I’ve had the pleasure of pastoring in many flavors of the faith. I grew up in evangelical traditions and in my mid-twenties found myself in historic mainline churches like The United Methodist Church & the United Church of Christ. Now in my thirties, I have pastored two inter-denominational churches that serve as a melting pot of many flavors of Christianity. Some come from traditions where babies are baptized, and others where they are dedicated. So which one is correct? My answer, either or, both and... They both in many ways aim to accomplish a similar purpose but by different means based on varying historical traditions within Christianity. 

Christian baptism has its origins in a Hebrew ritual purification called mikvah. Jews washed thoroughly before walking naked into 150 gallons of water, connected to a natural spring, where folks would say a prayer and submerge themselves three times to make themselves pure. Jews wash before entering the place of worship if they have delivered a baby or touched a dead body or blood (including menstruating). This act will then make them pure enough to enter the temple. Progressive Jews today do this during transitional times in life like a wedding, conversion, graduation, after a death, divorce or rape.

Jews who follow Jesus also redefine baptism. John baptizes people in the Jordan River. John was the son of Zechariah, who was a priest. This means, John should have been following his levitical line of being priest but instead of leading ceremonial cleansings in the temple, he is preparing people to be permanently cleansed in a dirty river instead of fresh water in the mikvah. When he baptizes Jesus, the one who is supposed to be pure and without the need of cleansing, he completely shifts the paradigm and meaning of baptism for First Century followers of Jesus. As soon as Jesus is baptized we are told that God speaks these words over him, “You are a cherished and beloved child of God and you bring me so much joy”

What if in this moment, the Spirit introduces a new meaning to baptism? Jesus didn’t need to be baptized to wash his sins away and make him pure. What if like Jesus, when we are baptized (as an adult or an infant) it’s a rite of passage saying,

“You are a cherished and beloved child of God and you bring God so much joy”?

The late theologian Rachel Held Evans describes it best when she says, “Jesus did not begin to be loved at the moment of his baptism, nor did he cease to be loved when his baptism became a memory. Baptism is simply the reality of his existing and unending belovedness.”

The beautiful thing about this baptism is that Jesus was chosen and loved and beloved before he was baptized but in this moment this belovedness is witnessed and affirmed to both Jesus and those watching. Which is also the beauty of our baptism. It’s a moment for the community of faith to behold and affirm our belovedness as children of God. At Forefront we believe in a just and generous God who was never separated from us. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are so that we can change our minds about the goodness of God, not so that God can change God’s mind about our goodness. This is the good news of the Gospel! God’s Justice is restorative, not punitive. Sin is systemic, not just individual. For this reason, we don’t believe baptism saves us but instead baptism is simply the outward expression of the inward reality of our unending belovedness.

That’s all nice, but should infants be baptized or dedicated? There is precedent for both in our Christian history and traditions. The early church has been baptizing infants since its inception. We see passages in the New Testament (Acts 2:37-40, 16, 1 Peter 3) that highlight whole households being baptized with a promise that their children will receive the Spirit. First Century Saint Irenaeus promoted the baptism of all people regardless of age by saying, “Jesus came to save all through himself; all, I say who through him are reborn in God: infants and children, and youths and old men. He passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, sanctifying infants; a child for children, sanctifying those that are of that age..” 

History shows us that all Christian traditions (Catholic and Protestant) baptized infants until the fifteen century when Anabaptist introduced the belief that folks must believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins before baptism. And this is when baby dedications were introduced into our Christian traditions and why this tradition is widely embraced by many evangelical, baptist, pentecostal churches today. Baby dedications are a ceremony for parents and the church to commit to raising a child with a knowledge of the Christian faith and supporting them if or when they make the decision to follow Christ and be baptized. Some permit children to make this decision as young as preschool age while others expect them to wait until they are a teen. In the more mainline traditions of the church where babies are baptized, this concept is reversed. After babies are baptized, in their teens they go through a confirmation class for 6-12 months, where they learn about the doctrines and history of the church and then determine if they wish to join the church and affirm these beliefs for themselves. 

So what to do? What to do? Ultimately your decision to baptize or dedicate your child is an invitation for your child and the broader church community to behold the belovedness of your child and loving inclusivity of your God. Depending on whether you identify with the traditions you grew up with or have come to adopt different traditions, you have the opportunity to determine which historical Christian traditions you want to embody and embrace for your child. So whether you want to baptize your infant or wait for them to make the decision to be baptized, it seems to me that baptism as a child or an adult, is simply God’s moment to declare to us and to the world that just as God pulled them through amniotic fluid to introduce them to the world, so too God pulls them through the waters of baptism to remind them they are loved and beloved children of God.

Regardless if you experience baptism as an infant, toddler, adolescent or adult and regardless if you were baptized in a feeding trough, bowl, basin, river, pool or tub… God chose YOU. God chose us, all of us!

And so let us say YES to the water, but as for the how and when, let us offer a generous christian expression of faith and just declare you’re loved, and beloved!

If you would personally like to be baptized, or to baptize or dedicate your child, please feel free to reach out to anyone on the Executive Council to discuss what practices would be most meaningful to you.

Rev. Josh Lee
Community Pastor (he/him)

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Rev. Josh Lee is Forefront's Community Pastor. His experiences have exposed him to a wide spectrum of thought, that compelled him to create greater unity among diversity. He has served as an Associate Pastor in the Assemblies of God & United Methodist Church, Youth Director in the American Baptist Church, Senior Pastor at an Independent Christian Church, and most recently as Co-Pastor at an Inter-denominational Church. Throughout his career and education, he has lived at the intersectionality of both the Christian and LGBTQIA+ community, instilling him with empathy to love God and people without exception.

Josh earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Pastoral Studies from Moody Bible Institute and his Master of Divinity from Garrett Theological Seminary and is ordained in the United Church of Christ.

At Forefront, Josh preaches regularly, while also helping newcomers assimilate, providing pastoral care and opportunity for growth, and connection by working with our deacons in the areas of Connection and Justice and Kidstuf.