What's Baptism All About? | Trinity Talks Podcast

Hello, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode

of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla, and I'm sitting

down with this lovely group of people to talk

all about something that happens sort of fairly

frequently in the church, which is this thing

that we call baptism. And there are lots of different

ideas and lots of different ways that this happens.

But I think we're going to really focus on, like,

what has this baptism, what has that meant to

each of us, and how does it sort of fit? into

our journey through faith with Christ. So thank

you all for joining me, folks. No problem. Yeah.

So I'm going to get you to start by just introducing

yourself a little bit and maybe giving us a sort

of brief intro to like, what is your experience

of baptism been like? have you been baptized

and like what led you to make that decision?

Yeah. So we want to start over here. Ooh. Okay.

Britain. Um, yeah, I got baptized. It was in

2008. Okay. I believe I have to look at my baptismal

certificate. Sure. Oh, you got one of those.

I did get a certificate. So I'm certified. So

I got baptized as a child and it was there was

like a special series happening at my church,

my childhood church. And during that time, they

would have altar calls every single night. And

I was starting to feel like the Holy Spirit was

talking to me. And so one night I got up and

actually got. Went up to the altar call. I accepted

it. They started doing Bible studies with me.

And then I got dunked. And it was, so I did like

the full immersion. And it honestly, there's

something like I was going to that church since

I was like maybe five years old. And at this

point, I'm like a preteen and I'm having this

like this this moment. I know these people, but

something shifted in terms of how I related to

them. Like I felt like I was a part of like this

song, this old song that says, I'm glad I'm a

part of the family of God. I felt that in that

moment. Like there's when I got dunked and then

I left the pool and walked away. Um, there were

folks that saw me and gave me high fives and

like, welcome to the family. And like, we've,

I've been a member here for a long time, but

also it's in a new way. So yeah, that's, that's

my experience. Fun fact. I was also baptized

in 2008. Get out. Okay. was it in october it

was in december oh so almost seasonal yeah yeah

look at the holy spirit yeah working overtime

that time i guess so yes yes yes so 2008 uh in

december um yeah also dunked uh grew up in a

baptist church so that's the way that that's

done um yeah but sort of similar that like i

had come and been part of this church for a really

long time um and yeah sort of i think would would

call myself like a Christian or a follower of

Jesus like for a while, but it was just sort

of this moment. Actually, I think at one point

my dad asked me, he was like, do you want to

be baptized? And I was like, I don't know. I

just like had never really thought about that

as a thing. Um, so spent some time sort of thinking

about it and be like, yeah, this like makes sense.

It's like, you know, another, the next like step,

I think. Yeah, so that's sort of how I came to

that. What about for you? Yeah, so I'm Melissa

and I was baptized when I was, I think it was

like grade 11 or grade 12. And this was like,

I think like sometime between 2014 to 2016. And

it's interesting. So the church that I was going

to at the time, I think it also is a Baptist

church, but it was just, it was kind of like,

you know, a church that came from the States

and then they had other kind of like, Planting

churches. And one was in Canada. And so that

was a church I was going to at the time. I actually

do not come from a Christian family. So my mom

and dad, they're not Christian. Maybe like a

few of my extended family are, but the majority

are not. And so when I wanted to be baptized,

my parents were actually like, why? What does

that mean? Like they were kind of like, but we're

not baptized. So why do you want to be baptized?

However, in my head, it kind of just makes sense

because I was like, yeah, I believe that Jesus

is God and I want to follow Jesus. So why wouldn't

I be baptized? I will say, though, that I the

church, they were kind of like, hey, like, if

you want to be baptized, please let us know.

However, I didn't do a course beforehand. I know

sometimes some churches offer a course so that

you truly understand what it means to be baptized.

So when I was baptized, I was going. solely on

the basis of I believe that Jesus is God and

I want to follow Jesus. I didn't understand or

really know some of the other things or just

I didn't have that, I guess, cohesive understanding

of salvation at that time. So I think that was

just one thing that even after I was baptized,

that throughout my life, I kind of learned afterwards

like, oh, this is why baptism is important. I

had questions of, should I be baptized again,

like re -baptized? This was actually a question

I asked Rob, and he gave me a really good answer,

which is like, you know, baptism, it's not about

youth. And choosing the time to be like, yes,

I think this is the moment for me to be like

saved or baptized. It is through Jesus's grace.

And if you were to be rebaptized, what if in

50 years you're like, actually, I want to be

baptized again because I think I wasn't truly

Christian then. And I want to be sure I am now.

And he was just kind of saying that it can get

into that slippery slope. Right. And so with

that in mind, I was like, you know, Jesus. is

the one who entered my life, who was like, you're

coming with me. Um, in which case, if that's

when I was baptized, that's when I was baptized.

And I kind of accepted that and just wait before

I got the chance. Yeah. No, I think that's really

helpful because it's like, it is about like what

God is doing in us. Yeah. And like, we're like,

okay, yes, but like, we don't have to do a thing.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So me, Ryan, uh, I was

double checking with my parents and my sisters

for some reason. They seem to know my spiritual

history, I guess. Great. I love that. Yeah, I

know. Baptized, also in a Baptist church, church

I was going to growing up. I think it was between

grade six to grade eight. Like middle school

kind of thing. Middle school, yeah. Yeah, I think

I just remember always wanting to, but I just

never kind of had the courage. Sure. Grown up,

introverted kid and still am an introverted adult.

But I think my mother was the one that was like

kind of spurred me on to the idea of, hey, you

should you should think about that. So give us

give us some thought. Came to the pastor when

there was like there's it pops up every so often

like, oh, you can have a baptism here at this

point in the year. Yeah, I reached out to the

pastor when it was time. We had like a couple

of meetings about. whether or not you wanted

to for sure, but I had the full dunk when fully

in, except it was weird. The, the, whatever the

tank, I guess was like above the congregation.

So it felt like even more, more like, Ooh, super

important. But yeah, so it had like a, the classic,

you know, read a, my favorite Bible verse and

then said why I wanted to, which I honestly don't

totally remember. I probably came up with something.

Uh, but yeah, but then after that, yeah, like,

uh, Brit said it was kind of like, like you're

part of a club now or something. Everyone thought

of you a little bit differently, which was cool,

but it also was like, I don't know. It's like,

I've always been here, but now it's a little

different. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We really

see you now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting.

So, cause like when Rob. gets up there and talks

about baptism, like he talks about it, you know,

we gain what he says is a new family, a new identity,

and a new mission. And like, in some ways, those

things aren't super new. Like if you're someone

who has is like, making the decision of baptism,

like after you've been sort of following Christ

for a while, in some ways, it feels like a continuation.

And other ways, it does, I think, feel like a

bit of a new start. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know.

Like, what do you think folks think about that?

Is there like in what ways do you feel like your

baptism was a continuation of something? And

in what ways do you feel it was like a new thing?

Yeah, I think for me, I know in those meetings

with the pastor, he did warn me that you're going

to feel more of a connection with the spirit

of God, but as well feel the negative side, more

of the temptation. from satan i felt definitely

afterwards i think it also coupled with going

from grade eight graduating into high school

sure started in a christian elementary school

moving into a public high school so totally different

world sure and i felt that probably amplified

that effect so i think that was but like like

you said continuation of yeah still a christian

but just kind of everything was like i don't

know amplified both the good and the bad yeah

yeah yeah for sure I got two points. One, when

you were describing it, I was thinking maybe

baptism is like a marriage versus like before

we were just dating. Sure. Okay. You know, when

you're dating someone and you introduce them

to your family, maybe you dated for a couple

of years. Everyone's really comfortable with

them. Like we know each other. Yeah. But then

you get married and it's like different, you

know, like now we're like. Yeah, they were kind

of a part of your family in a way before, but

like now, like really legally, like they are

a part of your family now. Yeah. So maybe baptism

is kind of like that. But I also I remember I

got baptized. I think it was the Saturday. And

then I go back to school on this on the Monday.

And I. got into a fight. I know it's hard to

believe that I would ever. You're so scrappy.

Yeah, I won't describe what the situation was,

but I got into a fight and I felt so guilty.

I felt like all of my baptismal vows, like I

was like, I just trashed them in the garbage.

And everyone else like writing lines and like.

the lines are really supposed to be like an apology,

like to the person, all this stuff. And I'm just

like writing to God. And I'm like, I'm just like

terrible. Like, I can't believe I did this. Like,

I'm ashamed that I got baptized and I still did

this. And I was just going off of it. But yeah,

like, I think maybe that's something, something

I feel like many people, when they feel they

get baptized, it's going to be like, I'm going

to be a totally new person. Like that identity

switch, they might feel like it's going to be.

like I'm going to become a spiritual robot and

I will no longer do the things that I used to

do. And even Paul wrestled with that, like that.

very infamous Romans passage where he's like

the things that I that I don't want to do I do

the things that I like he's just wrestling and

if Paul could wrestle with that and he was within

the church and like in high regard like then

like who am I not to wrestle even after baptism

but sure just throw that in there yeah yeah yeah

no for sure for sure I actually I feel like that's

um something I I kind of like see as well. So

when I was baptized, like again, like I didn't

really understand fully what it meant to follow

Christ at the time. I thought being a Christian

was just I believe in God. So I am a Christian

now. And that means that I'm following Jesus.

And now that I'm older, I understand that there

is, you know, taking up your cross. There's a

lot of I guess being a Christian is more than

just believing in God. And so. When I was baptized,

it was kind of like I was living my life normally,

calling myself a Christian, but, you know, just

living life as I always have. And then I was

baptized. And then I just went back to living

life as I always have. You know, I wasn't reading

the Bible. I wasn't in prayer. I just was like,

yeah, I believe in God and I'm baptized. So now

it's like I'm an official Christian. And I think

just hearing Britt's story and even just this,

at the core of it all, like baptism, I think

sometimes you can think like, oh, like if I'm

baptized, that means that now I am the perfect

person, the perfect Christian. I'm going to get

into heaven for sure now. But really, like baptism

and just being a Christian is just all about

Jesus's grace, about God's mercy. And it's like

no matter who you are, whatever you do, like

whether baptized or not, we all rely on God's

grace. And we're all not good enough to get into

heaven, baptized or not. I don't know if that's

theologically correct. Please correct because

I'm not on that. It's all by grace. Yeah. Yeah.

And I think that's something that just. It's

the core of the Christian journey with baptism

and everything. Yeah. I remember I had this conversation

with someone one time where I was like, yeah,

I'm like hanging out with the Anglicans now.

And like maybe I'm one of them. As one does.

Yes. In my heart of hearts, I still think of

myself as Baptist because like I don't know that

I can like fully get on board with infant baptism

because it feels like like my baptism was such

a significant moment for me that like I chose

that I would like would want other people. to

be able to have that experience. But in this

conversation that I was having with this other

person, he was like, yeah, fair. Um, I chose

to have my infant children baptized because baptism

is about God's grace. And I want them to know

that they don't have to earn it. They don't have

to pick it. They don't have to like, you, you

do have to like kind of opt in and be like, I

do want to follow Jesus, but like God picked

you first. Yeah. Right. Right. And like that

I think is a really, powerful sort of symbol

of like what is happening it's not like that

yeah so then i guess like confirmation is that

moment where uh the individual at an older stage

can say yes i am confirming that what happened

to me as a child right is is like what i want

yeah yeah that is that is interesting one i know

we said we weren't going to get into like all

the technicalities sure deep yes but it yeah

i think it's like the i think one thing people

think is that like baptism is like my ticket,

right? And historically, part of infant baptism,

one of the arguments for it was that if the child

dies, this child can't get in because the child

wasn't baptized, which I don't necessarily believe

in. I think God is gracious. But yeah, I think

that's an interesting way to look at it, an extension

and maybe even a gift. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

No, I, yeah. I, like I said, I just sort of found

it interesting and like, it helped me sort of

think about baptism, not just as something that

I do to like prove my faith, but it's something

that it's a gift. Yeah. So now you can hang out

with the Amalekins longer. Might stick around.

I just, hearing that, I think also that kind

of. Feels good to hear as well, because I think

that's something I struggled with, especially

a couple of years ago when I came back to Christ

and I was like, you know, reading the Bible more

in prayer. It was like a switch just like happened.

And then I started feeling like, again, like,

you know, my baptism, it was invalid in some

way because I was like, well, I wasn't really

following Christ at the time. I wasn't reading

the Bible. I didn't know. I just thought I believed

in God and I would do this. was valid because

even if at that moment i didn't know like that

was still god choosing me that was still god's

grace um and even just from that baptism to where

i am now like there were so many moments and

even before the baptism too where i know god

intervened he was like always there i can say

that looking back now and um yeah i i think that

that's really cool yeah yeah so are there ways

that you think that your faith has like changed

since that moment of baptism. Um, like when I,

when I think about it for myself, I think like

I am a different person than I was in 2008. Um,

partly because like I have grown up and like

had lots of different life experiences. And I

don't know that I can say I'm a different person

because I was baptized. Like maybe, maybe not.

But I think what my moment of baptism gave me

was a moment where I can look back and say like,

something happened there. Like I felt this like

inexplicable feeling of joy and like connection

to God. And so now in the, you know, past 18

years or whatever it's been since 2008, I can

look back and say like today, God doesn't feel

real, but I know God is real because I know what

I felt in 2008. And it gives me this like thing

that, that sort of grounds me. Wow. That's really

cool. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. For myself, like

Callie said, growing up past baptism, I feel

like I've grown more, like questioned things,

thought about things that I was taught as a child

in church and revisited as an adult with more

brain power. And it's like, man, I don't know

if I totally agree with that segment or that

idea that they've taught. But yeah, during or

at the moment of baptism, maybe right after,

it was almost like, I don't know, like. maybe

i didn't initially think about it but then looking

back it was kind of like i took things a little

bit more seriously or like my spirituality a

little bit more in depth and gave it more thought

so yeah i don't know but like not to say i wasn't

thinking about before but of course in grade

six grade eight like sure i don't know what a

kid's thinking about sure not a whole lot about

god probably but what's for lunch yeah probably

yeah yeah yeah yeah i just i think like The one,

the anchor of baptism, it's a symbol, right?

And it's this moment where we accept, like, regardless

of all the theological arguments and how well

you can, like, say the names of the Bible in

order or in its written, like, whatever. That's

not the point. Like, the point is that we accept

Jesus and we invite the Holy Spirit into our

lives. I think that is like the anchor that makes

everything else that comes after possible. So,

yeah, I look back and I'm like, yeah, well, did

I grow? Did anything change? And I think the

one thing that did change was that I made this

public declaration to my friends, my family.

everyone that I knew. And I also took my baptismal

certificate to school to show everyone. Okay.

Very cool. Yeah. So proud of myself. But yeah,

all of that is like this anchor that I've accepted

Jesus. And I think that is, that's all we need.

There's, there's so much more that we can know.

I think many times we equate it with spiritual

maturity, which I think could be a dangerous.

place, like the argument could be dangerous.

Like if I know all of this, or if I can recite

all these scriptures, then that's the way to

show that like the Holy spirit is moving in my

life. Sure. And the fruit of the spirit actually

has nothing to do with academic, um, pursuits

or your Bible literacy. It has a lot more to

do with your actions, your behaviors like that.

That's what we should be longing for. So I think

that's why kids can kids gravitate to that. And

they, they hear the Holy spirit because they're

not, hell bent on all these other things right

there they can hear the pure voice of god and

and truly make sense of what is unexplainable

sure um yeah i'll stop rambling yeah no no that's

that's awesome like yeah i think we sometimes

get caught up in like i need to know all of the

things in order to like take the next step but

baptism is like god inviting us to take a step

and in faith and trust And just be like, yeah,

just like come as you are, because I picked you.

You get my grace now. Yeah. I love that. I love

what you said, Britt, about spiritual maturity,

because like, yeah, like it really shouldn't

be about spiritual maturity, because how do you

know right now that you are at that place of

spiritual maturity? And again, like when you're

150 years old, there's going to still be. If

you reach to that point. I receive it. I receive

it. Thank you. Amen. But it's like no matter

how old you are, there's always going to be more

growth for you to do. There's more sanctification

that can happen. And so then it's like, well,

when are you ready? And it's like, yeah, like

just come as you are. You know, God is waiting.

Sure. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Yeah, so

I want to circle back a little bit to what Rob

has sort of said, like a new family, a new identity,

a new mission. Is there one of those things that

feels more compelling to you or that you feel

like, ah, I can see how that is true in my life,

that as you have walked through your faith, that

you feel called into a new family, a new identity,

a new mission? Initial thought? Yeah. it's hard

to pick between the three. Okay. Okay. So yeah.

Okay. Sure. Sure. Cause they're all so good,

but maybe like gut reaction. Yeah. I like the

sound of the new family. Cause then it's like,

you're getting that additional support from people

that maybe didn't know as much, or you're learning

to know them more. Sure. And then there's that

moment you have baptism where it's like, you're,

you're kind of being officially welcomed in,

you know? you should churches should always be

welcoming sure but then it's just kind of like

this yeah this like milestone of okay you're

part of this part of us now um read the benefits

yeah so to speak but yeah it's hard to pick between

those three but sure initial gut it's always

nice to have more friends, more family to help

you along in life. For sure. Whatever that may

be. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. It's that moment. Yeah.

I think like, I like what you said that like,

it's kind of an official welcoming and it's the

like making promises in that, that I think like

one of the things that I do really appreciate

about the Anglican tradition is like priests

and bishops will often talk about like our baptismal

vows that like in baptism, we promise to follow

Christ. We promise to reject the devil. We promise

to like, work together as the body of Christ.

And like, we make all of those promises. So it

is kind of like a wedding. Yeah. Right. Like

you make promises and you're like, I'm all in

now. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. Got married

at eight. No, in 2008. Yeah. What, what about

for other folks? Like when you think about like

new family, new identity, new mission, what,

what stands out to you and all that? Well, Again,

it is hard to pick from the three, but I think

maybe this is a little bit superficial, but I

do think it's really cool to be like, yeah, I

am baptized to be a little like I am, you know,

even though it just it's not like you get like

a cookie, but. You put that on your email signature.

It says your name. This is baptized. It is baptized

in this year. But I think it is something that

there's that new identity aspect to where it's

like. You know, no matter what your life looks

like afterwards, maybe it's the same. Maybe some

things are different. It is just something you

can say, like, I have been baptized and this

is the decision that I've made. And as Christians,

I guess we're going to mess up. Yes, there's

going to be mistakes that we do. However, we

should show that we are Christian, that we are

followers of Christ through our actions. And

I guess it becomes. it does become a little feels

a little bit more real once you've been baptized.

Cause now you're like, okay, like I want to show

the world that I am a Christian. So then how

am I going to act? How am I going to speak? How

am I going to treat people now? Sure. And like

knowing that we don't do that perfectly then

all of the time. Um, but we get, we're like claimed

by Christ. And so like we get. to try and when

we fail we get to try again yeah and yeah it's

just all walking in that that direction yeah

yeah i guess i yeah all three are really powerful

i think they work in tandem for sure one thing

i often tell folks is that i regardless of what

church i go to i always step in as though i've

like Like this is my church too. Yeah. Because

I am a part of, we are a part of this, this larger

family. Yeah. Across denominations, across languages,

like we're all a part of that. Yeah. And so like,

I love that when I go to a new church and I like

walk in and I'm just like sitting down and everyone's

like, oh, are you a visitor? I'm like, no, I'm

not a visitor. I'm part of my first time in this

building building, but cousin. Yeah. Yeah. But

I think that's, that's one thing we can, we can

be confident in and maybe we just need to flex

that muscle more, like recognizing like we are,

we are siblings in Christ. We are, we're not

just like folks that attend the same club. At

the same time, like we are actually family. Yeah.

And that's something I think we should hold really

dear. And then the other piece is the identity.

It's like getting new clothes. Yeah. And not

because you had the money to buy it, but because

God gifted it to you. And you look swagalicious

because God has bestowed that on you. And that

should make us super confident. Um, regardless

of what room I'm in, regardless of who I'm speaking

with or what I'm going through, like I'm confident

in Christ. Yeah. Um, yeah. So I like those two.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. I think like similarly,

like those resonate with me and just this, like,

I'm someone who has sort of struggled a little

bit to figure out like where I fit in Christian,

in the like Christianity broadly, like denominationally,

like where, where do I land? And like, that's

an important thing to figure out, but. My baptism,

although it was in a Baptist church, is bigger

than that. It's like admission into the family

of God globally. And so we're all part of the

club. Yeah, and that's why for communion in most

churches, once someone identifies as a Christian

and has been baptized, they're welcome to that

table. Denominations forget that. The table is

for Christ's followers and for folks that are

part of the family of God. So that's an open

invitation to us. So yeah, like the denominational

part. Yeah, totally. I was in my vows. My vows

were definitely denominational heavy, but sure.

But God be praised because baptism is the work

of the Holy Spirit. Yeah. That has no bounds.

For sure. For sure. Yeah. And then just to sort

of bring the pieces together, like all of that,

having a new family, having a new identity, I

think allows us to live into our new mission.

Like this is a calling that God gives us. that

God gives to us in our new identity. I have a

new calling, a new mission, but I do that in

community with other people who are like all

doing that together. And I think that's beautiful.

That's great. That's a great tie in. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, thank you so much, folks. This has

been really helpful, I think, to unpack like

what baptism has looked like for each of us,

but more specifically what it means, right? That

it is, it can feel like a really daunting decision

to make. Um, but it's not something that we do

in our own strength and it's not something that

we do because we're trying to like earn a thing.

It's, it's that moment of accepting God's grace

and of, yeah, joining in this family in a like

real tangible way. And that's lovely, I think.

Yeah. So thank you all for chatting with me today.

And thank you for tuning in to this week's episode

of Trinity Talks. I hope that through this conversation,

you have also been encouraged, whether you are

part of the baptized family of Christ or not.

I hope that you are able to sort of see yourself

in this group, that you are able to see how God

is calling you to take whatever next step is

before you to be. closer and closer with Christ

and closer and closer with this beautifully diverse

family of God. And we will see you again next

week.