We believe in the God who sees the hidden chambers of the heart,
who knows the fires that rise within us,
and who calls every soul to humility and truth.
We believe that John the Baptist was sent as a herald of repentance,
immersing the willing in the waters of surrender,
that the burning of self-righteousness might be quenched,
and that pride might be drowned beneath the depths of honesty.
We believe that repentance is not mere admission,
but the yielding of every defense,
the agreeing with the truth spoken over us,
and the laying down of the right to justify ourselves.
We believe that those who humble themselves become light before God,
and that humility opens the heart to forgiveness,
for the forgiven must forgive,
and the one who does not judge cannot be judged.
We believe that Jesus the Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit,
immersing the humble in the breath and wind of God,
cooling the embers of the heart,
lifting the contrite,
and filling them with peace, mercy, and new life.
We believe also in the baptism of fire,
that those who refuse the water and resist the Spirit
will fall into the flames they themselves have fed—
the fire of pride, bitterness, and unforgiveness,
the self-kindled heat that consumes the unrepentant.
We believe that every soul is baptized—
either in water unto humility,
or in Spirit unto life,
or in fire unto its own burning—
and that God desires all to choose the path that leads to peace.
We believe that salvation is the fruit of humility,
the victory of mercy over judgment,
the extinguishing of the inner flame
and the filling of the heart with the wind of God.
And we await the day when all false fires shall fade,
when every knee shall bow freely,
and when the gentle breath of the Spirit
shall be the air of all creation.
Amen.