"Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven."

I can't speak for any of you, but I can tell you that in my twenty-plus years of ministry, I have seldom heard a preacher or a layperson stand up and call the people to repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Oh, yes, I have heard it at a few tent meetings over the years, but in the mainline church where I have lived my life I don't think I have ever heard a pastor call upon his or her people to repent and be baptized so that they can receive the forgiveness of God. As I stand before you this morning I want to tell you that I've come to the conclusion that this is not a good thing.

My memory is dim, but it seems to me that we — in my white liberal church background — gave …