Yesterday I baptized Dan in the Ocean (per his request!), as well as Mariah. It was my first baptism; it was almost my last - the water was frigid. Dan took it like a champ, Mariah shriveled into the fetal position immediately after going under; I had to carry her out. What a trooper! Great attitude for someone who had stopped breathing for a minute or two. It was awesome. I talked about baptism being a 'reverent outward symbol of a radical inward reality.' And that being baptized means that you not only acknowledge your sinfulness before God and believe in Christ for salvation, but that you wish you be associated with the life, sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ; and that you open the door for the local church to hold you accountable to that decision.

Then we all went to the local YMCA's pool to join the rest of our congregation, who were there singing and talking and laughing around the pool before the baptism began. Jeff said nearly the same things that I did (but more, and probably more completely), then we all jumped in and baptized about 22 people. There was so much warmth and joy; it will stay with me for a while.

My mind and heart have been turned mostly to this week's messages. I am fairly certain that the text for ONELIFE is Luke 14:35, and will likely refer back to Matthew 5:13 but I'm still meditating on it. I haven't decided on a text for Ground Zero, though I know I'll be exhorting for involvement in two upcoming outreaches: locally in/near the theatres after Gibson's The Passion of the Christ in April, and a medical mission trip to Guatemala at the same time, or sometime afterward.