Mennonite Church of God in Christ

[Wade]

There is one example of being re-baptized in scripture, however it doesn't necessarily fit exactly with your question and is qualified on different parameters, but still interesting and worth a look nonetheless. See Acts 19:1-5

And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

I have sat and heard a sermon on this very topic explaining that if anyone was baptised in another "name" (like "the name of the Son"), and repented, that was just a baptism of repentance, but now they need to be baptised in Jesus' name.

I was told it was part of refuting believers baptism (not all Mennonites believe in believers baptism) and part of why baptism has to be into the "right" church. Not saying I agree with that, but this was how this passage was introduced to me...

[ohio jones]

Rebaptism carries with it the implication of repudiating the former baptism or at least declaring it insufficient. Certainly that was the case in Acts 19 and with the early Anabaptists. So if baptism was not accompanied by an adult confession of faith, or was so meaningless at the time that it was soon forgotten, I think rebaptism would be entirely appropriate.

However, doing it to correct a supposed defect in the form or formula of the ceremony (such as one church refusing to accept the baptism of another) would be, I think, inappropriately judgmental provided the original baptism was done in good faith.

[Josh]

Not all Mennonites believe in believers' baptism? What?

[MaxPC]

Well, the picture in scripture is that people were baptised when they joined the local church they were part of, which is still how conservative Anabaptists generally do this, and how all Old Order type of people do it.

Are there examples in scripture of people changing congregations and getting re-baptized as a consequence?
I'm not arguing or even totally disagreeing yet, so please don't take this as a confrontation.

There is one example of being re-baptized in scripture, however it doesn't necessarily fit exactly with your question and is qualified on different parameters, but still interesting and worth a look nonetheless. See Acts 19:1-5

And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Sometimes folks just a need a second "coat".

[Wade]

Rebaptism carries with it the implication of repudiating the former baptism or at least declaring it insufficient. Certainly that was the case in Acts 19 and with the early Anabaptists. So if baptism was not accompanied by an adult confession of faith, or was so meaningless at the time that it was soon forgotten, I think rebaptism would be entirely appropriate.

However, doing it to correct a supposed defect in the form or formula of the ceremony (such as one church refusing to accept the baptism of another) would be, I think, inappropriately judgmental provided the original baptism was done in good faith.

Not all Mennonites believe in believers' baptism? What?

I guess I have had some experiences that would really startle people.(Some people are also very shifty in telling you one thing today and the opposite tomorrow while claiming purity because they are part of the church.) That was just a minor thing of some of the things I was taught by Mennonites that I am seeing is not so common by other Mennonites...(had no clue there were so many different branches? - and thought there were only 2 differing as either white kapps or black viels.) Challenging for a new comer to understand all these differing spirits, when one wants to accept people are being sincere and honest... It is muddy out there and still very confusing for the unchurched...

[Josh]

Wade, I get the feeling you got started in one of the least welcoming Mennonite churches that was teaching against what most Mennonites believe.

With that said there are far more variations of Mennonites than just two - and you can't tell very well what kind of Mennonite someone is by the colour of veil his wife wears.

[PeterG]

That was just a minor thing of some of the things I was taught by Mennonites that I am seeing is not so common by other Mennonites...(had no clue there were so many different branches? - and thought there were only 2 differing as either white kapps or black viels.) Challenging for a new comer to understand all these differing spirits, when one wants to accept people are being sincere and honest... It is muddy out there and still very confusing for the unchurched...

We Mennonites are indeed a diverse and often confusing bunch. For me, there was a roughly 10-year process of repeatedly thinking that I had Mennonites figured out, only to discover more nuances that exposed my lack of understanding. But I've found the journey more than worthwhile. So hang in there.

[lesterb]

123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890

[gcdonner]

123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890

That many?

[gcdonner]

Where in scripture is the idea of an invisible church you "join" as part of baptism?

I don't understand what you're saying here

Well, the picture in scripture is that people were baptised when they joined the local church they were part of, which is still how conservative Anabaptists generally do this, and how all Old Order type of people do it. (I don't know if any Old Order people accept converts without baptism, but I doubt it.)

A more recent concept is that there is an "invisible church" of true, regenerate believers residing both inside and outside of the "visible church" gathered in congregations. The approach to baptism that Reformed & Baptist theology takes and those derived from that is that baptism baptises you into this invisible, global church, and thus never needs to be repeated again as long as you sincerely believed in Christianity when you were baptised.

I think that can be an acceptable set of traditions but I don't think by any means it's the only valid set of traditions. A great weakness I see in this viewpoint is that since joining a church has nothing to do with becoming a Christian or baptism, a focus ends up on making sure the baptism itself is right.

How much water? How cold? How deep in the water?

What direction do you go into the water? Forward? Backward? Both?

How many times in the water? Once? Thrice? Four times?

In what name or names are you baptised?

I think those are unimportant details. I think the significant part of baptism is that it's symbolic of starting the Christian life, which in my opinion needs to be something that happens with other Christian believers, with grace, of course, for those who don't have any Christian believers nearby them to commune with.

So, Josh, what you are saying is that to be baptized you have to join a denomination and that is the only thing that makes it legitimate?
I doubt that Philip said that to the Ethiopian eunuch. We are baptized into the Body of Christ, which is not limited to any local congregation, and therefore is "invisible" in the sense that it doesn't fit into one building.
Scripture says that we are baptized into Christ [himself], which doesn't preclude some local congregation.

Rom_6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Gal_3:27  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

We weren't baptized into the church's death were we? We haven't put on the congregation have we? (Sometimes I think we are put upon by a congregation.
The modern Mennonite concept of baptism reflecting joining the local congregation is foreign to scripture as much as the unfortunate concept of making ourselves worthy to take communion is.

The Body of Christ is not limited to any local congregation.