Practicing Baptism

Where is Jesus Christ? This fundamental question is the starting point of this book, which investigates the shape of Christian life and ministry in a post-Christendom context. Over the last decades there has been a shift in much of Western theology towards focusing on Christian practices in ministry and theological education. This may be seen as a way to deal with theological anxiety in an era of heightened personal autonomy. In Practicing Baptism Bard Norheim critically analyzes the engagement in Christian practices. As a response to this engagement Norheim develops a missional and diaconal theology for ministry, focusing on the presence of Christ in Christian practices. Fundamentally, this is an attempt to answer a pressing question for today: What do Christians do? Norheim draws on Martin Luther's theology and his notion of the three modes of Christ's presence, the present tense of baptism, and Luther's idea of the marks of the church. Based on this reading of Luther's theology, Norheim suggests that Christian life and ministry could be interpreted through the concept practicing baptism.

Michael Green offers biblical and ecumenical answers to disputed questions about baptism. The gateway into the church. An individual’s testimony to faith and repentance. The reception of the Holy Spirit. The meaning of baptism varies wildly between different Christian traditions. Seeking common ground, Michael Green turns to Scripture to assess the varieties of baptismal theology. Though Green assents that baptism is no substitute for saving faith, he endorses infant baptism, confronting common objections head-on. He also addresses the related problems of confirmation and rebaptism. Green’s lively and clear argument will challenge and intrigue readers of all denominations.

The Scripture readings for Year C of the Common Lectionary (Revised) pair the Gospel of Luke, rich in its unique stories surrounding Jesus’ birth, Jesus’ care for the marginalized, and parables at once beloved and profound, with Old Testament and epistolary testimony to life-imparting faith in God’s promises. Bruce Taylor’s homiletical proclamation through the first half of Year C expounds the gospel’s summons to live today in hopeful reliance upon all that God has pledged to those who trust the Bible’s testimony to God’s faithfulness. Like his previous collections of sermons for the Sundays and feast days of the Christian year, the penultimate volume in this veteran preacher’s second journey through the lectionary is theologically rich, sacramentally oriented, and ecumenically sensitive, celebrating the church’s unity and community as witness to Christ’s living presence in the world. The sermons, including representative story sermons, speak as powerfully to clergy as to laity, to seminarians as to parishioners, evoking ardent commitment and lives characterized by gratitude, grace, hospitality, humility, and love. This book will be a welcome addition on the bookshelf or, better, on the desk and nightstand.

In this masterful work, Brinsley demonstrates both the doctrinal and exegetical nature of baptism, and the practical side of baptism. He says, "They to whom belongs the kingdom of God, who are subjects, and members of the kingdom of grace, and heirs of the kingdom of glory, they have right to this seal of the covenant, by which this their interest may be confirmed and sealed up to them." Where in this meticulous statement do we find the phrase "baptism" or "infant baptism" or for that matter, any hint of baptism of any kind? This exquisite statement is exactly the same idea that covenant theologians have, for centuries, biblically demonstrated and expounded upon in order to confirm to the people of Christ’s church the nature of the covenant of Christ, as well as polemically deter those who would bar young children from the sacrament of baptism. Yet, this doctrinal statement simply gives the reader all the ammunition needed to defend the Gospel of the covenant of Christ. It does this against those who would twist or change such a string of covenant pearls found in the bible which could never be unstrung. It is the biblical substance which ushers in a thorough Reformation that only full covenant theologians, who are the only thorough Reformers, could accomplish for a full exposition of the Bible. In reality, infant baptism ought to be the last five minutes of a five day conversation of the covenant of God. That is the substance of this work, and the manner in which Brinsley treats God’s covenant and infant inclusion in the Covenant of Grace. It would be spiritually beneficial for the church to consider such a statement in the full orbed account of God’s covenant from Genesis to Revelation. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

The Christian church confesses "one baptism." But the church's answers to how, whom and when to baptize, and even what it means or does, are famously varied. This book provides a forum for thoughtful proponents of three principal evangelical views to state their case, respond to the others, and then provide a summary response and statement. Sinclair Ferguson sets out the case for infant baptism, Bruce Ware presents the case for believers' baptism, and Anthony Lane argues for a mixed practice. As with any good conversation on a controversial topic, this book raises critical issues, challenges preconceptions and discloses the soft points in each view. Evangelicals who wish to understand better their own church's practice or that of their neighbor, or who perhaps are uncertain of their own views, will value this incisive book.