Simply ChurchIn the Old Testament, a male only ritual signified being a Jew–circumcision. In the New Testament, becoming a follower of Jesus is symbolized by baptism–something any believer, male or female, can obey. Not only that, but women can baptize too (Matthew 28:18-20) Just sayin’…
Only too often, I come across this kind of sad story of spiritual control: “I committed some “offense” (usually not a sin but something that went against the church’s “rules”), and the pastor /church excommunicated me. No one else in the church is allowed to talk to me. My old friends avoid me in the… Read More
My last post about a female Indian church planter who was not allowed to share in class obviously struck a chord with many. In response, someone asked me how he could answer those who use 1 Timothy 2:12 as the basis of their belief that women are not allowed to teach and shouldn’t have authority… Read More
There are a number of activities that have traditionally been limited to men. However, I find no scriptural warrant for not including women in them: Baptism: this is traditionally done by the pastor. When baptism is delayed so that it can be performed by a special person, it slows the growth of any disciple making… Read More
Last week the church that meets in our home came together on Friday. In one sense, it wasn’t an unusual time, but God worked powerfully. We had a new family with us this week, friends from work brought by someone who comes along when he can. “Build your own salad” was on the menu, people… Read More
We need to go away more often. It’s amazing what happens when we leave the country. We currently have a simple/organic church that meets in our home. It’s actually run by our daughter and son-in-law. We turn up from time to time. For most of September and part of October, Tony and I were in Russia… Read More
Should one ever go against principle? When it comes to baptizing people, I believe there are times when it is right to go against principle. Two of the principles I have mentioned in the last few blog posts are The person who leads someone to the Lord baptizes them Baptism is immediate Whenever baptism is… Read More
I was christened as a baby, but when I made a serious commitment to Christ, I decided to get rebaptized by immersion. As Pamela commented on a previous post, salvation consists of hearing the gospel, coming to faith in Jesus, repentance, and baptism. Acts 19: 3-5 says this about Paul's encounter with some new believers… Read More
You can! If you lead someone to Christ, you baptize them. In most legacy churches, only the trained professional baptizes new believers. There is nothing in the Scriptures to indicate that only a trained professional or a leader can baptize. John 4:1-2 says this: Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more… Read More
I have led many workshops on the Great Commission, but one in particular stands out in my memory. As the group of twenty or so, many of whom had been believers for a long time, went through the passage (Matthew 28:18-20), the focus of the very interactive discussion kept returning to baptism. By the end,… Read More