In many Presbyterian congregations, the practice of confirmations - where teenagers become full-fledged church members - marks a kind of graduation from church. Unfortunately, organized Christianity has done much to encourage this idea that faith and belief are a status. Confirmation should be a beginning, but too often it marks an end.

Baptism also gets understood in a status sort of way, but Jesus' baptism is not like that at all. It marks the beginning of his ministry. It confirms his identity, an identity that propels him into service. What if our baptisms and our church memberships functioned similarly? What if they marked us as beloved daughters and sons of God, and propelled us into the work and ministry of disciples?