Jimmy_the_gent said:

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that makes you sign a paper saying you are bound to not do this or that.

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More and more Baptist churches are recognizing the need for meaningful membership. When the secular world tries to say "What's the difference between you and me" having a creed or confession is able to signal to the world what we stand for biblically.

The baseline for creed doesn't have to be something like the 1689 London Confession, but it should be sufficient enough to make clear what are first order, second order, and third order for the purposes of membership.

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Creeds are great.

Having someone sign a sheet saying they will not drink alcohol is silly.

CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE

"As to what pertains to the case of infants: You [Fidus] said that they ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after their birth, that the old law of circumcision must be taken into consideration, and that you did not think that one should be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day after his birth. In our council it seemed to us far otherwise. No one agreed to the course which you thought should be taken. Rather, we all judge that the mercy and grace of God ought to be denied to no man born" (Letters 58:2 [A.D. 253]).


"If, in the case of the worst sinners and those who formerly sinned much against God, when afterwards they believe, the remission of their sins is granted and no one is held back from baptism and grace, how much more, then, should an infant not be held back, who, having but recently been born, has done no sin, except that, born of the flesh according to Adam, he has contracted the contagion of that old death from his first being born. For this very reason does he [an infant] approach more easily to receive the remission of sins: because the sins forgiven him are not his own but those of another" (ibid., 58:5).

The Shank Ag said:

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Up until recently, my entire life has been spent in the Methodist Church. However, recent events have led to that no longer being an option for my family.

I, along with my two children, were baptized in the Methodist Church as infants. My wife grew up "mainly" Baptist in east Texas, and was baptized as a teenager there.

In the past 2 weeks, I have visited First Baptist Church in Cleburne and felt very much at home. In fact, should this continue another couple weeks and after a lunch the pastor and I have planned for after spring break, we will probably be joining.


My questions, as I was probably fed a lot of incorrect information growing up in the Methodist Church about the Baptist Church from other members and family:

1. Will I and my children need to be rebaptized? I was always told yes growing up, as my infant sprinkling would not be recognized.

2. Will we be able to take communion in the Baptist Church if we have not been baptized there? I was always told no growing up.


Again, I am very excited about the prospects of this change in denominations and churches, just was wondering about the logistics of it all. These would be questions I would field to the pastor when we have lunch, but I am kind of anxious to know now and he is on Spring Break with his family.

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1. No, baptism is not technically even required. It's a profession of faith before the church, but it is not what saves you. This is the typical feeling towards Baptism in the Baptist church.

2. The requirement for communion is being a Christian and technically anyone can take it provided they are a Christian. My Baptist church does not ever check.

With that said, every Baptist church is completely autonomous so unlike the Methodist church, these will vary church to church.

Membership "covenants" are far more often used by pastors to bully and cover up bad behavior than they are to strengthen the church.