A Moving and Memorable Baptism

I have a handful of water, ready to baptize Stephanie in her wheelchair.

The baptism last Sunday was everything it ought to be: a public witness to Jesus, and a joyful time. It had the added excitement of a love story.

I baptized a young couple newly engaged. They had been going steady for some time before either one of them were Christian. She became a believer first. Part of her conversion involved breaking up with her boyfriend. She accepted that marrying an unbeliever was not going to be pleasing to the Lord. Her boyfriend is Jewish, and understandably not open to converting. But he loved her and wanted to marry her. She witnessed to him. We prayed for him. It was hard, because she and I both knew he could just "convert" in order to please her. But what would that accomplish? She didn't want a marriage at all costs, and especially a marriage to someone without Jesus.

Just as he was ready last August to come out and say he believed that Jesus is the Messiah, his father suddenly died. That sent him into a tailspin, especially as he considered where his father was now, if the New Testament were true. He withdrew from us and his girlfriend for a time. All we could do was pray.

In the end, he worked through the difficulties and came out believing in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He told his mother of his decision. She went ballistic. He stood his ground and did not flinch at the explosion his announcement caused, but kept explaining his conversion till he was done.

So last Sunday I baptized this couple, newly engaged to be married. They have the support of not only the church as a whole, but also our Jewish believing element, who understand the ramifications baptism and marriage will have on the Jewish side of the family.

The other two being baptized were a teenaged daughter of one of the church families, and Stephanie, the woman with advanced Parkinson's disease. The teenager's father assisted me in her baptism. I sprinkled Stephanie in her wheelchair with a little pool water.

The viewing area of the pool was standing room only, jam-packed with relatives, friends, and guests. I was able to meet the engaged woman's family, and Stephanie's mother and sister. Many commented on how good it all was, so simple and Biblical.

It's better to have two men baptizing so there is a good chance people who go down will also come up again smoothly. The men I would normally ask were all busy or unavailable. I eventually asked Gavin Steyn, a newcomer to our fellowship from South Africa, to help me in the water. He did a great job. It made him feel more a part of the church.

May the Lord give us another good baptism in His time.

That Which I Feared Most Came Upon Me

Michael Graham, one of the heroes of this post, looking very much like himself, with that grin.

Job 3:25 For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.

That's how I felt on Sunday. I had committed to pick up Stephanie, our friend who has Parkinson's disease and has no help to come to church. I figured that I could manage it with all the setup and organizing of the church morning IF I could leave at 9:45, pick Stephanie up at 10, get back to church by 10:15, make sure my microphone and the recording system was working properly, and then boom, start the service at 10:30.

I had a new fellow come early to help set up. He's a nice guy, a British man who has recently returned to England after living in the US for twenty years.

Then I got a text from Elliot Wilsher, really, the only one who runs sound in the church, my setup buddy, my right-hand man. He was so sick he couldn't even stand up properly. He hated to do it, he said, but he had to stay home.

That's when the Job quote hit me. I was standing there motionless, trying to figure out what to do. Who could run the sound board? Holly had seen Elliot do things. Maybe she could give it a try. Who was going to record the CD and do the video? How was I going to get the whole system up and running and pick up Stephanie? I must admit I had lost all momentum. I was dead in the water.

Then out of the corner of my eye I saw the blur of very big Michael Graham swiftly move gear out of the lockup out to the floor with his typical grin. He also came to help us set up. This is a man who is typically late to church because he is picking up people to get them there. But he asked Elliot last week who else helps with setup. He was surprised to find out no one else helps. He decided he was going to answer the call to help.

When I saw Michael I thought, "Angels wear Nike™! We can do this now!" We all worked together throwing things together as fast as we could. Vanessa called her husband Piero to run sound. He had stayed home because of his arthritis bothering him, but he came and ran sound. He was quite familiar with the system. It was his board we were using!

I went to pick up Stephanie and found her ready to go. I got back in time to find: no sound from my microphone. I discovered a broken cable in the signal path. I replaced it, and we were back in business. I started the meeting. And it was a good meeting, too.

I would have thought it impossible that we could make it on a Sunday morning without Elliot. That which I feared most came upon me. I found that with Jesus all things are possible. I'm so glad He is with me.