Baptism by the three B’s

How should a minister respond when non-church parents inquire about a baptism for their child? In my experience, ministers tend to respond one of three ways—none of which I am completely comfortable with.

1. Book in a date and baptize the child, no questions asked. The problem with this response is that it fails to challenge, and probably reinforces popular misconceptions about Christianity, such as the idea that people get ‘right with God’ by going through a ceremony.

2. Refuse to baptize the child, unless the parents become Christians and/or join the church. This response displays some integrity on the part of the minister, but it can leave the parents with a ‘bad taste in their mouth’; and it’s a shame if they feel rejected but don’t understand why. Indeed, such rejection might reinforce the parents’ subliminal belief that church is generally a place of negativity and judgmentalism—and that all we care about is our numbers.

3. Agree to baptize the child, provided the parents agree to do a short course about Christianity. In my opinion, this is the best of the three (and it’s the one most ministers I know go with). At the end of the day, however, we still end up leading numerous parents (and godparents) to declare things they don’t really believe. I also wonder if this practice reinforces, for all the non-Christians who attend the baptism, their subliminal belief that church is fundamentally a place of untruth; a place where things are said and done that have no bearing on ‘the real world’.

Is there a better alternative? To read more, click here.