From the Pastor - January 2016

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Dear Friends in Christ,

 Although we are putting away the Christmas decorations, the new life we have in Jesus Christ continues.  The beginning of a new year is a good time to see life from a different perspective, such as baptism. 

 Sunday, January 10 is the commemoration of the Baptism of the Lord.  On that day, we are planning a congregational reaffirmation of baptism.  Confirmation students will also be stepping forward in faith. 

 In baptism, we gain new life with Christ by dying to the old ways of sin and living for God.  We are incorporated into the Body of Christ and become Christ’s ambassadors in the world.  In this sense, all baptized Christians are anointed “by water and the Spirit” for ministry in Christ’s name.  Here’s how the United Methodist teaching document on baptism puts it:

“Through baptism, God calls and commissions persons to the general ministry of all Christian believers.  This ministry…is grounded upon the awareness that we have been called into a new relationship not only with God, but also with the world…We exercise our calling as Christians by prayer, by witnessing to the good news of salvation in Christ, by caring for and serving other people, and by working toward reconciliation, justice, and peace in the world.  This is the universal priesthood of all believers.”1

For too long, “being called to ministry” has been limited to clergy and people living in holy orders like nuns and monks.  But the New Testament affirms the calling of all Christians:

“You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope.  There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.”2

If you are baptized, to what ministry is God calling you?  Is it prayer or witnessing?  Is it caring and serving?  Is it working for reconciliation, justice, and peace?  Living out your call in baptism changes you from an observer to a participant in God’s purpose. 

Remember your baptism and be thankful.


Yours in Christ,

Rev. Brian C. Smith
_________
1 Gayle Carlton Felton. By Water and the Spirit: Making Connections for Identity and Ministry. [Study ed. Nashville, Tenn.: Discipleship Resources, 1997.
2 Ephesians 4:4-6, CEB.

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