Spontaneous baptism

The Noonday Light, a publication of Noonday Baptist Association, reported earlier this year that First Baptist Church of Woodstock and Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta had held “spontaneous baptismal” services in their churches.

A “spontaneous baptismal” event is when in a certain worship service the pastor explains the significance of water baptism and the church then provides a way for people to take that step immediately.

Darrell Henry, pastor of Oakwood Baptist Church in Chickamauga, recently had spontaneous baptismal services on their church campuses. The Chattanooga Times Free Press quoted Henry as saying, “It was amazing. People have continued to talk about it. I’ve never seen God move like that.”

Henry saw more than 300 souls participate in his spontaneous baptismal services on the church’s Chickamauga and Gateway campuses and in two Celebrate Recovery worship services. The Chickamauga pastor indicated that the mass baptism was accomplished, in part, by accommodating people who wanted to be immersed.

The Chattanooga paper elaborated on how the church eliminated the excuse factor for not participating in the baptismal services by explaining, “Forgot a change of clothes? No problem. The church provided gym shorts, sports bras and underwear.

“Worried about getting wet hair? Solved. The church bought blow dryers.

“Fretful that family members were not present? Not to worry. The church had a professional photographer to capture the moment.”

Basking in the afterglow of the experience, Henry stated, “This was without a doubt the most remarkable day in the history of Oakwood. There was a spirit of revival that swept through the worship center and continues to grow in the hearts of our people.”

Ben Smith, minister of outreach at First Woodstock, stated, “ We baptized 222 on the day of our spontaneous baptismal emphasis. We hold dear the belief that believers should be baptized scripturally (by immersion after their salvation). We knew that many believers at our church had not taken that step of obedience.

“Christ’s command for believers to be baptized is clear in the Great Commission. Scripturally, we know that after Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, there were thousands baptized on the spot. We did not provide individual altar counseling, but did have an information sheet that asked them if in fact they had previously put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus.

“There is always an element of trust anyway that you do it. Even if an altar counselor meets with them or they attend a class beforehand, we still take their word for it to some degree.”

Smith added, “We saw so much emotion displayed by believers who decided to be baptized. Rather than feeling like we had ‘a huge number’ we could report on the ACP (Annual Church Profile), I saw first-hand how significant this was to the many individuals in their walk with Christ. One person under conviction who had watched on the Internet actually drove in for a later service to be baptized. There was much sincerity and passion that we observed among those being baptized.”

The Christian Index announced the spontaneous baptismal service held at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church on February 1, 2009 when 228 were baptized in one day. The church’s senior pastor, Bryant Wright, commented, “One of the core values of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church is a never-changing message with ever-changing methodologies.”

Wright explained, “I first heard of it from my son, George, who pastors Cedarcrest Church. It was such a tremendous experience for their church that I got excited about the possibility of challenging our congregation in the same way.

“Prior to our first spontaneous baptismal service we told the deacons, elders and staff so they could be in prayer, but we only told the congregation that it would be the most unique service we had ever had – unlike any other in the history of Johnson Ferry.

“My sermon on that morning was ‘Jesus’ Baptism and You’ from Mark 1:1, 9-11. After each message in our three morning services, we asked everyone to consider being baptized by immersion if: (1) they had never trusted Christ for their salvation, but were ready to do so that morning; (2) if they had become a believer after being baptized (maybe baptized as a child, but later came to faith in Christ as an adult); (3) if they had already been baptized but by means other than immersion; or (4) if they were a believer who had never been baptized at all.”

Wright added, “As we preached from the pulpit and then counseled people as they came forward, they were being asked to be baptized out of obedience to Christ first and foremost. Using Acts 2:38-41, 8:25-39 and 10:47-48 as our guide, we asked everyone to get their relationship right with Christ first, then follow through in obedience with baptism.

“Scripture is very clear. Beginning at Pentecost in Acts 2 and then with the case of Philip sharing the Gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 and then when you see Peter preaching to Cornelius’ household in Acts 10, there is a clear theological and biblical basis for giving people the opportunity to be baptized on the spot.

“As a result of the spontaneous baptisms our congregation was energized not by any work of a pastor or a staff, but by the work of the Holy Spirit as people yielded their lives in obedience to Christ. I can’t overstate the joy and unity felt by participants and spectators alike. Perhaps churches are longing for a biblically-based, genuine work of God among their people. If so, I hope they seek God first then step out in faith, calling people to a new or fresh commitment to Christ.”

West Ridge Church in Dallas, where Brian Bloye serves as pastor, has had 233 individuals baptized in two spontaneous baptismal services.

Bloye stated, “It (the spontaneous baptismal service) is for people to step out in faith and identify with Christ. We have a lot of attenders from other denominations who are more comfortable participating in this way. We have teams on hand to confirm that the participant has made a decision to follow Christ. We also gather contact information and provide opportunities for them to attend a small group that focuses on new believers.

Henry stated, “The spontaneous baptismal concept seems to fit the model of the early church with the classic example being the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. The candidate is not necessarily joining the church at this time, but more about obedience to the command of Christ, although we do emphasize that they can join the church if they choose.

“Many of the baptismal candidates are getting their baptism ‘in the right place.’ Like me, they were baptized as a child, but trusted Christ later. That’s where I emphasized believer’s baptism. While this may seem like a new concept to us today after several years of praying about and studying the issue, I became convinced that it was the concept of the early church.”

Malcolm Yarnell, associate professor of systematic theology at Southwestern Seminary and managing editor for the Southwestern Journal of Theology, countered, “I think our [churches] should be affirmed for encouraging ‘obedience to the command of Christ,’ but then we should be challenged to make sure we have truly understood that command in its full meaning. We might also question ourselves as to whether we are being driven primarily by pragmatism and sentimentality or by a deep encounter with the Lord’s will as revealed in Scripture.”

In contemplating the emerging trend of spontaneous baptisms Brewton Parker College President David Smith said, “While this issue is not a test of fellowship so far as I am concerned I would be very uncomfortable with a casual approach to one of the two established ordinances in Baptist polity.

“In our denominational heritage, baptism is regarded as a four-fold interaction between a minister recognized as ordained by a local church, a congregation of local believers, the Savior in whom all are united in faith, and a new believer entering into a divine covenant with God, the believer and the church. To practice baptism outside the presence of any of these engaged participants is to diminish and distort the ordinance.

Steve Lemke, provost of New Orleans Seminary, commented, “This phenomenon of spontaneous baptisms is new to me, although a form of practicing spontaneous baptisms has a long history in independent Baptist churches, who typically baptize immediately after the person comes forward by profession of faith.

“However, this new phenomenon in Southern Baptist churches is structured a little differently. Though I heard recently that this practice has expanded to a number of churches, I have only heard of it directly from Bryant Wright’s account of what happened in his church.

“I found Bryant’s account compelling, though I would say that I would expect what Bryant and his church does to be characteristically done well and of high quality. My worry would be that others copy some aspects of the format but not some of the details.”

David Allen, dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Seminary, states, “Baptism in the New Testament is always viewed as the ‘doorway’ into the local church. I don’t see how a church could agree to baptize anyone with the understanding that the candidate is not joining the church. The New Testament seems to make clear that baptism and church membership are closely related if not conterminous.

“Just because the baptism is by immersion does not necessarily mean it is biblical. If any of our SBC churches are baptizing people en masse yet those newly baptized do not become members of the church, I would see this as another indication that our Southern Baptist ship of Zion is listing.”

Alan D. Hix, associate professor of Christian Studies at Shorter University, explained, “The implications for Baptist polity seem clear. Believer’s baptism is a step of obedience following conversion, which initiates the new believer into the Christian fellowship. Any broader application of baptism risks the depreciating of its significance as a testimony of a new covenant relationship of the believer with God and that believer’s membership in the people of God.

“The physical expression of God’s people is the local church, and it is the church that is charged with the mission of carrying out Christ’s command to baptize those who have expressed faith in him.

“This also has implications for those Baptists who have recently engaged in ‘spontaneous’ baptismal services in which people are generally baptized without intention of church membership, or who come from denominations which practice infant baptism and request immersion and then return to their denomination. This practice not only ignores the biblical model of the role of baptism as an entrance to church membership, but it also overlooks its observance as an act of obedience following conversion.

“If a believer from a denomination that practices infant baptism wishes believer’s immersion but wants to remain in his or her tradition, the better response for us as Baptists is to offer our baptisteries for the petitioner’s own pastor to immerse them. I have done that on several occasions for persons in local Methodist congregations.”

Yarnell added, “I do think part of the issue for us, today, is not only a weak ecclesiology, but an attenuated soteriology. Salvation also includes sanctification and discipleship.

“Discipleship can be seen occurring in Acts 8, too. The Ethiopian eunuch was obviously deeply involved in reading Scripture and the nature of his queries to Philip indicated that he wanted to understand and live out all of what Scripture had to say. When he learned of Christ, he wanted to be entirely obedient to Christ and sought baptism.

“Baptism is, indeed, an act of obedience to Christ, but the way this eunuch was living was not as if the act was divorced from his total life. He was baptized in the presence of Philip and the others travelling in his retinue. They would most certainly have brought word back to the government of Ethiopia that this official, the eunuch, had declared himself for a foreign God. He knew the price that could entail and sought to be totally committed to Christ anyways!

“Those who see baptism as a total commitment will not try to see baptism as a spontaneous event, but as an indication of a firm lifelong commitment to follow Christ in all that he says, no matter what the personal price to the disciple.

“This is discipleship: following Jesus constantly, carrying the cross consistently, no matter the cost, with our entire being (Mark 8:34-38). A person who is not willing to identify with the church of Jesus Christ through membership is a person who is not willing to follow Jesus; and the church that baptizes a nom-committed person is baptizing people who are not really disciples.

“In other words, is a person not entirely committed to carry the cross of obedience to Christ as Lord, which includes church membership (cf. Hebrews 10:25), really a disciple? And is a church that baptizes a non-disciple really obeying the Great Commission? If we are honest, we must answer both of these questions negatively.

“The order of the Great Commission is to ‘make disciples’ before ‘baptizing’ them. If a church is baptizing people who are not serious enough about discipleship to read deeply in Scripture (like the Ethiopian eunuch), receive in-depth instruction (like the Ethiopian eunuch), and follow Christ entirely (like the Ethiopian eunuch), then they are not really baptizing disciples.

“We may be adding numbers to the church reports, but we are not adding the numbers that count in heaven – actual disciples obedient to the Lord with their entire lives, reading Scripture, hearing the teaching of the church, obeying Christ.

“When you think about it scripturally, discipleship and baptism are integrally tied together. The only way to get around this is to lower the biblical demand of discipleship and then divorce baptism from the community of disciples, the church.”

Lemke stated five checks and balances – measures he was sure churches like JFBC take – that could go into this experience and help insure the authenticity of the baptismal event:

➤ Baptism should be preceded by teaching on the true meaning of Christian baptism (such as Romans 6). This could be in Bible study groups and/or the sermon in the worship service or both.

➤ There should be a prior verbal or written confirmation by all baptismal candidates that they have made a genuine confession of faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. This affirmation might also be done as a spoken witness as a part of the baptism.

➤ It should be done in public. Baptism is to be the public identification of the person baptized with Jesus Christ, the first act of Christian witness (when possible).

➤ Since baptism is tied to church membership, those baptized should enter into the fellowship of a local church. As the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (Article VII) affirms, baptism ‘is prerequisite to the privilege of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.’

This follows the pattern of the New Testament church, in which those saved on the day of Pentecost were baptized (Acts 2:41) and added to the church (Acts 2:41, 47). It also implies an affirmation of the doctrine of that church, since the new converts at Pentecost ‘continued daily in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship’ (Acts 2:42), which leads to the next requirement: for discipleship.

• Some provision must be made to disciple those who have been baptized. To fulfill the Great Commission, merely baptizing is not being fully faithful to the Lord’s command. We must not only baptize, but ‘make disciples … teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you’ (Matt. 28:19-20).

Baptism without discipleship is leaving the Great Commission half undone. Since the way ‘spontaneous baptism’ is structured does not allow time for discipleship or catechism before baptism (as is practiced by many or most Baptists worldwide), it becomes all the more crucial that provision be made for discipleship training immediately after baptism.”