Russell Moore’s baptism in 1983 was a decorous occasion, or at least as decorous as possible when the main event consists of being plunged underwater in front of one’s entire church. The ceremony took place in a formal baptistery inside his family’s Mississippi church, with a painting of the Jordan River — where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist — behind the tank. An organ played softly in the background. Mr. Moore wore a long white robe.
But a few weeks ago, when it came time to baptize Mr. Moore’s 14-year-old son, Jonah, the scene was very different. Jonah wore a T-shirt. Mr. Moore wore sneakers. A full rock band, including drums and an electric guitar, accompanied. And Mr. Moore, who is the public theologian at Christianity Today magazine, submerged his son in a galvanized steel livestock trough hauled onstage at the church just for the occasion.
Baptism is getting a little bit wild.
In South Florida, members of Family Church gather on the beach for afternoon baptisms in the ocean, bracing themselves against the waves and keeping an eye out for sharks. At Walk Church in Las Vegas, leaders set up a folding tub in the courtyard of the middle school that they use for Sunday services. In Mansfield, Texas, Creekwood Church rents out the Hawaiian Falls Waterpark, where twisting slides tower over the ceremony.
“I would have probably thought a decade ago that not having a traditional baptistery would feel disconnected from my tradition,” Mr. Moore reflected a few days...
Read Full Story: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/us/evangelical-churches-baptism.html
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