Throwing Some Cold Water on the Situation (Infusion 2013)

INFUSION
17 June 2013

I am not proud of it. When I have the blessing of baptizing someone as a recognition of their faith in Christ Jesus, I like the water to be warm.

Though I know it is not true, I feel like an expert when it comes to cold water baptisms. At Infusion this year, the water was cold - very cold - 30-something degree cold - where is the ice kind of cold.

It was our privilege this year (Tim and me) to baptize the chairman of our leadership council for this coming year. Brian came on strong for us this past year and we discovered what an excellent leader he is becoming.

Brian's desire to be baptized at this point seemed wonderfully similar to Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist to signify the beginning of His ministry. 

I will venture a guess here, but I bet that the Jordan River's water was warmer.

After the baptisms were finished, one student came up to me and said, "Pastor Paul! This was all so thrilling and you were so enthusiastic. You even dove into the water to show how excited you were for Brian's baptism." This is one of those moments that get frozen in time for you. I was thinking, "Oh, if only that were true!"

What really happened went like this. Knowing that there was no way I could enter the frigid water by walking in slowly, I fully committed by jumping in. When I landed, however, I lost my balance and I was having trouble stopping my momentum. Not wanting to end up in the deep end, I decisively dove into the water to bring my momentum to a halt. It worked.

After that, things really moved fast. Because I was struggling to breathe, I called for Brian and Tim to position themselves. With lightening speed, I said these words: "Brian, because of your stated testimony to follow Jesus and your desire to follow Him in baptism, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

Then down he went, and up he came. We all raised our hands in victory and high-tailed it out of the water.

Never have I done a baptism faster.

Never have I struggled to breathe like that.

But I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Let's do it again!

(Quick, before ice begins to form on the top!)

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 

Romans 6.3-4, NIV