Baptism for Church Membership?

As a generalization that's true, but there are always exceptions. For one thing, there are occasional candidates for church membership who for various physical reasons (may be medical or legal) cannot be immersed. Many Baptist churches are more interested in a candidate's regeneration than in her immersion, and given the choice between denying membership to a regenerate person and stretching the membership rules to allow the unimmersed in, will opt for the latter.

My fiancée was baptized at Rose Hill Presbyterian Church when we were in high school. She was baptized by aspersion, but it was believer's baptism. Subsequently she was immersed in an Assembly of God context, in the Pacific Ocean yet, and now she is a member of Japanese Baptist Church. She considers her Presbyterian sprinkling to have been her baptism, but JBC would have required her to be immersed in order to join if the AoG had not administered a dunking which, in retrospect, she does not consider a "real" baptism, or at least not "as real" as her Presby one.

Haruo
who is glad he was immersed late in life, and glad he had not been sprinkled in infancy, but thinks it's a cross between legalism and silliness to make such distinctions the definition of a church

 

Haruo, I only have experience with one Baptist church and it's Independent Fundamental, not ABC.(not sure what the initials stand for even) So my statement is true within the perameters of where I am coming from. If you know anything about me, I am not one to post in absolutes.

But speaking of ABC churches, a friend asked me to post this link in this forum for him as he's not a baptist. You can check it out for yourself and see what you think.

Here is a link to official ABC churches.

http://www.abcis.org/public/ChurchSearch.asp

If you enter New York, New York 10012

You will find that you will be given a link to Judson Memorial Church which apparently does not fit the absolute perameters of the statements being made here. You can also use this link to access it directly if you wish.
Judson Memorial

I'm acting as a facilitator only, if you have questions or statements regarding the links above, please make them to the thread, not to me. Thanks.

 

Squire, your understanding of our practice is correct. It saves debates like this on whether the baptism was properly administered, nature of that act, etc. Every member of our church came in the same way, by immersion by a Primitive Baptist elder in good standing at the time the ordinance was performed.

 

Hey People,

That's something else that I've never heard of. A Baptist church making you be rebaptized even if you were immersed in a sister denomination. I've never had a problem with that.

When I was 11 I had to go through a class and had a drop of water sprinkled on my head. I didn't even want to. It was a UMC congregation. They made me go through confirmation. However, after I accepted Christ I asked to be Baptized at my mother's church, which was a Church of God. Never had any problems since. That was my baptism. Never had a Baptist Church think otherwise around here. Maybe that's because the majority of the Baptists around here are CBF, SBC, OFWB, FWB, or IMB affiliated. Never even heard of the one mentioned earlier. I've been sheltered.

 

Same with us. But baptism, by immersion is a must for church memebrship.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I have heard that this notion of local baptism only (rebaptism if you move) is common both in some strains of Landmarkism (not sure which) and in some Mexican Baptist association(s).

Haruo

 

I believe in being baptized in the water.

Bro. Dallas Eaton

 

I'm also an American Baptist (nobody's perfect) our church had in place when I got here something called an associate membership for those sprinkled and not immersed. They are non-voting members so I never pushed to have it changed.

 

Oh, Dr. B, I hope she doesn't read this board! I'm sure she'd just LOVE to know that you told all of us that.

BTW, I'm glad I wasn't her. That must have been very embarrasing!

 

Woo-wee, I'd be up a creek. Our church doesn't have a baptistry, so I was baptized in the baptistry of a sister church, though into my own church.

It does sound pretty silly. There is a "Primitive" Baptist church here in town that will not fellowship with the rest of us. In fact, they are in fellowship with only one other church, that I know of, and it's in Louisiana.

I guess they would go by this same standard, if they had new members coming in.(BTW, that was meant to imply that they don't. )

Back to the subject at hand. We Primitive's are very particular on the subject of baptism. We only recognize a valid baptism as one performed by a sister Primitive Baptist church, using an Elder, both with whom we are in fellowship.

If a person wishes to move their membership from another PB church to ours, we have several different ways of doing so. We will receive them by a letter of good standing, or a promise then reception of one, from their church. If their church is no longer in fellowship with us and they wish to be. If their church is no longer in existence. I believe those are they only ways.

A neat story. A sister in the church, who had joined about 25 years ago and was baptised, had quit coming to church about 20 years ago. She joined a Methodist church, I believe, so she was excluded from our church. She then went on through 5 or 6 more churches before joining an SBC church. (BTW, I know all of this because she has been a family friend for over 40 years.) Anyway, the SBC church accepted the baptism administered by our church as acceptable. She then started coming back to our church, after I many lengthy discussions with myself, my mother, and our pastor, over scriptural points. She came forward the first Sunday in June and said she was sorry that she had ever left our church, and she realized that this was where the Lord was leading her back to the whole time. With tears she expressed her want and need to be brought back into our fellowship. She was then received back into full fellowship with our church. You see her original baptism was still valid, she had only lost her way.

Isn't God great in the way He works in our hearts?

God Bless. Bro. James

 

I have read through the posts re/baptism for church membership.

I have been a Baptist preacher/pastor for about 33 yrs. I am Independent Baptist; have preached in some SBC and Missionary Baptist Churches for special meetings also.

I am not surprised too much at what happens in baptist Churches as many have departed from their basic foundations.

I do believe in the autonomy of the local church.

What we do & I have done through out my ministry is this: I baptize new converts ASAP after their profession of faith. Great Commission tells us to win them; baptise them and then disciple them ... teach them etc.

I do baptise them upon their profession of faith.
We have a discipleship class for new converts/new members. This strengthens them on the basics of the faith and what & how this local Baptist Church believes and practices re/articles of faith.

As for baptism; some Baptist churches are more inter/non denominational and do not require baptism for membership OR they will recognize any baptism, even from cults etc. and accept that into their churches.

I/we only accept baptism from other Fundamental Baptist Churches. I do not take baptism from pentecostal churches; Bible churches etc. Only from Fundamental Baptist Churches.

I never question the Christian's motive nor sincerety, but look at the doctrine of the church that does the Baptism. If that church is unscriptural, then its baptism is unscriptural.

Salvation is not the only doctrine I look at.

This is also a historical Baptist practice. There were also general baptist who did differently down through the ages also.

Baptist are like Heinz --- 57 varieties.

 

Every Baptist chruch I am familiar with requires baptism to become a member. But we also know that some have just gotten wet a few times first and were members. A study was done in the SBC and some pastors have baptized some of the same people five times. So it does show that there are members who have just gotten wet and are not saved.