Old Enough to Follow Christ? - September 2008 Synchroblog

The segment of Christianity I am aligned with, known sometimes as the "Stone-Campbell Movement," agrees with other Christian fellowships and communions that the decision to become a disciple of Jesus is a personal matter, made within a community of faith but not made collectively on behalf of the individual. In others words, we do not baptize infants, and where our children are concerned we wait until they are old enough to make up their own minds before baptizing them. We speak of an "age of accountability" in this context, though that phrase is found nowhere in Scripture. In fact, no one is quite certain what the proper age is or how we know when our children are "ready."

Some denominations set a specific age for baptism. The Community of Christ, for one typically baptizes young people at age 8. For some of us that may seem a little young, but they may not be too far off. In psychology the "age of reason" (the age at which a child can carry on a complex conversation with an adult) is said to be around age 7 or 8, depending on the child. Movements like the one I am a part of don't define a particular age, but the truth is that baptism almost always coincides with puberty. The children of members in the congregation I'm a part of have only begun to be baptized, with 11 or 12 seeming to be the age when we begin to expect "a decision."

Puberty isn't probably the best marker of readiness, though, given that there are sins other than sexual and young people are able to make serious moral decisions and feel guilt over them earlier than when the hormone rush begins in earnest. The Bible doesn't give us a great deal of information, though, about what we call an age of accountability. Sometimes the following passage in the Hebrew Scriptures is quoted:

"And as for your little ones, who you thought would become booty, your children, who today do not yet know right from wrong, they shall enter there; to them I will give it, and they shall take possession of it." -- Deuteronomy 1:39

The verse above does not provide a solid basis for defining an age of accountability, and really doesn't tell us much about who is accountable. It's an echo of an earlier passage from Numbers, which is as follows:

"And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: How long shall this wicked congregation complain against me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites, which they complain against me. Say to them, 'As I live,' says the Lord, 'I will do to you the very things I heard you say: your dead bodies shall fall in this very wilderness; and of all your number, included in the census, from twenty years old and upward, who have complained against me, not one of you shall come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become booty, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have despised. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.'" -- Numbers 14:26-32

Did you notice that? The people to be held accountable for sinning against the Lord among the Israelites on their way to Canaan were age 20 or above. That certainly would not satisfy most Baptists or members of the Stone-Campbell Movement.

Although the depictions of Jesus carrying a lamb and hugging cherub-like children with rosy cheeks is probably far from any actual events, it is entirely true that Jesus invited the children to come near to him and blessed them.

"People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. But Jesus called for them and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.'" -- Luke 18:15-17

Many read that and suppose this means children should be included in baptism. On the contrary, it actually implies that they don't need it. What Jesus was really saying was that if you want to draw near to God, you need to need to be humble. I would suggest that he wasn't looking for innocence (I've been around some truly devious children) but for simplicity and even helplessness. That's why we call them "dependents" on our insurance forms.

Although I believe in baptizing only people who believe and are able to repent and do not believe in setting an age arbitrarily for inducting young people into the family of God, I also do not believe we need to wait as long as we sometimes do. Further, I've noticed even in myself a tendency to set the bar higher for my own children than I do for adults who have had almost no prior contact with the Christian faith.

I'll close this rather muddled post with a clear and true illustration. Several years ago in the city of Belo Horizonte, in Brazil, a young girl wanted to be baptized. I believe she was around 11, and she had been raised attending church. She asked and asked to be baptized, until finally someone agreed to study the Bible with her. With a great deal of discussion and prayer and the consent of her family, she was baptized. Not long after that the girl was stung by a bee, had an allergic reaction and died.

That story is true. I believe in the infinite mercy and love of God and don't share the belief of many that had she not been baptized she wouldn't have "gone to heaven." Then again, I believe a terrible injustice would have been done had she not been given the opportunity to know the remission of sins and fellowship of the Holy Spirit in this life.

If you hold to "believers baptism" and have young children who are starting to talk about becoming Christians, I have a suggestion. Supposing you believe they understand what they are doing and your congregation is generally supportive, go ahead and baptize them. Before that, though, make the child write a letter to herself explaining why she'd being baptized. Don't read it, but ensure that it is a long enough letter to satisfy her later in life (no one-liners!). Seal the letter in an envelope and file it away somewhere very secure, like a safety deposit box of fireproof safe. Several years from now your 8 or 9 year old will be in college and may ask to see that letter. If she reads it and is satisfied with her childhood explanation, all well and good. If not, the water can be made available to be certain. I am no advocate of "re-baptism," but if serious doubts arise once in life for good cause, there's no biblical reason to refuse it.

*All Scripture references in this post taken from the New Revised Standard Version.
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Check out what all the Synchrobloggers have to say this month on the topic of "maturity":

Phil Wyman asks Is Maturity Really What I Want?
Lainie Petersen at Headspace with "Watching Daddy Die"
Kathy Escobar at The Carnival in My Head with "what's inside the bunny?"
John Smulo at JohnSmulo.com
Erin Word at Decompressing Faith with "Long-Wearing Nail Polish and Other Stories"
Beth Patterson at The Virtual Teahouse with "the future is ours to see: crumbling like a mountain"
Bryan Riley at Charis Shalom is Still Complaining
Alan Knox at The Assembling of the Church with "Maturity and Education"
KW Leslie at The Evening of Kent
Bethany Stedman at Coffee Klatch with Moving Towards True Being: The Long Process of Maturity
Adam Gonnerman at Igneous Quill with "Old Enough to Follow Christ?"
Joe Miller at More Than Cake with "Intentional Relationships for Maturity"
Jonathan Brink at JonathanBrink.com with "I Won't Sin"
Susan Barnes at A Booklook with "Growing Up"
Tracy Simmons at The Best Parts with "Knowing Him Who is From the Beginning"
Joseph Speranzella at A Tic in the Mind's Eye with "Spiritual Maturity And The Examination of Conscience"
Sally Coleman at Eternal Echoes
Liz Dyer at Grace Rules with "What I Wish The Church Knew About Spiritual Maturity"
Cobus van Wyngaard at My Contemplations with "post-enlightenment Christians in an unenlightened South Africa"
Steve Hayes at Khanya with "Adult Content"
Ryan Peter at Ryan Peter Blogs and Stuff with "The Foundation For Ministry and Leading"
Susan Barnes talks about Growing Up
Sound and Silence considers Inclusion and Maturity
Lew A at The Pursuit talks about Maturity and Preaching
Kai Schraml tells us about Mature Virtue