redemptive history. We get to participate in God’s redemptive plan, which is why it’s referred to as the “Co-mission.” In other words, His mission becomes our mission. We are both recipients and conduits of His love and grace.
He also says, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Well, how can that be, Jesus? Didn’t you ascend to Heaven and are right now seated on the right hand of God, the Father? He sent those who would believe and follow Him the Helper. The third person of the Triune being we call God—namely, the Holy Spirit. If you think about it, Christ’s earthly life and ministry were very much localized in the Middle East. The deposit of the Holy Spirit in the life of a follower of Christ means that Christ’s work will spread to all the ends of the earth.
Like a detonated bomb whose blast expands outwardly, the Holy Spirit exalts and applies the finished work of Christ in our lives and leads us to do the unexpected, the supernatural—the greater things that will bring true redemption, restoration, and peace in this world.
It’s in this way (by way of the Holy Spirit) that Christ will be with us to the end of the age. Who we are, what we do, all that we will ever become during this Co-mission are found in Him, enabled by Him, and accomplished through Him. Matthew 28 is also a great passage to refer to when facing criticisms and arguments against the Trinity.
Disciple-making, aka discipleship, is so much more than just inspiring or encouraging people toward belief in God or modeling what it looks like to be a student of God’s word. It’s about the out-of-your-comfort-zone overlapping of (whole) life on (whole) life relationships being continually fostered and matured, in-season and out-of-season. That’s what the capital “C” Church is—a wondrously diverse yet unified fabric of interwoven people who have become a new family—adopted sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. In some ways, a baptism service is similar to the atmosphere present during a court hearing where an adoption is being finalized and formally recognized.
Baptism
Maybe it hasn’t dawned on some of us just how significant water baptism is, whether symbolically, theologically, or both. Perhaps it hasn’t broken out of the shell of mere sacrament or burst out of the box of a meager ordinance observed. Baptism is a sign of the New Covenant in Christ, where individuals verbally affirm their faith and fidelity to the Lord. This act is similar to the vows a bride and groom pronounce during a marriage ceremony in the presence of their loved ones. Water baptism is declaring to the world that you have total trust in and outright reliance on Jesus Christ, as well as a commitment to follow His commands and live obediently to Him.
CCB holds to believer’s baptism (also called Credobaptism), which is when we baptize those who have reached the age of discernment and accountability. In other words, an individual should know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it with regard to being baptized. It’s a fully conscious decision that must be made before professing fealty to the Lord. Moreover, such a decision is not something to take lightly, as if one was simply turning a new leaf or having a new (but temporary) lease on life. Like a marriage ceremony where there is permanence to the vows spoken to one another, a baptism displays the confidence we place in Christ after weighing the cost of discipleship—whole-life fidelity.
Another aspect worth mentioning is that we also fully immerse individuals in water to symbolize burial with Jesus after His atoning death on the Cross for our sins, and coming out of the water symbolizes our being raised with Him to new life.
THANK YOUS!
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THANK YOU for praying for us and sticking with us.
We are your boots on the ground here in the UK! 🇬🇧