Here's a story that is but tragic and humorous and reveals something of the problem with baptism and the disunity of the church. (I found this story via Travis McMaken's The Sign of the Gospel, which begins with another story that reveals the problem of baptism and re-baptism)
Early in this century, a baby born in England, Lucille by name, was taken by her maternal grandmother to the local Wesleyan chapel to be baptised. Lucy's father, a sturdy Anglican, was skeptical about the whole proceeding since the Church of England does not regard Methodist clergy as being in the apostolic succession. So he took Lucy to the Anglican parish church where was baptized again. Now Lucy's mother was a convert to the Salvation Army and didn't think much of either the Wesleyans or the Anglicans. So she took Lucy to the local citadel for presentation under the banner of blood and fire - the Salvationist counterpart to baptism.
In time the family emigrated to the midwestern United States. The community they moved into had neither an Episcopal Church nor an army Citadel; so the family attended the Methodist Church. As a teenager, Lucy joined a class of those preparing to take the vows of church membership. Now it happened that the pastor was one of those mavericks who looks upon the practices of his own denomination with disapproval, and regards the baptism of infants as a misguided tradition. He therefore decreed that all in the class had to be "truly baptized" at the font on the day of their views. Lucy's mother discovered what was afoot and said, "Absolutely not. Three times is enough for anyone." But Lucy was a good psychologist and knew that once her mother was seated in church, she would not make a scene. When the rest of the group went to the font, so did Lucy!
Now it came to pass that some years later Lucy fell in love with, and married, a Southern Baptist - but not without extracting from him a pledge that she need not be baptized yet again. He agreed that she was quite sufficiently initiated into the church, and all was well - until they moved to a community where they attended a Baptist Church that was in need of a pianist. Lucy loved to play, and seemed to be a providential gift to the congregation. But, ruled the deacons solemnly and steadfastly, unimmersed hands may not play the Lord's songs for us. And so, for the fifth time, Lucy was initiated into Christ's church.
Whether or not she deserves a place in the Guinness Book of Records, I have not determined. But this much is certain: behind Lucy's experience lies assumptions that have been made by Christians from time to time [about baptism].
Laurence Hull Stookey, Baptism: Christ's Act in the Church (Abingdon, 1982), pp.11-12.
Better to be safe that sorry, I suppose . . . ;)
Posted by: Terry | March 09, 2016 at 08:26 AM