The Journal

Socrates said, "An unexamined life is not worth living." This is my feeble attempt at examining my life.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Monday, May 24, 2010

You did what to your baby?

5:00 PM Posted by Daniel Rose , No comments


I remember the day well.  It was a Friday night, November 2001, the night before Michigan was to play the evil Ohio State Buckeyes.  Ethan, our firstborn, was reclining in the stroller and I was chatting it up with other college missionaries. Then it slipped (well it did not actually slip, I was waiting for just right the time), we had baptized Ethan, AS AN INFANT!  It was pretty funny when almost everyone within about a 30 foot radius (maybe I said it a little louder than I anticipated) stopped talking and stared at me with a dumbfounded look. I think it might have been a world record for chins on the ground at one time.

In the world of parachurch ministries the idea of infant baptism is relatively foreign. It is akin to saying that you are going to sew a third arm to your baby.  Why? I think it's because the dispensational and baptist movement has become quite pervasive in many parts of American Christendom.  Presbyterianism, Methodism, Lutheranism, and other American denominations that practiced the historic sacrament of infant baptism moved toward liberalism and removed themselves from the public life of the church. Their conservative counterparts are small and as a result lost influence in the general Christian world.

This has resulted in a loss of covenantal theology and the biblical doctrine of infant baptism. This is one of the great tragedies that the church has faced. This loss is tragic because it means that there is a loss of vision for the emerging generations.  They have simply become a missionary object as opposed to valued members of the community who need to be discipled and cared for.

Why did we baptize our kids?  We baptized them because they are members of the community of faith.  We baptized them because we believe that God is going to draw them to himself. We baptized them because we believe that this promise is visionary for their life.  We baptized them because we believe that the people of God are part of our family and that they have a responsibility to be a part of these kids lives.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Let's go swimming, I promise.

5:00 PM Posted by Daniel Rose No comments

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It's been about two weeks since I last wrote.  I have missed the discipline of writing and thinking but I simply have not had the margin to write.  Tonight it is quiet and I have been thinking about baptism, covenant, and the blessing that God gives. To that I end I want to begin my series of posts on baptism with some discussion of covenant because I believe that it informs our understanding of baptism.

What is a covenant? This is a bad question.  We are talking about covenant in a very specific sense and not in a general way. We are not talking about covenant between people and people or even god to god.  No, we are talking about God covenanting with his people. So, what does this divine covenant look like? It is in its most basic understanding a suzerain treaty. You can read a fantastic description here.

What is unique about the divine covenant is that God's covenant of grace is one way.  He sets the requirements and meets the requirements in himself.  In the covenant of works man was required to merit favor and ultimately failed. God was gracious and provided the Law to act as a guardian for his people (Galatians 3:24) until Christ came and fulfilled the conditions of the covenant of grace.  He was the embodiment of the people of God  and his faithfulness as our federal head is given to us.

So, there are two covenants.  The covenant of grace and the covenant of works. Both are gracious in that they are implemented by God to provide a means for his people to have relationship with him. In Hebrews 7 and 8 we find that the people of God failed in their responsibility in the covenant of works but Christ was faithful in the covenant of grace.

Baptism then must be understood in light of this reality. A few of the questions that I want to explore in future posts are how does baptism function as a means of the covenant of grace? What are the effects of baptism? What is the role of baptism in the identity of formation fo the people of God?

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Communion and Faith

2:50 PM Posted by Daniel Rose No comments

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One day not very long ago my son and I were sitting in the gymnasanctatorium at our church readying for worship to begin.  That particular morning was a communion sunday and the table was front and center and covered.  For a 6 or 7 year old boy anything covered with a sheet is instantly mysterious and requires investigation.

"Dad, what's under that sheet?"

"Communion son."

"What's communion?"

"It's when we celebrate Jesus dying on the cross and rising again."

"Yeah, but what's under the sheet?"

"Juice and crackers."

"Really? Do I get some?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because the juice and crackers are symbols for Jesus' death and resurrection and the only people who get to eat them are those who believe in Jesus."

"I believe in Jesus."

"You do?"

"I do."

"Well, you have to meet with Pastor Doug and talk to him about the fact that you believe in Jesus and what that means."

"I do?"

"Yes."

"I can't do that, I would be too scared."

"Well, then you're not ready for communion."

"Hmph."

And so began a conversation about Jesus that lasted a few months until Ethan was ready to proclaim his faith and take communion.  It was a remarkable period of time.  Communion is a means of grace.  The very act of taking communion leads us to the place where we actually talk about what Jesus did.  In our tradition we "fence" the table and encourage those who don't know Christ to allow the elements to pass.  This is purposeful.  It opens the conversation.

Why use a tract alone when the table is set and ready?