A Methodist pastor in Dalton, Georgia, asked a Baptist pastor if he could borrow his baptistry for a baptism by immersion. While Methodists commonly baptize by sprinkling, they also may immerse, and this Methodist pastor had a couple who had trusted Christ and wanted to go all the way under. The Baptist pastor kindly agreed, and prepared his baptistry for the Methodists to use. He went back to check on things after they had used it, and he noticed water had splashed all over the place, in the changing area and even into the choir loft. So he asked the Methodist preacher, "What happened?" His Methodist brother said, "Well, it was the first time I had done an immersion, and when I got in there to baptize the lady, I couldn't figure out where to grab her to put her under. I didn't want to touch her in an inappropriate place, so I grabbed her by the neck. She resisted, splashing water, but I got her under, and then I lost her in the water, and had to dive in to pull her up. In the process, water filled up my waders, so I had to climb out of the waders and leave them in the bottom of the baptismal pool, and I had to climb out dripping wet. I left the waders in the baptismal pool, so you can get them out when you want them. I'm not going back in there." If you are wondering what great spiritual truth could possibly come out of that experience, here it is: you can't please everybody, so do your best to be who God made you, and don't worry about it. Whether you're a preacher or a parishioner, you don't need to try to be something you're not. God made you with your unique spiritual gifts. "A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church" (1 Corinthians 12:7, NLT). Find out what those are, and be your best at being you. If you're a Methodist, be the best Methodist you can be. If you're a Baptist, be the best Baptist you can be. Most importantly, be the best Christian you can be. And if somebody doesn't like who you are, that's their problem. Just don't grab them around the neck. Copyright 2010 by Bob Rogers.
I have been a New Orleans Saints fan ever since Ole Miss star quarterback Archie Manning was drafted by the Saints in the early 1970s. Like a Chicago Cubs fan in baseball, a Saints fan is a person who remains loyal through season after season of football failure. For years, Archie Manning was the only bright spot in an otherwise bad football team. Some Saints fans were so embarrassed by their team that they began to cover their heads with brown paper grocery sacks, with holes cut out for their eyes to see. The media dubbed them "the Unknown Saints Fan." Still, they came to the games. John Grisham referred to the losing record of the Saints in his novel, The Pelican Brief. He described a party going on in the French Quarter before the Saints game. Said Grisham, "because there would be nothing to celebrate after the game." Over the years, some Saints fans believed they had to be God's team with a name like theirs. Others speculated that God was punishing them for using a religious name, and God would never allow them to have a winning team. Either way, fans at the Super Dome often included nuns and priests, and even a fellow dressed like Moses. Then the team began to win, and Saints fans coined new football terms to celebrate, like "Geaux," "Cha-Ching" and "Who Dat?" "Geaux" is simply the word "Go" spelled with a French flavor. "Cha-Ching" has a story behind it. A New Orleans TV commercial poking fun at expensive fast food restaurants had a teenage clerk saying "cha-ching" as he rang up the wasteful spending of his gullible customers. So when the Saints started winning game after game, the fans started using the term "Cha-Ching" to celebrate them ringing up wins. Later, Saints fans began to boldly chant, "Who Dat Say Gonna Beat Dem Saints?" in defiance of anybody who thought they could beat their beloved team. Now the irony has come full circle, as the New Orleans Saints have finally made it to the Super Bowl, and the quarterback of the opposing team, the Indianapolis Colts, is Peyton Manning, son of Archie Manning, the long-suffering former quarterback of the Saints. But whoever wins this year in the Super Bowl, I am reminded of a greater truth for all of the true saints of God: that if you are a believer in Christ, you can remain hopeful and faithful through all your years of suffering, because you know that one day the saints of the Lord truly will go marching in, to win the victory in the Big Game at the end of time. Oh, Lord, I want to be in that number! And because of my faith in Christ, I know I will. Geaux Saints!
