| My Baptism The church where I was baptized was a small town church in Texas, a Church of Christ. From my earliest memories, I looked forward to reaching the age when I could be baptized and partake of the Lord�s supper like my parents did. Once or twice a year, the church would invite a preacher from some other town to hold a revival and, during the revival, we would have preaching every night for a week. During one of these revivals, after I reached the age of 11, my Dad told me that he felt that I had reached the �age of accountability� and, if I wanted to, it was time for me to make the big step. At one of these services, during the invitation song after the sermon, I walked down the aisle to the front, the preacher extended his hand to welcome me, and I sat down on the front pew. After the song was finished, the preacher asked me to stand and he asked, �Do you believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the son of God?� I responded, �I do.� He asked the Lord to bless me for making that confession and we prepared for the baptism. I stepped down into the baptistry with the preacher. He raised his right hand and said, �Upon your confession of faith in Jesus Christ, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit for the remission of your sins.� I put my hands over my mouth and nose, he lowered me down backwards into the grave of the baptismal water and buried my sinful self, then raised me up to newness of life in Jesus Christ and His body, the church. It was a happy day. |