Baptism into the Covenant

As a small young church, Common Ground Christian Fellowship faces several important ministry issues. Among the most significant of these issues is a conversation we are having with the Evangelical Covenant Church. Several months ago, we contacted the Covenant church with the intention of building a relationship between our local assembly and the denomination. At the initial time of contact, other than what was read on the web page, our leadership team knew very little about the Covenant. Our reason for pursuing the Covenant was theological and ecclesiological in motivation. Not having a Covenant church in Boise, we were surprised to find that several people in our church had Covenant backgrounds. As a non-denominational church, we have been attracting a certain type of denominational background.

Ministry Context
The majority of Common Ground’s leadership team has been associated with churches that have had very little organizational structure. In fact, very few of our leadership members have had formal membership in previous churches; sometimes simply because our previous churches did not offer membership. Our interest in the Covenant was based on the belief that independent churches, of likeminded mission, work better together. To our surprise, however, we learned that though Covenant churches are Congregational, they are everything but independent. They take very serious the fellowship commitment between each of their churches. It has been a humbling experience to consider this opportunity to join the Covenant. One of the primary issues facing our ministry context is a transition from an independent non-denominational church into that of a denominational committed church.

Scripture
There are many biblical images I could use to explain our situation. Often times I have struggled between an engagement relationship (perhaps applying Songs of Songs), or that of an adoption (looking to Ephesians 2). Each of these images suggests a meaning that the other does not; though both are highly relational and committed in their terms. I continue to return to the image of baptism. This biblical portrait contains certain key characteristics to the discussion that are not present in the others. Ironically, the Covenant church is one of the few denominations that recognize the legitimacy of both believer and infant baptism. This is something Common Ground has celebrated since its inception. We have been excited to share with the Covenant in fellowship on this commitment.

Baptism has such a mixed imagery of symbolism. In the tradition of adult baptism, which most are familiar with at Common Ground, in one sweeping act, there represents death, burial, and resurrection. In this action, identity with something so much more significant than oneself is recognized. Believer baptism requires something of its participants. It requires not just outward commitment; it requires an entire sense of allegiance reorientation. We are called to think differently about ourselves. The old-self no longer lives, and a new self is called to live an even more abundant life than the one before.

In infant baptism, the imagery is slightly different. Though identification to the life and work of Jesus is central, the primary imagery of infant baptism is actually that of anointment. The christening of an infant child is symbolic of the child's welcoming into the covenant community. In most infant baptisms, the symbol is replacing the Old Testament symbol circumcision. In a well-ordered church environment, the baptized infant child is nurtured to recognize their place in the community. From the time of the child's birth, they are nurtured in the new life community, rather than needing to be reborn into it. This does not negate the necessity of spiritual rebirth as some circles may imply, it does however play a central role in the individual’s life in community.

Theological Heritage
As a church plant, Common Ground is no longer an infant, but it also lacks a rich sense of heritage. Besides having an established leadership board, a developing staff, and a modest yearly budget, Common Ground’s self-awareness has lead to a significant sense of self-identity. Infants do not have a developed sense of self. Since the time of our second year anniversary, Common Ground has suggested that we are organizationally similarly to a young adolescent. We are a young adolescent that has inadvertently been raised in the tradition of non-denominational churches. In pursuing a relationship with the Covenant, Common Ground is wrestling with our entrance into the community. As an adolescent, when we called the Covenant church several months ago, we had no idea how mature they were. We thought we had simply contacted a like-minded organization to associate with.

Culture
When we considered the many other church organizations Common Ground could join in comparison to the Covenant church, we had never experienced anything like them before. In ministry philosophy and financial commitment, for a several hundred dollars a year you can join the Willow Creek Association and get a membership badge and great discounts on conferences. When the Covenant recommended 15% annual giving to the denomination, a 12.5% pastoral pension plan, and a health premium that would totally wipeout our yearly budget, Common Ground was overwhelmed to say the least. This was a whole different league of affiliation than we had dealt with before. These are major league numbers to a minor league team.

Culturally it needs to be addressed, why is Common Ground still talking with the Covenant Church? An initial assessment would indicate that we look better together. Throughout our conversations with the Covenant, our church has become increasingly more convinced that we belong in this community of churches. We are also becoming more aware of the difficulties we face. Back to my baptism metaphor, it is to late for Common Ground to be baptized as an infant. Common Ground cannot just go back and become a start-up Covenant church plant. The idea of being nurtured since birth by a community that would have anointed us and cared for us along the way is something we will have to hope for the next Boise Covenant church plant. But when you consider being baptized into the Covenant community as an adult, this is where the complications arise. We are not stable enough to make adult contributions. As a church, we are still too young!

Ministry Implications
So what will be the ministry implications of our church joining the Covenant? First, when speaking to Common Ground, we need to recognize that before we can "live" in this community, there are certain aspects of our community that will need to die. We need to leave behind our independent and autonomous spirit of individualism and realize we are joining a bigger family than just ourselves. We need to die to our pride, least it kill us from within. There will come a time, even if not immediate future, when this relationship will become costly to us; both in finances and resources. We are joining a family and we need to want to become family members! In the spirit of baptism, there is a part of us that needs to die before we can live. This does not mean we need lose our personality. Just like being in Christ, we will redeem all that is good in the new creation. Rising from the depths of the water, we will become more true to our full & godly self.

Second, when speaking to the Covenant Church, enough stress cannot be placed on the youthfulness and needed development our church has. As an adolescent, Common Ground has a very independent spirit about her, she is often confused, sometimes acts very lonely, is broke financially, hard to get along with at times, and is in major need of guidance. The Covenant church cannot treat her like an infant, she will not respond well. They can also not expect from her the commitments of an adult; she cannot handle them. As an adolescent baptized member of the church community, the Covenant needs to recognize that Common Ground needs nurture, guidance, patience, and encouragement. To become a full-fledged functioning adult member, our community will need to make an investment of many different sorts. There are so many different clubs we can join for several hundred dollars a year, but none of them will match the investment of our involvement in a family. Common Ground is not an infant, but when we make the choice to become part of the Covenant family, dying to a certain parts of ourselves, we are going to need help getting through adolescence.

The logistics of how this all works will be ongoing. So many more discussions need to take place. As we move forward with the Covenant conversation, Common Ground is joining something so much bigger than just our local church. The Evangelical Covenant Church is one of the most rapidly growing multi-ethnic denominations in the US and Canada with ministries on five continents of the world. Sharing core beliefs about the Bible and the spiritual life that comes through faith in Jesus, we have an opportunity to extend God's love and compassion to the whole world as we rely on the strength that comes from unity within diversity.