Baby Baptism

Every now and then I want to let you know what’s happening faith-wise in our family, how Christ influences everything we do, and how we pass on what we learn to our daughters so that they can grow up, mature in the faith.

At age five, my youngest, Laurel Ann, was handing out Gospel tracts; at age 6, she made her open air preaching debut  at a stop light. Now, my 9-year-old baby is making her public profession of faith through the waters of baptism. (Our eldest, D.D. was baptized two years ago.)  She understands that baptism doesn’t save her, only faith in Jesus Christ does this. Notice her beaming parents.

We believe in a “Believer’s Baptism.”

That is, when a person understands her sin and need for a Savior, repents, and puts her trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness, then she gets baptized as a public declaration of her faith, that she identifies, through the waters of baptism, with Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.

Our hope, of course, is that Laurel Ann will follow Jesus all the days of her life.

Baptism is a beautiful picture of what happened to our Lord. When you stand in the water, that is symbolic of your old life, when you were dead in your sin and trespasses against God. When you go down into the water, that represents Christ’s death and burial; and when you come out of the water, that is a wonderful image of your new life as a born again Christian. Baptism doesn’t save you, only faith in Jesus Christ does that; this is a step of obedience.

Why don’t we baptize infants? Simply put, it’s not in the Bible. Again, baptism is what a person does when they believe.

Click here to see Laurel Ann demonstrating how to hand out tracts at the bottom of an escalator.

*See the cool gift she got on her 7th birthday by clicking here.

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Comments (35)

  1. Garrett

    Reply

    So what happens when, upon interacting with peers, she decides you’re not entirely on the ball?

    Wait, I’m going to assume your children are homeschooled or in a religious private school. Keep the kids isolated so they can stay indoctrinated.

    • Reply

      Quick quiz: Which comments above are from Christians and which are from atheists? Who sounds more loving? Which worldview seems to be more kind?

      Sad, huh?

  2. Reply

    Pastor Steve,

    Congratulations! That’s gotta be an awesome experience to baptize your own kids. God willing, my two boys will do it some day, and I will be the proudest dad in the world when it happens.

  3. Garrett

    Reply

    Well, two comments are kind to one of their “in” members. The other two are judgemental of members outside the group.

    Hmmm…

  4. Eric Stefan

    Reply

    Wow, congratulations, Pastor Steve! Praise God, I am so exited for you and your family!

  5. Reply

    Oh, I meant three are kind to the “in” member. Limited real estate on the phone.

    My point is that you should hardly be shocked that members of two opposite groups have judging each other. You did the exact same thing to me and try to imply you’re kinder.

    • Reply

      Garrett,

      You’ve been reading this blog for how long now? How many times do you see my kids are with me? My kids are getting a great overview of how the world works; I’m just teaching them to be “in the world,” not of it. In other words, I want them to see that there are distinct differences between those who know the Lord and those who don’t. For example, I’m going to show her these comments and let her figure out who the “lost” person on this thread is. I’ll let you know her answer in a little while.

  6. Dennis

    Reply

    Awesome! Congratulations Laurel – may God bless you and your family.
    Our family was baptized in April of 2006 – 5 years ago.
    I pray the Lord will continue to lead and guide your steps until we meet with Him in Heaven!

    And Garrett – my step-daughter goes to public high school and has no issues with her faith. As a matter of fact she can see clearly the sharp contrast between this sinful world and biblical christianity.
    Your insensitive comment is a big FAIL and shows your ignorance about what it means to be born again.

  7. Nohm

    Reply

    Steve,

    I don’t think that’s a fair comparison.

    For example:

    Congratulations, Steve! Glad to see that you’re spending quality time with your daughters! Your family looks very happy. 🙂

    Now, that’s not far from the kind of stuff I write in comments on these kinds of posts, so is it obvious that I’m supposedly “without hope” (which I’m not… I just don’t have your form of “hope”) and “lost” by that comment?

    I think a more reasonable question for your daughter would have been “which of these commentators do you think disagrees with Dad on theological matters?”

    In closing, I am serious with everything I wrote above, including the “Congratulations” paragraph.

  8. Reply

    No Steve, that’s the not the same. Letting kids interact with others on their own without you hovering nearby, reading to intercept anything you don’t agree with. And that means being outside of places that will do the same as you would, such as your church.

    My point is that many like you enjoy isolating their children from the rest of the world. Keep them on a short leash, because you know your ideology is incredibly flimsy. The only way to protect them is to have them immersed in he worldview throughout their entire childhood. So, hopefully, they’ll be just as blindly devoted as any other.

    The fact your girls can parrot what daddy tells them just proves my point. I find it funny you think that such posts show you in any favorable light.

    • Reply

      Thanks again you guys.

      Garrett, Sounds like a recipe for bad parenting. Did you read what Miley Cyrus’ dad said? He wished he was more of a Father instead of a friend. Last thing I want is for my kids to embrace atheism and have a horrible unfulfilling life, then end up in Hell. No way.

  9. vintango2k

    Reply

    Eh, not really worth arguing about really, I mean Garrett and Nohm can speculate on things and assume that they’re home schooled or kept insulated from other ideas, but ultimately kids don’t really start to question the beliefs they’re exposed to unless the go off to college or move to another area with a more diverse population and/or school of thought. Congrats on the Baptism, next topic! =)

  10. Thomas Moore

    Reply

    Congratulations Pastor Steve!!! That is awesome to be a part of baptizing your children, what a blessing! May God continue to bless you and your family in being a light in a very dark world! Love you brother, God bless!!!

  11. Reply

    Garrett:

    Give it a rest and, at the very least, show a little respect for a man who is sharing a very special occasion in his family’s life that means a lot to them whether you agree with it/him or not. Take Nohm as a good example: he demonstrates via the wording and tone of his comments that it IS possible to disagree with Steve on these and other issues and still be a courteous gentleman about it.

  12. Rachael

    Reply

    That is wonderful!! God bless Laurel! Love the photo of her and Wee-Man too!

  13. Ron

    Reply

    I hope your wife and daughter remained silent during the whole ordeal.

    Or can they just pray for forgiveness later?

  14. Reply

    Steve:

    What a great privilege and joy it must be to baptize your own daughters. Your daughter is precious and she is deeply blessed to the kind of mom and dad that she has. May God continue to bless Laural Ann as she grows in the faith of her wonderful Savior, Jesus. The photograph of the 3 of you captures the joy of the moment that, I am sure, will last a lifetime. Good on you and your family, brother! God bless you all. Amen!

  15. Nohm

    Reply

    Vintango2k wrote:

    I mean Garrett and Nohm can speculate on things and assume…

    Whoa there a second. I have definitely not speculated on things or made assumptions, as that would be “mind-reading”, something that I complain about often, and I’m not looking to be a hypocrite any time soon.

    Unless you know of a place where I did something of the sort, Vintango2k. If that’s the case, please point it out to me, so that I can apologize for doing so.

  16. Nohm

    Reply

    Steve wrote:

    Last thing I want is for my kids to embrace atheism

    I don’t know of anyone who has ever “embraced atheism”. I don’t even know how that would work.

    and have a horrible unfulfilling life

    My life is decidedly not horrible or unfulfilling. Say what you want about where you think I’ll go when I die, but here we’re talking about a person’s life on earth.

    No way.

    As vintango2k pointed out re: going to college or moving to a different location, you might not be able to control that situation.

    For the record, I agree with vintango2k. I know of quite a few people who were “born again” as teenagers and then lost their faith when they were exposed to a more-diverse community.

    (I know, I know, false converts and all that…)

  17. vintango2k

    Reply

    Oh Steve, must you troll? If you want to shield your kids from science, atheism, other religions, etc. etc. its your show to run as a parent, but is it such a horrible thing to allow them to hear other people’s points of view and why they believe them? If you have the truth then what do you have to fear?

  18. John Doe

    Reply

    Dear Steve,

    I agree with Nohm. you should be asking your daughter who disagrees instead of who is without hope. I think that Christians should hope for non-believers to turn to Christ instead of just saying “you’re without hope…but i love you”. i dont know about you, but i dont think thats really showing non-believers the exact love that you profess to follow. personally, i think the loving thing to say is “i disagree with your theological perspective, but i hope that the same Christ who has changed me will be revealed in you.”

    also, I’m sure you get lots of hateful comments from atheists about all sorts of stuff, but though they may cut you, do not fail to show them the love that Christ would. read 1 Corinthians 13:7 and you’ll find that love always hopes. if you love everyone, please try and show more of the love that is written in 1 Cor. 13.

    and Garret,

    Steve has been given authority and freedom to raise his kids how he sees fit. If Steve wants to engage his kids in religious practices, that is permissible so long as it fits in legal bounds. please don’t bash Steve for raising his kids this way. Steve and his kids are not hurting anyone, and if you don’t like it, then just ignore it and don’t get involved.

  19. BathTub

    Reply

    “and have a horrible unfulfilling life”

    Oh lovely bigotry there Steve, well done!

  20. Reply

    Hello John!

    Just because Steve is operating in a legal fashion does not mean his parenting is in any way optimal. Steve is free to ignore my posts (or just not post them) at his leisure.

    Sorry Paul, but Steve has to earn respect. And he’s lost it on many occasions here. He controls the show, so he’s free to not post my comments if they truly get to him.

  21. Reply

    Congratulations Pastor Steve and Family! That is Great. Some about don’t understand parenting, But you are doing the right thing.

    Later.

  22. vintango2k

    Reply

    @ Nohm

    Sorry for the assumption comment, I don’t really see why this post needs to be commented on though, Steve is just bragging on his kid, nothing wrong with that, every parent does it. I, on the other hand, will make the assumption that Steve is going to do everything in his power to make sure his kids aren’t exposed to any other religions, beliefs, or cultures that will challenge their kid’s faith. I am a little curious though, what if your kid grew up and met a Jewish man, and converted to Judaism in order to honor their traditions, would you give them your blessing Steve?

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