I Think That Makes the Joke On GOB
I mentioned a while ago that I was waiting until I learned a little on Jewish Spirituality to write my first post in the God category. I ordered a Jewish New Testament Commentary today, but it's going to take a few days to get here, and it's almost a thousand pages. And I don't want to wait, so here goes.
On the off chance that someone may read this at some point who doesn't already know me well, I'm going to provide some background info about myself that should help with the clarity of what I have to say. I'm a recent graduate from Cincinnati Bible College (now Cincinnati Christian University), a relatively conservative school. I've grown up in Non-Denominational Christian churches my entire life. In case you're wondering, I can't totally explain the whole "Non-Denominational as a denomination" thing. Communion every Sunday. Baptism=immersion. Baptism is essential for salvation. Etcetera, etcetera.
And I've been totally fine with all of these things. My appreciation for the time I get to spend in communion has been growing even more as of late. I'll always remember the Sunday I was baptized. I know the Scriptures that support the ideas I've been taught all my life, and I agree with and embrace these practices.
But I'm wrong often.
I wasn't listening the day we learned about magnets in kindergarten. I had to sit in a desk that the teacher separated from the rest of the students because I was disrupting class, and at the end of the day, she quizzed the class to see what we had learned. When she asked us what magnets were atracted to, I couldn't understand why the choir of my fellow toddlers answered "metal" while I answered "everything." Not only did I think magnets were attracted to everything, I was convinced of it.
I had two of my friends convinced that Renee Zelwegger starred in "The Ring" because I was so sure I saw her in the previews. I didn't.
I went to the Baptist Church Mark Richt attends while we were in Athens (although I didn't get a chance to see him). One of the main doctrinal differences between the churches I attend and the Baptist church is baptism. Our belief is that baptism is an action that needs to occur for salvation. The Baptists, on the other hand, place no necessity in Baptism. While our services often end in an invitation for those who would like to become a Christian to be baptized, the Baptist services end in an invitation to say a prayer to "ask Jesus into your heart."
A favorite preacher of mine is Louie Giglio, who also heads Passion, a group that runs popular Christian conferences and also houses a record label that puts out most of the "popular" Worship music being created today. When he was also the lead teacher at 7:22, a college ministry in Atlanta, I took a look at his bio. His moment for becoming a Christian described the time he said the afformentioned prayer to invite Jesus into his heart.
My point is this: the congregation at the church, and those involved in Passion share the same faith in Christ that I do. I've spent time genuinely worshipping alongside people who haven't been baptized. Yet I believe in the vital importance of baptism. So how does this fit together in terms of salvation?
We're lucky it's not up to me, because I'm wrong often.
On the off chance that someone may read this at some point who doesn't already know me well, I'm going to provide some background info about myself that should help with the clarity of what I have to say. I'm a recent graduate from Cincinnati Bible College (now Cincinnati Christian University), a relatively conservative school. I've grown up in Non-Denominational Christian churches my entire life. In case you're wondering, I can't totally explain the whole "Non-Denominational as a denomination" thing. Communion every Sunday. Baptism=immersion. Baptism is essential for salvation. Etcetera, etcetera.
And I've been totally fine with all of these things. My appreciation for the time I get to spend in communion has been growing even more as of late. I'll always remember the Sunday I was baptized. I know the Scriptures that support the ideas I've been taught all my life, and I agree with and embrace these practices.
But I'm wrong often.
I wasn't listening the day we learned about magnets in kindergarten. I had to sit in a desk that the teacher separated from the rest of the students because I was disrupting class, and at the end of the day, she quizzed the class to see what we had learned. When she asked us what magnets were atracted to, I couldn't understand why the choir of my fellow toddlers answered "metal" while I answered "everything." Not only did I think magnets were attracted to everything, I was convinced of it.
I had two of my friends convinced that Renee Zelwegger starred in "The Ring" because I was so sure I saw her in the previews. I didn't.
I went to the Baptist Church Mark Richt attends while we were in Athens (although I didn't get a chance to see him). One of the main doctrinal differences between the churches I attend and the Baptist church is baptism. Our belief is that baptism is an action that needs to occur for salvation. The Baptists, on the other hand, place no necessity in Baptism. While our services often end in an invitation for those who would like to become a Christian to be baptized, the Baptist services end in an invitation to say a prayer to "ask Jesus into your heart."
A favorite preacher of mine is Louie Giglio, who also heads Passion, a group that runs popular Christian conferences and also houses a record label that puts out most of the "popular" Worship music being created today. When he was also the lead teacher at 7:22, a college ministry in Atlanta, I took a look at his bio. His moment for becoming a Christian described the time he said the afformentioned prayer to invite Jesus into his heart.
My point is this: the congregation at the church, and those involved in Passion share the same faith in Christ that I do. I've spent time genuinely worshipping alongside people who haven't been baptized. Yet I believe in the vital importance of baptism. So how does this fit together in terms of salvation?
We're lucky it's not up to me, because I'm wrong often.
posted by S-Dot at 9:40 PM
1 Comments:
For me...it seems to come down to what matters. I am not the one in charge. God is. As blatantly obvious as that seems, some people have a really hard time with that. I think the thing we need to remember is what you said so eloquently: I am wrong often.
Why is it that we can be wrong at work, sports, movies, and just about everything else in our lives but when it comes to church there is no way we're wrong.
As I have grown and learned more the one conclusion that I am sure of is how little I acutally know.
I know this: I love God. And because I love God I love people. That's about all I know...because again, I am wrong often.
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