Baptism is Not a Spectacle
Who is Kenneth Tanner? This is what I asked Jason a few months ago as our podcast, Crackers & Grape Juice, began to gain more followers than the average United Methodist Church has sitting in the pew each Sunday morning. Kenneth Tanner is a Charismatic Episcopal Priest in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Before meeting Ken on Facebook a few months ago, I had no clue there was such as a thing as a Charismatic Episcopal. Having grandparents who are and were Episcopalian, and even taken a class at an Episcopal seminary, a Charismatic Priest in the Episcopal church is like a Millennial walking into a mainline church. They just don't exist, and if they do, we need to study them.
Ken is best known for his Facebook memes. No, they are not memes about cats playing a piano but instead are of the theological flavor. Ken has found a way to utilize what is normally a means of poking fun or ridiculing someone, to now be a way of sharing theological ideas in a way that is more accessible than most blogs (including this one).
I want to share one of those Facebook commentaries with you.
Ken wrote the following as a response to a video showing what can only be described as a WWE-style baptism.
Watch the video, and then consider Ken's response.
A sad mockery, which exposes what must be a total misunderstanding of the sacrament. Baptism is a participation in the death of Christ, a reenactment of the cross. It's a gift but also one approached with great reverence and humility. It is the work of the Spirit of God and not, as the actions here suggest, something that *we* do. Yes, it is to be celebrated but this practice loses connection with the hard wood realities of the cross.
Baptism is not a spectacle.
And this is not a matter of worship "style." I disagree with any sense of subjectivity —you have your way of doing it and they have theirs—because the vast majority of Christians around the world across all denominations who are alive and walking the earth today, including the vast majority of those who lived in past centuries, would not recognize what's happening here as Baptism.
Ken will be joining us on an upcoming episode of Crackers & Grape Juice. We will talk about what a Charismatic Episcopalian is, he will dive into this video a little more, and I even attempt a Fleming Rutledge podcast prayer. Use the links below to subscribe to the podcast so you do not miss our conversation with Ken and our other great guests.
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