💧 Who Can Baptize? 💧
Is it just for pastors? Not necessarily! 🙅‍♀️While pastors are usually the ones who baptize, there are moments when you might need to do it.
If you do, you can find a Holy Baptism rite to use in cases of emergency in the following places:

📖The Lutheran Hymnal
📖The 2017 copy of Luther’s Small Catechism

(Check the back cover or the last few pages to find it.)
But why is it normally the pastor? 🤔
1️⃣Called to serve: Pastors are called to ensure God’s word, sacraments, and forgiveness are always available. ✨

2️⃣ It’s about good order. The church normally reserves baptism for the work of the pastor to do publicly before the congregation, so the people know who they get to love and who is part of their church family. 👪

3️⃣Biblical foundation: 1 Corinthians 4:1 says that pastors are the “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (Fun Fact: We actually get the word “sacrament” from the word “mysteries” in that verse.) 🧩

If you do baptize, let your pastor know so that he can nurture that person in the faith. 🌳

Thanks be to God for this amazing gift! 🙏

Steve Andrews Jr is pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Lee’s Summit, MO.

#higherthings #lcms #lutheran #baptism

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