San Diego #9

If you've even heard that I'm on this summer project, I'd really, really like you to read this post.

About a week and a half ago, our project directors brought up the fact that there'd be a baptism service. Immediately, I considered going for it. But, after being taught about baptism in Catholic school and seeing baptisms in my church, I never considered it before. So, what was different here?

Honestly, I don't know. Something that God has done in my life here on project must have driven me to desire baptism. It probably helps that I'm constantly in community with awesome, Christ-centered people, whereas I don't know too many people in my church. Think about it - in Acts 8, the Ethiopian eunuch runs into a Christ-centered evangelist in Philip, and their conversation somehow led the eunuch to want to be baptized at the next sight of water.

I didn't seriously commit to getting baptized until last Friday, when I asked my small group leader, Cameron, to baptize me. As it turns out, Cameron's been reading and studying a lot about baptism, and it's a topic he's really excited about. The one-on-one we'd go on to have about baptism really meant a lot to me, as I got a better idea as to what it actually is, what it means, and the implications of it for the future.

If you go back to the Greek that the word "baptism" was based off of, it translates to "immersion". Using that translation makes a very confusing passage in 1 Peter 3 make a little more sense (1), as in the time of Noah, the world was immersed in water. The world as Noah and his family knew it was washed away by the flood. Noah and his family were saved by this immersion, this baptism. It wasn't the action of immersion itself that saved them, but the fact that with a new world after the water receded, the world would be clear of the evil that was there before it.

(1) 1 Peter 3:18-22. Going over this passage in Nebraska last semester took forever because almost nobody understood it. It's worded in a pretty confusing way, and the fact that Noah and the flood randomly showed up in the New Testament took a lot of us by surprise.

Yet, the point of baptism is not to get baptized several times so we can be cleared of our sins prior to each baptism. The grace of Jesus Christ already paid for our sins. But, in baptism, there is a symbolic death - the death of the old conscience, which I think has a lot to do with the flesh. As we come out of the water, we live a new life, like Christ did when he rose from the dead (2).

(2) Romans 6:2-10.

This doesn't mean we won't sin again. I've definitely sinned since I got baptized. But, I can truthfully say that I have a clear conscience in God now. To me, this has nothing to do with my salvation, but this is a public declaration that I am giving my life to Jesus. I see this not as a ritual, but as a choice I made - not necessarily by myself, either. Remember, I feel that God led me to desire baptism, and in a way, it's as if God was asking me to give my life to him. To me, this means so much, as it's something I still can't completely wrap my head around. It's just so different when baptism means so much to you as God reveals its meaning through his Word. On top of that, it was a lot of fun.

The ceremony wasn't much of one at all. 22 of us got baptized that day, and after giving a short, 30-second testimony of why we wanted to get baptized, the people baptizing us prayed over us and we headed out into the ocean at Mission Beach. It was a cool, nice evening, meaning the water was pretty cold going in. Not minding it, Cameron baptized me in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as was a part Jesus's last command in Matthew 28 (3). All of the baptisms happened at pretty much the same time.

(3) Less serious note: I slipped and nearly went into the water before Cameron wanted me to. And, when he baptized me, he slipped as a wave came crashing in and nearly dropped me.

I was blessed to have most of the project community watch all of us get baptized. They cheered for everybody as we got out of the water, alive in Christ. I met these people less than five weeks ago, but I was hugging just about everybody who wanted a hug, which was a lot of people. I think I smiled more that day than I have in several days combined. In the same way, I don't think I've seen Cameron happier than he was during those moments.

One of the guys, Zach, probably said it best. We got baptized in San Diego with 100 of our best friends watching and cheering us on. This was a beach party with a different kind of life than you'd think of when you think about a beach party. This was a celebration of lives in Christ, and as brothers and sisters in Christ, we all celebrated together. As of now, this is easily the best experience I've had on project. I've had many great ones, too.

To have been driven to desire baptism more than ever before here on project, to have a small group leader who is very passionate about baptism, and to have so many friends, some of whom I don't know very well, be this excited and genuinely happy for us has to be something orchestrated by God. I couldn't have scripted my baptism any better myself. And, for a death to our sins and a new life in Christ to even be possible, God had to send his son, Jesus Christ, to earth to pay the price for my and all of our sins. The fact that God did that is even greater than the circumstances surrounding the SDSP 2013 baptisms.