Christian novices and veterans build their identity from a smorgasbord of images and life practices often in conflict with each other. A quick look at the variety of churches shows a hundred different ways to practice baptism. Few subjects are as emotional charged for those inside the church, or as off-putting and misunderstood for those outside.
Granite Springs is an eclectic mix of people from dozens of denominational backgrounds and countries of origin. Many regular attendees still carry high voltage suspicions about anything that feels like “organized religion.”
Several years ago we spent a year exploring our baptismal identity. We wondered, “What if baptism wasn’t so much of a one time event, but an identity that shaped our entire existence, our entire life of “dying and rising with Christ”? In that year we learned that baptism doesn’t need to divide. It can instead unite, enabling us to sing the song of the gospel in a way spiritually illiterate and fragile people can optimally hear and in a way that invites everyone deeper inside the life of faith.
Most of all we learned that baptism was not a one-time event, but a life-long experience.