doesn't matter......it's okay

Well, some of you then will be glad to hear the baptism is off. I'm not taking off my wedding band. I've also been asked to have some tattoos removed. This, that, and the other. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to do the right things.

I'm heartbroken. I wanted to join the Adventist church again and I've been told, "Oh, you can still be a friend to the church." So be it. Jesus said, "Come as you" and so do many other Christian denominations.

I'm sorry. I don't wear makeup or jewelry. I dress modestly. I don't get it

A wedding ring is the reason for not baptizing someone??????? That is the biggest crock of I've read.

FA ... No one will be happy to hear that. This is very sad news. I am so sorry. You need to find some REAL Gospel centered church and people to Baptize you. We need to get our focus OFF works and outside influences and ONTO GOD.

If you are wanting to be baptized by an SDA for some reason ... just keep looking. Gospel centered SDAs are out there. My wife is an SDA Pastor. She has never taken off her ring. And yes ... she is baptized. But of course she had to "shop" around. She came across people like you have mentioned. It almost drove her away from Adventism and even Christianity.

If you need someone to baptize you with your rings and tatoos ... please contact me via PM. I can connect you with my wife. I know she would be willing to give you an Adventist blessed baptism. Just click on REDWOOD and send me a message if your are serious about it.

Just wanted you to know that even in the SDA church there are those who believe in the words of our Saviour " Come as you are".

You need to find another Adventist church... wearing of a wedding ring is NOT a "test of fellowship"

Sounds more like spiritual abuse from the information given.

Stan ... you have labeled this very correctly. But sadly it is very common in our church. This is not a story. This is reality. Like I suggested ... FA just needs to do some shopping to find a Gospel Centered Pastor and Church.

Of course the second option is that if this is not possible ... just find any old Christian to baptize. We are all called to minister. The minister who baptizes you does not have to be "blessed of the church". Each of us has a charge ... it is called the Great Gospel Commission to go forth and "baptize" in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

It is not even in Harmony with the Adventist Church....

That's right. But each pastor and church tend to do their own thing. Thus ... we have Pastors who will not baptize you if you wear jewelry , drink , smoke , eat meat , Drink Coffee or tea , have anger issues , eat too much sugar , have tatoos , and the list goes on and on.

Baptism is the beginning. It is a statement that you WANT to follow Christ and you accept Him as your Saviour. It is a turning point. It does not indicate that you ARE following Him. You have not had the time to "demonstrate" a new life. It is a plan for the "future".

Like FA mentioned .... Christ invites you to come as you are. HE will then turn you around. Once you are baptized ... Acts 2 describes a special outpouring of the Holy Ghost that comes AT the baptism. This will allow you to make changes in your life. It will help you better understand truth. But you can't expect the babe in Christ to do this BEFORE baptism.

That is definately putting the cart before the horse.

Thanks, you guys. You really don't know what your support means. I feel like I've dumped at the altar or something. Just heartbroken. I'm sitting here crying like a silly person.

Apparently another issue is that someone supposedly saw my husband buying alcohol (I guess a 12-pack of soda looks like beer to some of us non-drinkers). I just got a long email from a member of that church letting me know some people went the pastor about it. I was told that even if he later baptized me, it's no guarantee the elders would vote me into membership.

I'm doing the best I can. I had kind of hit bottom with some things recently and God let me back to Christianity. Specifically, I felt led back to Seventh-day Adventism. I am brand new. I am deeply committed now to following Christ, rough edges and all.

Again, your words on this forum have uplifted me. Thank you!

BAPTISMAL VOW AND BAPTISM— CHURCH MANUAL AMENDMENT
Voted, To amend the Church Manual, Chapter 5, Church Membership, page 30, Baptismal Vow and Baptism, to read as follows:

Certificate of Baptism and Commitment— The commitment will read as follows:

Commitment

1. I believe there is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons.

2. I accept the death of Jesus Christ on Calvary as the atoning sacrifice for my sins. I believe that by God’s grace through faith in His shed blood that I am saved from sin and its penalty.

3. I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and personal Saviour and believe that God, in Christ, has forgiven my sins and given me a new heart, and I renounce the sinful ways of the world.

4. I accept by faith the righteousness of Christ, my Intercessor in the heavenly sanctuary, and accept His promise of transforming grace and power to live a loving, Christ-centered life in my home and before the world.

5. I believe the Bible is God’s inspired Word, the only rule of faith and practice for the Christian. I covenant to spend time regularly in prayer and Bible study.

6. I accept the Ten Commandments as a transcript of the character of God and a revelation of His will. It is my purpose by the power of the indwelling Christ to keep this law, including the fourth commandment, which requires the observance of the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath of the Lord and the memorial of Creation.

7. I look forward to the soon coming of Jesus and the blessed hope when “this mortal shall . . . put on immortality.” As I prepare to meet the Lord, I will witness to His loving salvation by using my talents in personal soul-winning endeavor to help others to be ready for His glorious appearing.

8. I accept the biblical teaching of spiritual gifts and believe that the gift of prophecy is one of the identifying marks of the remnant church.

9. I believe in church organization. It is my purpose to worship God and to support the church through my tithes and offerings and by my personal efforts and influence.

10. I believe that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; and I will honor God by caring for it, avoiding the use of that which is harmful; abstaining from all unclean foods, from the use, manufacture, or sale of alcoholic beverages; the use, manufacture, or sale of tobacco in any of its forms for human consumption; and from the misuse of or trafficking in narcotics or other drugs.

11. I know and understand the fundamental Bible principles as taught by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I purpose, by the grace of God, to fulfill His will by ordering my life in harmony with these principles.

12. I accept the New Testament teaching of baptism by immersion and desire to be so baptized as a public expression of faith in Christ and His forgiveness of my sins.

13. I accept and believe that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the remnant church of Bible prophecy and that people of every nation, race, and language are invited and accepted into its fellowship. I desire to be a member of this local congregation of the world church.


http://www.adventistreview.org/2000-bulletin7/actions-proceedings.html

I missed the part about jewelry, child custody, having old horror films in your house, make-up, listening to Bob Seger, hubby's video games, watching television (in my case, PBS and science fiction), believing in science AND God (the latter more so than the former), painting my daughter's toenails, being divorced, being 20 pounds overweight, preferring to be baptized in a creek (remember, it's immodest!), reading Harry Potter, wearing blue jeans, tattoos, piercings (even though the holes are there, I don't wear anything in them), husband buying beer, etc.

I also don't see anything about the pastor "needing" to come inspect your house beforehand. I'm sure when he sees my Universal Monster Movie posters up and science fiction novels it's all over. It's probably over the minute he sees all the subversive wall hangings from NorthernSun.com. The Margaret Mead quote poster (that was actually in an issue of the Adventist Review, along with other quotes on Compassion). My husband's Blues Brothers film poster. The Dr Who fridge magnets. Toenail polish. The soda in the fridge (hubby's). The books by Henri Nouwen (he's...gasp!... Catholic).

So, when does helping someone live a more godly life cross the line into micro-management and legalism? Maybe I shouldn't have that Boris Karloff movie, but should the pastor disrupt my Sabbath meal with my family late Friday night to tell me I'm not eligible for baptism? If he gets to wear a pinky ring, why should we gals take off our wedding bands? If the pastor's wife wears a gob of make-up and dyes her hair, why can't I paint my toenails? (My husband like them, and no one else ever sees my toes, anyhow.)
Why does the church have a Christmas tree? Isn't that a pagan tradition? Why does the lady who runs the Sabbath school wear tight, short dresses, open-toed shoes and no hose?
Why turn a single mother away because she never married the baby's father? Why turn my best friend away because she's shacking up with her children's father? Why turn someone away because her husband drinks beer occasionally?
I understand the admonishment to rebuke, but try some love. A lot of Christians are never going to understand that when you start criticizing folks as soon as they darken the door, they're going to leave. If I could get across one point, it is this. I speak for myself, my husband, and two of my dear friends tonight (we're all in the same boat... the life raft that got thrown overboard earlier today):

Yes, we know we've done wrong. Thanks, but we're already ashamed. We would love to turn back time and slap our teenaged selves for getting married the first time. Some of us would take back the tattoos. We're humiliated that "our man" is getting the milk for free. We WISH we'd had more sense than to sleep with that boy. It WOULD be lovely if we could afford before tax refund time to get nicer, better-looking Sabbath clothes for ourselves and our kids. We would LOVE to have full physical custody of ALL of our children. Sadly, justice isn't blind. She is sold to the highest bidder. Look, we're getting up onSaturday mornings after grueling school schedules, plus work, plus dealing with children, ex-husbands, finals, car problems, the account being $497 overdrawn, PT at 5:30 every morning followed by working through lunch and more loading trucks until 6 or 7, dealing with crazy ex-girlfriends who want our husbands, deaths in the family, hospitalizations, going to the oncologist, getting told our son was kicked out of school for drawing his father being decapitated, being gossiped about by church members, not being able to make up a final even though we were at a funeral when it was going on and that's not a good enough excuse to our lab prof.... and GOING TO CHURCH. We're dragging the kids out of bed, getting them cleaned up and in dress clothes. We're hoping we have enough gas to make the trip and toss some money in the plate and make it until payday. WE'RE THERE. WE'RE GRATEFUL TO BE THERE. WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO SABBATH ALL WEEK. WE'RE EXCITED TO WALK IN AND SEE ALL OF YOU.

Jesus ate with us, and so can you.