In the confession of faith upheld by both Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA baptism is described most prominently as a “sign,” “testimony,” and “pledge.”47 It is a sign of cleansing, repentance, forgiveness, renunciation of evil, as well as death to sin. It is a testimony of God’s gift of the Spirit, which enables new life. It is a pledge to “serve Christ and to minister as a member of his body.” Baptism, the confession says, is “done in obedience to Jesus’ command.” Baptism’s relationship to Jesus means that “Those who accept water baptism commit themselves to follow Jesus in giving their lives for others, in loving their enemies, and in renouncing violence, even when it means their own suffering or death.” With these goals in view it is not surprising that this document claims directly that baptism is only for those who “are of the age of accountability and who freely request baptism on the basis of their response to Jesus Christ in faith.”
To strengthen the analysis of the theology of baptism presented in these documents it is important to consider the practice within a broader dogmatic context. For this we must pay special attention to the doctrines of God and the church. I am particularly interested in how these texts describe the church’s relationship to God and how they describe the present work of Jesus. We begin with the Conservative Conference’s doctrinal description of the church, which outlines several common Anabaptist themes:
The church of Jesus Christ is the universal body of redeemed believers committed to Jesus Christ as Lord, and finds expression in the local church in worship, fellowship, holiness, discipline, teaching and preaching the Word, prayer, spiritual gifts, and the New Testament ordinances. The church is called out from and is separate from the world, but reaches out to the world with the Gospel and the “cup of cold water”. The church, as the body of Christ, is the visible representation of God on earth and is ready to suffer and serve as required by Christ and His Word.
A key feature of this statement, which it shares with most other contemporary Anabaptist doctrinal statements, is the theological distance it maintains between the church and God. The language used here of “representation” is the closest most Anabaptist statements come to equating the presence or work of the church with that of God. The way in which the body of Christ motif is understood in representational terms is evidence of this. The Conservative Conference’s “Statement of Theology” explains that Jesus’ present work is that of intercession. Representation and intercession imply absence and distance.
The Mennonite Brethren describe the church as “the people called by God through Jesus Christ.” The church “makes Christ visible in the world.” Like the Conservative Conference, the Mennonite Brethren describe the ongoing work of Christ as “intercession” and “advocacy.” In addition, they say that Jesus also “calls [believers] to be his witnesses.” At this point we can begin to observe a formal parallel in the way that the church represents God just as baptism represents God’s work. Though the Spirit is said to unite the church and is described as the presence of God, the Mennonite Brethren statement does not elucidate how the Spirit’s presence or work actually involve the church.
In describing new life in Christ the Brethren in Christ believe “Persons thus justified by grace through faith enjoy peace with God, are adopted into God’s family, become part of the church, and receive the assurance of eternal life. We become new creatures in Christ, regenerated by the Holy Spirit.” Notice that in this statement becoming part of the church happens alongside enjoying peace with God, being adopted into God’s family, and receiving the assurance of eternal life. These are all listed as effects of justification by grace through faith, yet there is no clear role for the church in bringing about these realities. The “Articles of Faith and Doctrine” of the Brethren in Christ describe Jesus as the head of the church and the one who established it. The Lordship of Jesus is deemed a current reality; though, like other Anabaptist statements, Jesus’ primary ongoing role is said to be intercession. Nevertheless, the body of Christ motif has a prominent role in the Brethren in Christ description of the church. Its invocation, though, is highly metaphorical.
The “Confession of Faith” used by the two relatively large denominations in the United States and Canada describes the church as “the assembly of those who have accepted God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” It is “the assembly of those who voluntarily commit themselves to follow Christ.” Recognizing the popularity of the body of Christ motif among Anabaptists, this confession stresses it as well: “We believe that the church as the body of Christ is the visible manifestation of Jesus Christ. The church is called to live and minister as Christ lived and ministered in the world.” In the present tense this document describes Jesus as “the model human being” and “the image of the invisible God.” Jesus is further affirmed as “our Lord and the not-yet-recognized Lord of the world.”
The “Confession of Faith” of these Mennonite denominations is theologically ambiguous at two key points. In various ways the other documents share these features as well. The first point of ambiguity can be seen in this statement: “Baptism by water is a sign that a person has repented, received forgiveness, renounced evil, and died to sin, through the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Thus cleansed, believers are incorporated into Christ’s body on earth, the church.” While reference to the church being Christ’s body is noticeably less abstract than in some of the other statements, the relationship of the sign of water baptism to either cleansing or incorporation is not clear. It is unclear what “thus cleansed” refers to. Does baptism participate in this? Does baptism have anything to do with the subsequent incorporation in Christ’s body? The “Confession of Faith” is imprecise. The second point of ambiguity has even wider ramifications. In the portions of the confession that deal most directly with Jesus and the Spirit, the ongoing relationship of these two members of the Trinity to the church is indistinct. The “Confession of Faith” tells us the Spirit calls people to repentance, convicts of sin, and leads in the way of righteousness. The Spirit teaches, guides in truth, and empowers individuals. It says the Spirit empowers the church to preach, teach, testify, heal, suffer, and so on. A similar point is made regarding Jesus: “We recognize Jesus Christ as the head of the church, his body. As members of his body, we are in Christ, and Christ dwells in us. Empowered by this intimate relationship with Christ, the church continues his ministry of mercy, justice, and peace in a broken world.” The belief that Jesus’ ministry is continued in the church is clear. It is important to notice though that the theological structure of this ongoing ministry is vicarious. The continuity of the work of Jesus with that of the church comes through its attribution not through agential constancy. The Spirit works directly in the lives of individuals, but does not work in the world through the corporate church; rather, the church’s work is “empowered” by the Spirit.
Each of these denominational statements has two broad features in common. First, baptism, a practice central to the Anabaptist tradition, is presented as theologically non-essential to the Christian life. It is carried out as an act of obedience. Baptism is described as a statement, a testimony, or a sign about that life, but not necessary for it. The doctrinal statements do not present a construal of baptism that would provide rationale for why a ritual washing is more effective than a verbal testimony. If we were to compare the Christian life to a journey, say hiking the Appalachian Trail, baptism would not be a form of preparation or a natural and necessary way of beginning. It would be more like a moment in which the hiker, following the instructions of some ancient backpacking authority, held up a sign telling others that he or she had decided to tackle the challenging trail. Obedience