What struck me was not the absence just for babies, but for anyone at all. I was there for 10 years and in that time I never saw anyone baptized at all, but they had a “baptistery” which was like a pool with a window where the congregation could watch.
In my experience (again not in Nazarene Churches) the time, place and frequency of baptism can depend on a lot of factors. Perhaps the church is not making many converts? Perhaps the minister and members don’t really place an emphasis on encouraging new converts to be baptized? I can’t really provide much insight into that particular congregation. However, I know that as a whole and in their church documents that the Nazarene Church does practice baptism and Holy Communion.
But I was only sent and then taken to the morning service. It is entirely possible they were doing the sacraments baptism and Holy Communion at the evening services only?
I don’t know. When I was a child, I attended a Baptist friend’s baptism, and it was at a night service. So, it is possible that these services were performed outside of the regular Sunday services. I know that my church (again not a Nazarene Church) in the past tended to have communion service on Sunday nights. More recently, however, we’ve been having them on Sunday mornings.
I do know that the Church of the Nazarene’s
2009-2013 Manual has an entire section on “Ritual” in which it gives 3 possible ceremonies: believer’s baptism, infant baptism, and dedication for infants or young children (for those parents who choose not to have their child baptized).
The believer’s baptismal rite begins:
DEARLY BELOVED: Baptism is the sign and seal of the new covenant of grace, the significance of which is attested by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans as follows:
Romans 6:3-5 is read. Then the Apostle’s Creed is read, and the individual being baptized is asked will he/she “be baptized into this faith?” Responding yes, the individual is then asked, “Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and do you realize that He saves you now?” After responding in the affirmative, the person is asked, “Will you obey God’s holy will and keep His commandments, walking in them all the days of your life?” After answering in the affirmative, the person is baptized according to their preferred method, sprinkling, pouring, or immersion, they are baptized using the Trinitarian formula.
The infant baptism rite begins with minister speaking to the child’s sponsors:
DEARLY BELOVED: The sacrament of baptism is the sign and seal of the new covenant of grace. While we do not hold that baptism imparts the regenerating grace of God, we do believe that Christian baptism signifies for this young child God’s acceptance within the community of Christian faith on the basis of prevenient grace. It anticipates his (her) personal confession of faith in Jesus Christ.
What then follows is that the sponsors and then the congregation itself pledge to raise or support the parents in raising the child in the Christian faith and holiness of life. Then prayer is offered over the child’s life. The dedication of infants is similar with the exception of baptism.
That is how I got the impression that the main if not only thing Evangelicals care about is “getting saved”. Since they aren’t Calvinists with OSAS they were “getting saved” over and over.
No, they do not believe in OSAS. They believe salvation can be lost.
I remember “altar calls” that went on for over an hour, with the people squatting over a low bench they called an altar, They were very emotional with several boxes of tissues for each bench and they went through a lot of them.
This is hard to explain since the Holiness churches, including the Nazarene Church, have changed so much in recent years that old doctrines that were once very important are no longer emphasized with as much rigor or in the same ways they once were.
The Nazarene Church believes in what is called “Entire Sanctification” which is an experience of full consecration and devotion to the work and will of Christ in holiness and submission.
While its true that many go to the altar to “get saved,” others will go to “get sanctified.” Holiness and penance is an ongoing reality of the Christian life. It does not end when we have a conversion experience, on the contrary, that is just the beginning. Therefore, throughout our lives we will need to “lay hold to the horns of the altar” and not let go until we get the victory and the breakthrough.
Of course, I’m aware that like other evangelicals, the altar call is not as universal among Nazarenes as it once was.
