Baptism - so what?

This past Sunday the Small Group - aka Growing Together Group - that I'm leading met. The topic was baptism. The first question I asked the group was, "What does your baptism mean to you?" Surprisingly I got a bunch of blank stares (well, I really wasn't that surprised because the question caught me off guard when I read it for the first time too). In our denomination we baptize infants. Many in the group were baptized as an infant. In that, it's understandable that they didn't remember their baptism. The thing that I found curious, for myself too, is that it seems that we no longer talk about that baptism as families once it's done. None of them had done that as they were growing up. Another neat revelation was that one person in our group shared how their baptism actually was the catalyst that brought him back to the faith after falling away for a time. We had a great talk about how we as Reformed people view baptism and it's covenantal aspect. How baptism replaces circumcision now and how children are brought by their parents to be claimed by God and later to act on that baptism through a profession of faith. We talked about how other denominations dedicate their children and then wait for what is called a "believers baptism" where the person is baptized and does a profession of faith at the same time. We realized that there are different views out there when it comes to baptism and the Reformed view is ok and good. When done properly it becomes a community event which involves not only the family, but the whole congregation. The parents make promises to raise their child in the fear and knowledge of the Lord, and the congregation members make that same promise. This seems so right as we then try to find ways to raise those children in the context of our baptismal vows. Right from nursery to church school, to youth group, to college groups it is our calling to instill in our children, and the children of our church, the love of Christ; teaching them to go into the world and spread that love to others. It is hoped that the efforts of parents and church community will one day foster the desire to make that personal profession of faith. We are exploring ways that younger children can do that at earlier ages than in the past, under the guidance of their parents. Then, as they mature and get older, they would do another profession of their own. I came away from that study with a renewed awareness that we don't talk enough about the issues of our own Spiritual anchoring points in life. Baptism, profession of faith, Marriage, births of children, even mission trips or volunteering somewhere in the city can all be places in life that offer us anchors that help us get through the tough times in life. I think of those parents here, and in other places, who hurt because their children have not done a profession of faith. They hurt because their children have pretty much stopped going to church. They wonder if they are the ones who did something wrong, or maybe it's the church's fault. Some of these parents are the kindest, gentlest, God fearing people I know. Yet, we don't often share, talk, discuss, care for, surround, and pray about these things. That's what community is all about. That is the glue that should be binding a community of faith together. I challenged the group, and myself, to begin to talk more about their baptism, spiritual milestones, and hurts and pains. After that meeting I decided to test this subject out on our C.I.A. youth group. I asked them the same questions. They too had blank stares (though two in our group have done a believer's baptism). It was actually a very good discussion. I think some came a away with a better understanding of what their baptism means. Not many of them had had discussions about their baptism with their parent(s)s. I challenged them to consider doing a public profession of faith. Most of this group are ready to. I hope they will prayerfully consider it. I also challenged them to go home and ask their parent(s) about why they were baptized...why they as parent(s) were or weren't. I hope they are doing that. I hope we are all going to think about doing that............... That's the difference between being a welcoming community of faith, and an enfolding community of faith.