I just read about a certain preacher, a recent seminary graduate, who was appointed to his very first congregation. He and his wife went to visit his family one Saturday afternoon for lunch. This preacher's mother sensed that her daughter-in-law was not all that happy, but not wanting to be one of those nosey, meddlesome mothers-in-law, she pretended not to notice. She figured it was just a lover's spat.

But as her son and daughter-in-law left, everything was cleared up because she overheard her daughter-in-law say, "All right, we can go by the church and you can practice baptizing me just one more time. But remember this, when you have your first funeral, you are not going to practice burying me!"

I personally don't think that practicing baptizing someone is all that necessary. What I do consider absolutely necessary is practicing our baptism. Or living our baptism so it makes a difference.