what must i do to be saved?

so i've already used that title for a post on my blog. oh well. on to a comment about salvation...

since i grew up a cooperative baptist and now work in the united methodist world, i find tension surrounding the idea of salvation.

one of my coworkers recently visited a church which she described as "very baptist." she talked about the "invitation" at the end. apparently a young child walked down the aisle to make his or her "profession of faith." she seemed somewhat appalled by this action. i guess she thought i would be appalled too.

and i suppose i might be. except for the fact that i can remember one particular night in my childhood when i experienced some sort of calling from God and decided that i wanted to be identified with this God. i initiated a conversation with my parents that evening. several weeks later, i walked down the aisle. several weeks after that, i was baptized.

i don't know that i would describe any one point in my life as the point of salvation. i tend to think of salvation more in terms of process and journey than a one-time event. i don't really recall any time in my life apart from God. but as a child i did experience that moment of recognition...and i wouldn't write it out of my life story.