Chuck Ryor

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.  “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”  As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”  At once they left their nets and followed him. – MARK 1:14-18

I had a conversation with a local pastor who echoed the sentiments of many Christians by saying, “We don’t ‘do’ church, we’re concerned with ‘being’ the church.”  At the heart of this expression is a frustration with a high-program entity called “church” that has very little connection at a one-on-one relationship level.  The reaction to this busy church environment for some is to course correct and be a congregation that is most concerned with the development of its own community.

While no pastor or lay leader I’ve ever known would say, “I hate community, I wish we could do without it,” there certainly exists a sense among some that something is amiss in churches where people don’t seem to have genuine connection with others.  At a human level we all want to be genuinely known and loved in spite of that fact.  This was the “Good News of God” that Jesus proclaimed:  Believers are known by God and loved in spite of it.  This is also at the heart of authentic community and why many would avoid it:  People can be difficult to be around when you really get to know them.

Three thoughts come to mind when I think about the challenges associated with being around difficult people.  First of all, I’m a difficult person.  I believe we all are in some ways.  So, we ought to get over the idea that everyone else is fortunate to be in our presence.  Secondly, it is unlikely that we will be able to know and love others unconditionally if we haven’t experienced the gospel in its fullness on a deeply personal level.  We must understand that on the cross, Jesus absorbed our deserved judgment and cleared the way for broken, sinful people to be who they are in the presence of God and yet be freely adored as His children.

Finally, I know that even committed followers of Jesus who enjoy “being” the church will tend exhibit a good bit more pettiness and selfishness if they don’t keep in mind that following Jesus isn’t a stagnant process.  When Jesus called his first disciples and told them he would make them fishers of men, he declared that being part of His entourage entailed walking places with him and bringing others along for the journey.  Only in His presence, on His mission of proclaiming the good news, will followers of Jesus have Him mediate their inclination to put their own needs above another’s.

In other words, we can’t “be” the church unless we are in the process of “doing” what the church should be doing:  following Jesus and communicating His gospel so that others will join us and follow Him, too.

I don’t know Mark Driscoll.  I shook his hand and thanked him for his service a couple of times at Acts 29 pastors conferences, but we aren’t buddies and he wouldn’t know me from Adam.  I say this because the presumption of his critics is that pastors in our network (which he co-founded with a Presbyterian) are somehow under a spell of his leadership and unable to detach from him.  These people clearly have little contact with Acts 29 pastors.

The real miracle of the Acts 29 Network is how you can get so many type-A males in a room together and have them not eat each other alive.  The admirable part of Driscoll’s leadership in A29 has been how hands off he’s been regarding the evolution of the network (President Scott Thomas really runs the show), and how willing he is to admit when he screws up.

If critics of Driscoll spent any time with Acts 29 pastors they would be shocked at how strong all of these men are.  The notion that any of these guys have fallen under a spell or don’t have the moxie to stand up to him is laughable.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t a bunch of Driscoll wannabes around the country, but their motivation is usually their own fame and/or desire for influence.  That’s not his fault – there is a bunch of Brian McLaren wannabes writing on Internet blog sites, too.

I can assure you that I don’t agree with everything Mark Driscoll says and has said.  I’m fairly sure Driscoll doesn’t agree with everything Mark Driscoll has said. I have cringed at things Driscoll has written, but I’ve cringed thinking about things I have written.  I’ve never seen an organization where strong, young leaders (male and female) don’t make fools of themselves as they figure this all out.  Isn’t that the nature of growing as a person? You realize your ignorance or foolishness and then you adjust and mature.

Unless you never say anything, the odds that you’ll say something wrong are pretty high.  However, some of Driscoll’s critics simultaneously take exception with how “conservative” his theology is and how “liberal” and reckless he is in his speech.  That’s like getting mad at your spouse for not expressing his/her feelings and then getting angry about what they say when they finally do.

The theological statement of our network gives each local church latitude to differ on certain issues that the network doesn’t think are central to the gospel and our mission.  This translates to all of us being in a process of learning and growing regarding how to live out our faith.  I believe things differently than I did ten years ago, which is why I’m no longer a Presbyterian minister.

The critics of Driscoll’s new book “Real Marriage” have swooped down to rip apart both him and everything he believes that bothers them.  The far right, the far left, and everyone in between (including the friendly atheists) all think he’s terrible, awful, hurtful, cruel, ignorant, and a deceiver. I’m not here to defend the “Real Marriage” book or the hype around it.  I liked a lot of it, I disliked some of it, I found portions of it disturbing.  I am interested in once again pointing out what I think is obvious about the times in which we live.

I’m always amazed that bloggers (professional critics) don’t ever seem to comprehend the implied disrespect in their critique of Driscoll or their condescending “empathy” for those who agree with him.  “His poor wife, Grace.”  “His legions of followers.”  “The army of misogynistic pastors he commands.”  Assuming these hordes actually exist, they’re all apparently really stupid and incapable of thinking for themselves.  The women are trapped in unenlightened thinking about family because they are uneducated, scared, sad little southern women.  Clearly, if you disagree with Driscoll’s critics, “you just don’t see the world the way it should be seen.” Isn’t this type of thinking one of the reasons the emergent church has retreated from traditional evangelicalism?

Don’t imagine for one second that you’ll ever hear critics say that Grace Driscoll knows what she believes, is an intelligent woman and that it’s possible she’s right and they’re wrong.  And this is the great hypocrisy of those who spend their time criticizing other people:  in their criticism they often ironically display outwardly the same internal issues they claim drive the objects of their disdain.  The emergent church bloggers who contend that Mark Driscoll is arrogant and demeaning to women are presuming that the woman he’s married to and the women in Acts 29 churches are not as liberated, educated and/or mature, as are they.

That sounds pretty arrogant and demeaning to me.

Rick Harrison of the History Channel Show “Pawn Stars”

It happened again today.  It does at least once a week.  Someone told me I look like the guy from Pawn Stars.  The jury is still out as to whether or not I think that is a compliment.  Or if it’s true.  Bald, white guys with goatees all look the same, and now share a common experience with every non-anglo group in America who often hear insult in that refrain.  I’m only insulted because it reminds me of how old and out of shape I am.

It brings up the question of who do you look like?  Various television talk shows have featured versions of “Which famous person do you look like?”  Back when I was in college, that game also happened to be one of my favorite entrees to talking to girls.  Apparently, I now look like a guy from the History Channel.  What about you?  Send me a photo and let me see the comparison.

Perhaps you’ve heard the phraseology that Christians are supposed to be “Christ-like.”  The essence of this Scriptural admonition comes from Philippians 2:1-7:

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,  taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

During Christmas season we hear a lot about the glory of God in the birth of Christ.  Less often we talk about the humility of Christ inherent in his incarnation.  Jesus was awfully comfy in the warm community of Father, Son & Holy Spirit.  Angels worshipped and served Him.  He was royalty from all eternity past.

He left those heights to come low and be with us (“Immanuel” = God with us) and embody perfection in our humanity. Jesus condescended to earth and was willing to be subjected to the judgement that only sinful humanity deserved.  He didn’t consider his status with God something he would hang on to or as Philippians 2 says, “to be grasped, but made himself nothing.”

Because His life is worth infinitely more than the sum of all of humanity, his blood would satisfy the justice of God and free us from God’s justifiable wrath.  The degree of a Christian’s security in the presence of God is proportional to the value of Jesus’ life.  We sign Christmas carols because of this thrilling reality!

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Til He appeared and the soul felt it’s worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

How glorious Jesus is underscores how amazingly humble he was in leaving heaven to rescue broken humanity.  His humility amazes me.  If you really want to stand out amongst a culture where the masses (including ourselves naturally) are pursuing their own glory and honor at any cost, try imitating the humility of Jesus.

The greatest compliment anyone could ever give us is to say that we looked like Jesus.  Unfortunately, Christians haven’t very often fallen to the claim that they all look the same.  That’s a pity.  We all should be humble like the Savior.

“He must become greater; I must become less.” – John the Baptist in John 3:30

Just finished listening to a sermon by my friend, Rankin Wilbourne.   His subject of what to do with our ambition as followers of Christ is something I’ve contemplated for a while.  I’d encourage you to listen to the message yourself, it’s HERE!

As a church planter it is my ambition to see Prism Church be an effective ministry for Jesus Christ in LA’s San Gabriel Valley and the world.  That’s on my good days.  On my bad days, I want to see the church succeed so that I can feel good about myself and look good to my peers.   It is the “love of distinction” that is such a huge idol to all of us, including pastors.

For instance, there is a strain of thinking in ministry that says a healthy church is always growing numerically.  Presumably, people look at the church in the book of Acts and see phenomenal growth and assume that this is the way it always should be.  The result is a ministry philosophy that says if your church is small or shrinking or leveling off attendance-wise, you must be doing something wrong.

I’m not arguing for a church that shrinks or disagreeing that many times churches that are leveling off numerically are doing something counterproductive to their growth.  However, I am concerned that many churches and pastors suffer unnecessarily from the burden that they are not making a big enough splash for Jesus because they aren’t growing at a particular rate.

The call of the ambitious Christian is that which was John the Baptist’s call – to make Jesus famous.  To have him increase, even at the expense of our own need for affirmation or sense of accomplishment.

The Bible features multiple examples of men and women of God whose effectiveness trajectory peaks at some point and then declines…often sharply.  Take Moses, for example.  He leads the Israelites out of Egypt and delivers the 10 Commandments to the people in the desert.  And that’s about when things started going south.

First of all, how many new adult believers would Moses pick up in the desert?  No one but Jews were around once he and his flock entered the wilderness.  Wandering for decades in the desert would mean that his flock of believers grew by births only.  As well, along the way a significant chunk of his adult demographic died in the desert by virtue of judgments of God or by natural causes.  By the time Moses got to the Promised Land, he was so ticked off at the obstinate people that he struck the rock of God in anger and was prohibited from entering into Jericho with the other Israelites (see Numbers 20).  As the kids say, “Sucks to be him.”

My favorite example of what I’m talking about – or most frightening if I’m honest – is that of John the Baptist.  This brother had it going on as the forerunner of the Messiah (Mark 1:2-3).  Large crowds, bold preaching, “radical” and “crazy love” for God.  He was doing it all right, right?  At the apex of his ministry (in his young 30’s), John baptizes Jesus.

And just like that he was out of the limelight.  Some of his closest disciples were troubled by this and actually said, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” (John 3:26).

John’s response, “He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30)

You may think that John would have at that point retired in contentment to his Lake house in Galilee.  Not so much.  In fact, he continued proclaiming repentance and the arrival of the Messiah to smaller and smaller crowds.  At one point he began to doubt whether or not Jesus was really the Messiah (Luke 7:20).  In his last “outreach event,” John’s preaching so irritated Herod the tetrarch and his mistress, Herodias (his brother’s wife), that he was arrested and eventually beheaded.

What’s my point?  Rare are the occasions where Christian ministers get to preach their last sermon from a deathbed to their ever-increasing throng of followers.  It looks as if Billy Graham will get such a privilege.  However, most of the rest of us will see a success trajectory like Moses and John the Baptist.  In order to be comfortable with this reality, we will have to find our greatest joy in simply being the children of God – regardless of our circumstances or the results of our labors.

It only makes good sense to have as our greatest ambition to be the glory and honor of Jesus, because even in the case of great loss or our death, Christ’s fame can still be advanced.  And that’s a good thing, because physical death is where all of us are ultimately headed.

To kick off the Advent Season on November 27, I had the privilege of speaking at two wonderful churches in Tallahassee, Florida: Four Oaks Community Church (pastored by my good friends Erik Braun & Paul Gilbert…and other great guys) and CenterPoint Church (a congregation of my friends with whom I started that community in 2003).

Through this season, I believe that it is critical for us to remember it is about knowing Jesus and enjoying Him.  I hope that if you’ve not heard this message from Acts 8, you’d listen and enjoy!

“The Real Miracle in the Desert.”

I had the chance to share the gospel with a couple of friends today.  These are relationships I’ve been building for sometime and I was pretty excited to tell them of God’s love for us in Christ.  The experience has taught me again that great joy resides in getting to tell others of the love God.

Psalm 98:1-3 - “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.  The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

Jesus declared in Matthew 28 that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him subsequent to his victory over sin and death on the cross, and his resurrection from the grave.  According to the Nicene Creed of legitimate Christian churches, “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.”

Psalm 98:9 - “Let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.”

The beauty of the gospel is not that God unjustly ignores our sin or unthinkably redefines our sin as unoffensive, but that He exacts His justice and demonstrates His mercy simultaneously in Christ.  We justly deserve to be punished, but Jesus is mercifully substituted for us.  Our sin is absorbed by Him (even thought He is holy) and His holiness is absorbed by believers (even though we are sinful).

This is how the gospel can make us simultaneously “ok” with God and yet broken, sinful people at present.  Martin Luther used the Latin phrase, “Simul justus et peccator” (simultaneously just and sinful).  It is in response to the undeserved salvation given to believers that we “burst into jubilant song.”  (Psalm 98:4)

We are not celebrating because we are naturally righteous and God is coming to reward our faithfulness.  We sing before the Lord because he judges the people “with equity.”  In the case of the believer who is relying on Christ to have taken their just punishment, justice will be delivering to the “justified sinner” a reward that only a holy person would deserve.  It’s a gift from Jesus.

That’s God’s grace.  That’s the Gospel.  That’s what amazed me again this morning and I pray would amaze my two friends.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. – LUKE 5:8-11

October is the month where Prism Church celebrates its first anniversary as a worshipping congregation.  While we rejoice in all that God has done this past year, we also look forward to the future.  As a church we collectively hope that God will renew and revive a people to love Him more passionately and share His love with others as never before.

My prayer for Prism Church this month is a simple one:

“Oh, God and Father, let us see your glory.  For as we see your majesty, your holiness, your purity, and your power, we will instinctively be humbled at your feet.

And then, Lord Jesus, let us hear your loving, kind voice reassure us that we are not condemned.  Then we will rise to our feet, praise you and go forth to live lives for the honor of your name.

May your name be made famous, exalted and honored at Prism Church both now and forever more.  Amen.”

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Jesus in Mark 10:43-45

They built a statue of Tim Tebow outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.  The University of Florida likes to celebrate the greatness of their Heisman Trophy winning football players and National Championship winning coaches. It should be noted that two of the school’s three Heisman winners are known for being genuinely kind Christian men. The third? No comment.

Danny Wuerffel has been in Christian ministry since his retirement from the NFL and was an outspoken Christian while a student-athlete at UF.  Obviously, Tim Tebow was renown not simply for his football prowess, but as the bronzed “John 3:16 eye patches” on his statue would indicate, he was known for his love for proclaiming the gospel.

We all love a superstar.  I’ve spent time around sports ministries (I’m on the Board of the San Gabriel Valley chapter of FCA – Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and know how effective genuine Christian athletes can be in sharing what Christ means to them.  Inevitably, the athletes that people want to hear give testimonies are successful:  superstar recruits in high school; starters at a D-1 NCAA program; professional league players.

However, the most powerful testimony of a Christian athlete isn’t their accomplishments but their sense of contentment amidst even the most humbling of circumstances.  Christian athletes who proclaim that Jesus helped them get to the pinnacle of their success appear disingenuous to many in our culture.  By contrast, a humble athlete is a rarity.  They stand out amidst a culture full of pride and arrogance.  An athlete that does the unthinkably selfless act truly glorifies God.  Why?  Because this is exactly what Jesus did by laying aside his status at the Father’s side in heaven to humble himself and give His life in exchange for ours.

The great ones are always the humble ones.  Humility is what would make Tim Tebow great, not his many accomplishments on the field.  He knows this, too, and his humility has been on full display already this fall in the NFL.

Drafted by Denver in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft, Bronco fans were getting restless to see their charismatic quarterback take the field.  However, the coaches were adamant about the superiority of Kyle Orton, the current starting quarterback.  As fans are want to do when dissatisfied with the quality of their team’s play, they get restless.  In the case of Denver’s fans, they began to chant, “TEBOW!  TEBOW!  TEBOW!” in the hopes of pressuring the coaches to put him in.  The coaches didn’t budge.

By nature this type of adulation would stroke any man’s ego.  We’ve seen professional athletes in similar circumstances seize the limelight and stoke the fires of fan discontent for their own professional benefit.  It would be common that most in this situation would begin to develop a negative attitude about their coaches and think to themselves, “They clearly can’t see what the crowd can see.”  It would be very easy for a proud, hard-working, professional athlete to begin to surmise that they were being denied an opportunity that they deserved.

Not Tebow.

The week following the Broncos fans’ expression of discontent (which included a threat to buy billboard space in Denver demanding that the coaches put in Tebow), the back-up quarterback took to the microphone to say, “Well, I guess I appreciate the support, you know, but we’ve got people in charge here that we trust and trust they’re going to do the right thing.”

Controversy over!   He supports his coach.  He supports his teammate who earned the starting job.  He hasn’t deluded himself into thinking that he’s better than he really is.  Instead, Tebow does the Christ-like, counterintuitive thing and puts the needs of his team and coaches ahead of his own.

By publicly submitting to those in authority and humbly recognizing his inexperience and his own need to get better, Tim Tebow showed humility.  He showed what true greatness is all about:  serving others, even at your own expense.  This attitude is more rare than winning a Heisman Trophy and more valuable than an high quarterback rating.

Too bad we don’t build statues for athletes on this basis.

“He who does these things will never be shaken.” – Psalm 15:5 (NIV84)

I was reading an article online about Joel Osteen’s latest book and teaching emphasis.  It is nothing new.  Jesus wants you to be happy.

Being a Christian evangelical for the past 25 years has given me the benefit of seeing history repeat itself a handful of times.  In the mid 1980′s, Robert Schuller wrote “The Be Happy Attitudes: 8 Attitudes that Can Tranform Your Life.”  This was Schuller’s interpretation of the “Beatitudes” Jesus gave in his Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5 – “Blessed are the poor; Blessed are the pure in heart; etc…”).

At that time I thought it was cool the way he used Biblical principles to introduce the average person to the Bible.  I also thought it was a good thing to give people the guidance of God’s Word for their lives.

Don’t get me wrong; I do think God’s Word is full of all sorts of direction for living.  But I now fear that Christian books designed to get folks to “Live Right” or follow a set of principles for “Success in Life” inadvertently lead people astray.  Perhaps unintentionally, these books communicate that we can be happy and/or content by simply obeying God’s rules, applying the success principles that are cited from Scripture.

In a recent devotional time I was studying Psalm 15 – David’s reflection on how to live so he’ll “never be shaken.” It occurred to me that living as this Psalm would direct us (purely, honestly, securely, honorably, and generously) would be a benefit.  However, apart from enjoying the presence of God, living “morally” is not ultimately satisfying.  There are lots of so-called “good people” that are miserable.  I know that for a short while a person can feel good about giving to the poor or being a positive voice in an otherwise negative world, but none of these things can fill our souls.  Only God’s presence can.

The gospel – the “Good News” that we proclaim at Prism Church – is that the presence of God has come to fill our souls.  Jesus has satisfied the requirements necessary to “dwell in God’s sanctuary” (Psalm 15:1), and therefore we can know contentment and joy apart from life’s circumstances.  It so happens that the byproduct of living in the presence of God (and enjoying His kindness) is discovering the desire to love Him and walk in a way that pleases Him.

Apart from walking with Jesus, no amount of success gained will make you happy.  Not in the long term.  Knowing the presence of God and responding to His love will create a heart in you that is strong and not shaken.  Attempting to use God’s Word to become successful or happy without any intention of walking with Him is a futile exercise.  You may get ahead in life, but you’ll not know joy apart from encountering Him.

The gospel is not a set of principles to get us to God.  It is God’s effort to come and live with us so our souls can know His joy in spite of what this life brings.  This is ultimately what keeps us from being shaken.

This year is our first as a church and will feature our first baptisms.  Our baptism weekend is Sunday, November 6.  However, any given weekend we might feature the dedication of an infant child to the Lord.  And sometimes these ceremonies will include the sprinkling of water onto the infant’s head.  Sometimes not.  Let me explain…

The importance of Christian baptism is clear for all to see in the New Testament (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, etc.). Every branch of the Christian church has agreed that baptism is a divine ordinance whose observance is part of what constitutes a church.  As a mission of the Acts 29 Network, Prism Church is one with all the rest in this belief.  However, historically there have been widespread differences of opinion among those equally committed to accepting the Bible as our God-given, inspired, and infallible rule of faith and practice.  This is true within Protestantism. Evangelical Protestants reject the view of baptismal regeneration (conversion by baptism), but they differ among themselves as to the proper mode and subjects of baptism.

Historically among Protestants, the Reformed churches (along with the Lutheran, Episcopal, Congregational, and Methodist churches) have accepted that pouring and sprinkling are valid modes of baptism, along with total immersion. They have also believed that baptism should be administered to believers and to their children because, they contend, that children of the New Testament church would have been understood to be included in God’s covenant with His people [much as children of the Covenant in the Old Testament received the covenant sign that would only be given to adults after they converted to Judaism].  The proper sign and seal of the gospel covenant is baptism, which should therefore be administered to covenant children.

On the other side of this discussion exist Baptists and other non-denominational churches, who have argued that baptism must follow a personal profession of faith.  According to this perspective, baptism cannot legitimately be administered to children who have made no such personal profession. The New Testament nowhere commands or mentions the baptism of children. The only baptism it knows is believer’s baptism.  On the mode of baptism, Baptists insist that only immersion is acceptable because, they say, the verb “baptizo” means “to dip,” and the symbolism of Romans 6 (death, burial, and resurrection) demands immersion.  Interestingly, the early Anabaptists of the Reformation period baptized believers by pouring.

FOUR CENTURIES OF CONTROVERSY

It is easy to see what controversy the subject of baptism has engendered. Each point made by one side is vigorously contested by the other, and vice versa. After four hundred years of debate, the argument has not ceased.

Prism Church recognizes that good men and women have differed and continue to differ on this emotive subject. Yet, should God’s people separate from one another over baptism?  Can they not hold their view strongly while allowing conscientious brothers and sisters to hold a differing view within the same congregation?  We believe they can and should.  We do not undervalue baptism, but we do not want needless division either.  We would not wish to be so exclusively paedobaptist that we could find no place for great Reformed theologians and teachers such as Dr. John Piper, Dr. Alistair Begg or historically the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon or Dr. Roger Nicole because they strongly adhered to believer’s baptism.

In the same way, we leave room for the theological tradition that recognizes the application of the New Covenant sign to the children of believing parents.  There are pastors on our staff who will publicly administer this rite in response to a parent’s request, so long as the parent recognizes that the rite is merely symbolic, that it contains no mystical power nor does it save the child.  The sign of covenant baptism is given to the children of believing parents only, so as to publicly identify these children as children of the covenant, and invoke the power of Christ in His community to assist parents in the nurture and discipleship of their children.

As opposed to many churches that practice child baptism, we also practice the tradition of infant dedication without the application of a covenant sign.  We recognize that there are many who disagree with the practice of covenant infant baptism, but yet have a tradition of pledging their lives to raising their children to know and love the Lord.  Prism’s priority is supporting families as they seek to honor the Lord, not settling a theological dispute.

I was baptized by sprinkling as a Roman Catholic infant, committed my heart to Christ in a non-denominational church and was subsequently immersed in a huge tub as an adult.  I was a Presbyterian, baby-baptizing pastor for 15 years and now I am the pastor of a trans-denominational church.  Contrary to what some might think, I don’t lack a Biblical conviction on the subject of baptism.  I just have greater Biblical conviction about the unity of believers, even if it means that I have to respect others in my church who have a differing view on the subject of baptism.

While some churches in our particular association choose to be on one side or the other in this discussion, we chosen to reflect the diversity and beauty of the body of Christ by choosing to do both.