Steve,
I am in agreement with you regarding the local church having the authority 
to baptize and that it should be someone ordained.
If the authority is with the church then she could authorize someone other 
than an ordained individual but I think that should only be in a
situation where no ordained person is available.

 Someone discussed Deacon Philip baptizing.  Seems to me he was on mission 
from the Church at
Jerusalem, and would have had that authority from the Jerusalem church.   I 
discussed this issue with one of
our Southern Baptist Missionaries years ago who was serving with what was 
then the Foreign Mission Board.  He cited Philip as
an example and told me that the general practice of our Southern Baptist 
Missionaries was to get authority from their
local church  in the states before going to the field.  They could then 
baptize and receive members to begin a new church.

Dean


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steven G. Rockhill" <revrock@...>
To: <pastorsforum@...>
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: [PastorsForum] Who Baptizes?


Doc,
 Turn your question around - Where in Scripture do we find someone
baptizing who has not been ordained? (i.e. there are no average Joe's
baptizing people - only the apostles, ordained elders and deacons.  BTW
ordaining is the "laying on of hands" - Acts 6:6.

Pax,
Steve

Dpowellaz2@... wrote:
> In a message dated 1/29/2007 7:23:42 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
> revrock@... writes:
>
>       Baptism should "ordinarily" be administered by those ordained to do
>     so.  There may be rare "extraordinary" circumstances that may dictate
>     otherwise but "ordinarily" it should be done by Pastors/elders.  When
>     you say "under the authority of the local church" that authority is
>     given to baptize and should not be freely doled out to anyone.  The
>     Great Commission is given to the Church, as a body, not to
>     individuals.
>     The body includes the Biblically prescribed authority structure.
>     It is
>     for this reason also that para-church groups really have no
>     authority to
>     "go", "disciple", "baptize" or "teach" because the para-church
>     group is
>     not the church and is not under the authority of the church.  Just my
>     thoughts.
>
>     Pax,
>     Steve
>
> There is no such thing as biblically ordained to baptize.  BTW,
> Phillip was not an elder he was a deacon!  Like I also asked Derick,
> there is no example of a pastor ever baptizing anyone!  Some
> denominations make ordination a mandate to administer the ordinance of
> baptism but there is not biblical reference to that practice.  It is
> up to the individual church.
> Doc
>
> */Shalom Alechem...Barukh Hashem Y'shua!/** *
> (*Peace and Blessings in Jesus' name!*)
> Pastor David Powell
>
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>

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Pastor Steven G. Rockhill
Lisbon Reformed Presbyterian Church
PO Box 88
Lisbon, NY  13658
315-393-9041
revrock@...
http://lisbonrpc.port5.com
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