{"id":834965,"date":"2024-08-26T05:00:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T10:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=834965"},"modified":"2024-08-27T12:27:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T17:27:16","slug":"reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fifty years ago yesterday, August 25, 1974, a pastor in southwestern Ohio baptized me as a new believer. A 12-year-old classmate had shared the gospel with me almost a year earlier, and God\u2019s Spirit worked on my heart for all the intervening months. One week prior to my baptism, God made me His child when I gave my life to Him the best way I knew how as a 13-year-old. As I think about those life-changing days, here are some reflections that come to mind:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. I will always be grateful for that first church I attended.<\/b> I had not been raised in a Christian home, but that church family quickly invited me in. Adults taught me the Word. Families invited me to lunch. Folks regularly encouraged me. In my ways, that congregation became my family \u2013 closer, in fact, than my family of origin at times. They were a gift to me.<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. I am thankful for my baptism.<\/b> My own theology is that baptism is not necessary for salvation, but that act of obedience was unquestionably a marker moment in my life. More than once in times of struggle, I\u2019ve remembered God\u2019s saving, transforming grace in my life\u2014and I cannot help but think about my baptism, which was my most public profession of my young faith.<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. I wish someone would have intentionally and strategically discipled me as a new believer. <\/b>The church made a huge difference in my life, but they did not systematically disciple me. My church\u2019s general approach was, \u201cCome to everything we offer, and you\u2019ll become a disciple of Jesus\u201d \u2013 but I did not know how to connect all the dots on my own. Consequently, I struggled growing as a new believer with no Christian witness in my home.<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. I now realize how much I took gathering as a congregation for granted.<\/b> It was just the norm for me to head to church on Sunday (and other days of the week), and I did so without fear. This many years later, I know there are believers all over the world who don\u2019t have that same freedom. They put their lives on the line to gather \u2013 but still they do gather. Fellowship is genuinely life-giving to these folks.<\/span><\/li>\n
    5. I regret that my passion for telling others about Jesus in those early days of my Christian walk has sometimes waned.<\/b> In those days, I told everybody, and I told them forcefully. I\u2019m sure, in fact, I was obnoxious at times. Some days now, though, I have to work at building evangelism into my life\u2014so much so that I pray almost daily, \u201cGod, give me a deep love for You that compels me to tell the gospel story.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
    6. Fifty years later, I\u2019m more amazed by grace than ever.<\/b> It was amazing to me then that God loved me enough to send His Son to die for me. Now, I\u2019m even more amazed because I realize God called me to Himself knowing how often I would fail in the intervening years. He knew me, and He loved me anyway. I often speak of others who are \u201ctrophies of God\u2019s grace\u201d for me, and I pray I will be that for others in the years to come.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u00a0God is simply gracious and good. Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fifty years ago yesterday, August 25, 1974, a pastor in southwestern Ohio baptized me as a new believer. A 12-year-old classmate had shared the gospel with me almost a year earlier, and God\u2019s Spirit worked on my heart for all the intervening months. One week prior to my baptism, God made me His child when…","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":834967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,184,175,14796,180],"tags":[19414,19415,107,98,19416],"class_list":["post-834965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-answers","category-discipleship","category-grow","category-monday-wednesday-featured","category-outreach-and-evangelism","tag-baptism","tag-believer","tag-church","tag-discipleship","tag-god"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fifty years ago yesterday, August 25, 1974, a pastor in southwestern Ohio baptized me as a new believer. A 12-year-old classmate had shared the gospel with me almost a year earlier, and God\u2019s Spirit worked on my heart for all the intervening months. One week prior to my baptism, God made me His child when I gave my life to Him the best way I knew how as a 13-year-old. As I think about those life-changing days, here are some reflections that come to mind.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer | Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fifty years ago yesterday, August 25, 1974, a pastor in southwestern Ohio baptized me as a new believer. A 12-year-old classmate had shared the gospel with me almost a year earlier, and God\u2019s Spirit worked on my heart for all the intervening months. One week prior to my baptism, God made me His child when I gave my life to Him the best way I knew how as a 13-year-old. As I think about those life-changing days, here are some reflections that come to mind.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-26T10:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-27T17:27:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chuck Lawless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chuck Lawless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chuck Lawless\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f\"},\"headline\":\"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-26T10:00:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-27T17:27:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/\"},\"wordCount\":560,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Baptism\",\"Believer\",\"Church\",\"Discipleship\",\"God\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Church Answers\",\"Discipleship\",\"Grow\",\"Monday\/Wednesday Featured\",\"Outreach & Evangelism\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/\",\"name\":\"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer | Church Answers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-26T10:00:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-27T17:27:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f\"},\"description\":\"Fifty years ago yesterday, August 25, 1974, a pastor in southwestern Ohio baptized me as a new believer. A 12-year-old classmate had shared the gospel with me almost a year earlier, and God\u2019s Spirit worked on my heart for all the intervening months. One week prior to my baptism, God made me His child when I gave my life to Him the best way I knew how as a 13-year-old. As I think about those life-changing days, here are some reflections that come to mind.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"Wooden cross surrounded with water baptized by Christ\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/\",\"name\":\"Church Answers\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f\",\"name\":\"Chuck Lawless\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chuck Lawless\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Chuck Lawless is a leading expert in spiritual consultation, discipleship and mentoring. As a former pastor, he understands the challenges ministry presents and works with Church Answers to provide advice and counsel for church leaders.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/author\/clawless\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer | Church Answers","description":"Fifty years ago yesterday, August 25, 1974, a pastor in southwestern Ohio baptized me as a new believer. A 12-year-old classmate had shared the gospel with me almost a year earlier, and God\u2019s Spirit worked on my heart for all the intervening months. One week prior to my baptism, God made me His child when I gave my life to Him the best way I knew how as a 13-year-old. As I think about those life-changing days, here are some reflections that come to mind.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer | Church Answers","og_description":"Fifty years ago yesterday, August 25, 1974, a pastor in southwestern Ohio baptized me as a new believer. A 12-year-old classmate had shared the gospel with me almost a year earlier, and God\u2019s Spirit worked on my heart for all the intervening months. One week prior to my baptism, God made me His child when I gave my life to Him the best way I knew how as a 13-year-old. As I think about those life-changing days, here are some reflections that come to mind.","og_url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/","og_site_name":"Church Answers","article_published_time":"2024-08-26T10:00:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-08-27T17:27:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Chuck Lawless","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chuck Lawless","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/"},"author":{"name":"Chuck Lawless","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f"},"headline":"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer","datePublished":"2024-08-26T10:00:28+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-27T17:27:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/"},"wordCount":560,"commentCount":2,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png","keywords":["Baptism","Believer","Church","Discipleship","God"],"articleSection":["Church Answers","Discipleship","Grow","Monday\/Wednesday Featured","Outreach & Evangelism"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/","name":"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer | Church Answers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png","datePublished":"2024-08-26T10:00:28+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-27T17:27:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f"},"description":"Fifty years ago yesterday, August 25, 1974, a pastor in southwestern Ohio baptized me as a new believer. A 12-year-old classmate had shared the gospel with me almost a year earlier, and God\u2019s Spirit worked on my heart for all the intervening months. One week prior to my baptism, God made me His child when I gave my life to Him the best way I knew how as a 13-year-old. As I think about those life-changing days, here are some reflections that come to mind.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wooden-cross-surrounded-with-water-baptized-by-Christ.png","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Wooden cross surrounded with water baptized by Christ"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/reflections-fifty-years-after-my-baptism-as-a-believer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reflections Fifty Years after My Baptism as a Believer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/","name":"Church Answers","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f","name":"Chuck Lawless","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chuck Lawless"},"description":"Dr. Chuck Lawless is a leading expert in spiritual consultation, discipleship and mentoring. As a former pastor, he understands the challenges ministry presents and works with Church Answers to provide advice and counsel for church leaders.","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/author\/clawless\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834965"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":834969,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834965\/revisions\/834969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/834967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}