Hopefully we can say that he has Jumped the shark with this one.

Rats, Pete beat me to it...

Well, there it is, baptism as entertainment, so, when does the laser light show start?

Drat! Somebody beat me to it...

Another example of why Ed tries too hard.

While the shark joke was "dry" I think the premise of the video was good. There are many people who have no idea what will happen to them when they are baptized. Good idea bad writing.

One would hope he has at some point explained the Biblical purpose of baptism. I'm reminded of the verse, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

"I don't wanna grow up, I'm a 'Toys R Us' Pastor..."

I was expecting way more after you wrote "there is a line and Ed Young is about 300 yards over it." I thought he was actually baptizing in shark infested waters.

As others have mentioned, this is the sexperiment guy. I guess every event can't live up to the hype of that one. He is trying to stretch out his 15 minutes.

Yes, the shark business was definitely silliness, but I heard Ed at least say during the actual baptism that baptism "represents your old life, your new life--the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ."

The Scripture says in Romans 6:4-6:

4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."

I would say Ed was a little deeper into this biblical mystery than those who simply state that water baptism serves as one's public profession of faith in Christ. Although, I would point out that the Apostle Paul here does not say that baptism "represents" our uniting with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, but actually unites us with Him.

Nice job, Karen.

Jesus commanded Baptism. He must be acting in it...for us...because we know that our Lord was not into empty religious ritual, just for kicks. He never commanded us to do anything where He is not in it...for us.

Should we really be focusing on this minor preference?

Ask yourself two questions.

1) Who is his audience?
Answer - Saved folks who are paranoid about the practical aspects of baptism.

2) Is this an advertisement, or an actual baptism?
An Advertisement. I'm sure he's a bit more serious when doing this for real.

3) Why do I care?
Just be glad he's introducing folks to Christ. He is immersing them, so I give him grace in the extra PREFERENCES he uses to do a baptism. Let's focus on the majors, not the minors.

I'm with Paul. What's the big deal?

He used humor to help relax the nerves of those who haven't been baptized yet. This isn't a video about what it means to be saved, this isn't a video about the meaning of baptism. Taken out of context (a job well done by Url Scaramanga and the moderators, by the way), I'm sure this video would receive a lot of interesting feedback.

He's not stretching any 15 minutes of fame or going 300 yards beyond some imaginary line. He's using humor to answer questions and get people ready on a practical level to act in obedience to Christ.

But then again, the Pharisees consistently had a problem with Jesus' habit of meeting the practical needs of people, so maybe this video says more about the people criticizing it than Pastor Ed and Fellowship Church...

That was great! What line was overstepped? Some see me as a stick in the mud liturgically (Order of St. Luke ties), but what harm was there in some fun to explain a few logistical aspects. There is plenty to thoughtfully critique and rightly reject. This seems more like unfriendly nitpicking.

Some aspects of Christianity deserve the solemnity due them. Baptism certainly fits under that category. What is with the incessant need for the American church to add "entertainment value" to its liturgy, especially the sacraments? This fellow was doing well with his explanation of the baptism service when out of nowhere he stages a faux shark attack. A good rule to follow would be to pretend Jesus is standing there in your presence. I mean, He is, isn't He?

This is a topic that's near to my heart... Cheers! Where are your contact details though?

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wrote the e-book in it or something. I feel that you could do with a few % to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is wonderful blog. An excellent read. I will certainly be back.