ordination and baptism

Acts 7:54-9:31

I discovered a while ago that the religious bureaucracy of the denomination that my congregation is a part of requires that someone may be baptized only by an "ordained minister."  I just read about ordination of deacons yesterday (Acts 6:1-6), so I'm not knocking the concept of ordination itself, but I think the following two passages of Scripture challenge the validity of the aforementioned baptismal requirement.

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Who was Jesus addressing?  The Apostles.  So, some might argue that since Jesus gave this command to the Church leaders, then church leaders should be the ones to baptize.  But, I think that's dangerous because here baptism is sandwiched between "making disciples of all nations" and "teaching them to obey".  So, if you're going to reserve baptism only for the spiritual elite, then you have to take evangelism and discipleship with it.  If, however, Jesus gave the Great Commission to all believers, then shouldn't all believers have, under authority of Christ, the privilege and responsibility of baptizing?

Acts 8:34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.  36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" 38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

Who was Philip?  He was one of the seven original deacons.  What were the seven original deacons ordained to do?  The were distributing food daily to widows.  They were SERVING! Wow! There is a concept.  Deacons serving the church - can you imagine what our church would look like if all of the "deacons" were really deacons?  But I digress.  The point is, Philip is just a humble bro, sensitive to the Holy Spirit, preaching the Gospel, and explaining who Jesus is.  So, when the Ethiopian eunuch professed faith in Jesus Christ, the appropriate think to do was for Philip to baptize him.  It's too bad Philip wasn't an "ordained minister"; I guess the eunuch's baptism wasn't legitimate.

Another tough issue around baptism is whether or not we should baptize babies.  If Communion is the New Covenant fulfillment of the Passover type, and baptism is the New Covenant fulfillment of the circumcision type, then maybe we should baptize babies when they are eight days old.  From the following passage, I see two reasons why I don't think it is necessary to baptize infants:

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

1. "believed ... baptized", "believed ... baptized" - You see this throughout the New Testament.  It seems like the Biblical model is that baptism follows the profession of faith.
2. v. 12 "they were baptized, both men and women" - Why didn't it say "both men, women, children, and infants"?  Matthew 14:21 records, "The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.", so why are children omitted in Acts 8:12?  Maybe the infants/children weren't baptized until they made a profession of faith.

My goal as I read through Scripture is not to figure out how to support the doctrine that I have been taught, but to compare my doctrine and my lifestyle to the Scriptures.  We are all heretics and hypocrites; we just don't know how bad we are.  I seek the Truth in the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate my mind and life.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, would you please sanctify me.  Please reveal yourself to me so that I may have a better understanding and experience of who you are.  Holy Spirit, please guide me into all Truth.  I pray that you will lead my congregation and the whole Church to orthodoxy and orthopraxy.  Please break through our religion, idolatry, and preconceived doctrine.  May we be refined by the crucible of suffering in the Name of Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray.  Amen.