The New York Times just published an article on how “baptism is getting wild.” It’s about changing trends in Protestant baptisms towards more informality.
There’s a lot that could be said about this piece. But I’ll only highlight a couple of things.
First, it’s clear that the major factor driving some of these decisions to have highly informal baptisms in inflatable pools and the like is financial. These churches can’t afford to build and maintain baptistries.
Second, it interesting to see that at least some of this is based on an explicit rejection of traditional practices. The article says:
Performing the age-old Christian ritual in a more informal style “conveys this isn’t your grandmother’s church,” said Drake Osborn, pastor of teaching and liturgy at Grace Church in Waco, Texas. His congregation moved into a former bowling alley in 2016 but never considered installing a built-in baptistery. Instead, Grace Church uses a foam model bought online for about $2,500.
This made me immediately think of GM’s ad campaign “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” No surprise, Oldsmobile no longer exists.
Every generation must update inherited traditions. Culture is never static. But as I noted in a recent podcast, patrimony is power. A church that rejects its patrimony is unlikely to have much staying power or transformational impact.
The attempt to design these sort of consumer appealing experiences works well in the positive and neutral world, but how much are these churches equipping and forming people to flourish as Christians in the negative world.
It’s also interesting again to see Russell Moore further publicly distancing himself from Southern Baptist traditions.
