Yes. That's a pool. Yes. It's on a baseball field between first and second base. Yes. It's a baptism. And yes. I know him. Our church does a huge baptism every year. They usually do it at a camp, but they've grown too large and this year they did it at the city's minor league baseball stadium. Yes. You read it right.
It was a major event. It was cool because I hadn't ever seen anything like this done before, but it was even more special because of the person in this picture who was getting baptized. This is my boyfriend, Kyle. Kyle's an amazing guy. He's one of the nicest guys I know and would do anything in the world for me. This event was major for me because he was proclaiming in front of God and 3000 people at a baseball stadium that he believed God was his Savior.
I was saved when I was 9. I was baptized shortly after and so my conversion wasn't a huge ordeal for me. Yeah, it was great, but by 9 I hadn't fully had the chance to screw up my life just enough yet! Standing in front of a church wasn't this major humbling experience. Kyle had lived his life thinking he was saved as many do. He attended church regularly and lived an overall good life. Nothing made him think any differently. Until one moment in a service at church he realized it was more than that. Maybe there was something else to all this... there was a Savior he needed. Maybe he couldn't really do this on his own. As I sat in the stands watching, I saw a strong, independent man who stood alone on a field surrounded by thousands. He stood proudly in his decision, but humbly in the knowledge that he did in fact need a Savior and he need a Lord in his life. At 28 years old he decided to proclaim that need for a Savior in front of a crowd of 3000 people and show... I can't do this alone. If this isn't a picture of surrender, I don't know what is.
None of this is to pat Kyle on the back or give him the glory when we know it's all God's. It's simply showing us that it is all about surrender. It's about admitting that we do in fact need a Savior. We all can't do it alone and some days we need to be reminded. I was saved and baptized at 9 and some days I just simply forget it. Watching 441 people who made that commitment decided to go public with it... made me remember it quickly. For some the sweetest moment may have been when a small child came back up with the cool water pouring off their face. For another it may have been locking arms and being baptized together with their spouse. A special moment for all was the 80 year old man went in who could barely make it into one of the pools but did not dare leave without being fully covered in the clear cool water. But for me, the special moment was when I saw my guy, fully soaked, knowing it's only just water, but knowing how much more the symbol really means. At the end of the day, it's not what will happen tomorrow, or what decisions we'll make by the end of the year or where we will live, it's that I know where we'll both end up in the very end... and it's definitely together.
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4
