Call and celebration of the decision to be baptized

Yesterday we went to the Eucharist at Durham Cathedral. During it there was an interesting liturgy with the name of the title of this entry. I have to confess that while I liked what they seemed to be trying to do, I really wondered about the theological justification.Let me show you a few chunks of the liturgy and tell you why I'm concerned about them.

"Today it is our joy and privilege to welcome N, a disciple with us on the way of Christ. He is among us as a sign of the journey to which we are all called."

Later the candidate is asked;
"What is it you seek?" and the reply is;
"To follow the way of Christ."

I should affirm the idea that there is a process in coming to faith and that it may be appropriate to liturgise it in some cases. To do so may help to support someone as they explore the way of Christ to decide whether they want to make it their own. I can also think of situations when it might be very inappropriate and so would not wish to make it normative.

That said, I have particular concerns that show up in the above excerpts. First off, the candidate is designated as a disciple. This is then reinforced by the phrase that the candidate is expected to make their own "To follow the way of Christ". My basic objection is that this undercuts baptism. If we take Matthew 28.16-20 as in some way foundational, then there is a very clear linkage between being a disciple and being baptised; indeed, to be a disciple is to have been baptised. And though Paul does not use the language of discipleship (just as the gospels do not talk of Christians), he clearly does not envisage such a being as an unbaptised Christian, that is to say, an unbaptised disciple.The pattern of the book of Acts is that as soon as a person wants to follow the way of Christ (and remember that Christians are first designated 'followers of the way') they are baptised, or as soon as can be. So my problem with the rite as it stands is that it is either misappropriating baptismal language for a 'seeker/browser'rite, or the person concerned really ought to be baptised.

If there is to be a rite to celebrate the decision to be baptized it should be baptism, otherwise we should be holding a rite to bless someone in their seeking to count the cost or to evaluate their response to Christ's call. But if a person wants to follow that way then it should be baptism that they enter into. None of this third century [?] mystery cult stuff ...

I am doubly dischuffed that this kind of rite goes with an approach to the baptism of infants that is usually at variance with the way that adults are handled. I don't know what Durham cathedral's baptism policy is but I suspect that it may fit what I'm about to say and if it doesn't then there are churches where it would fit. There are churches using this staged initiation process that nevertheless -in the name of testifying to the grace of God- do not take similar pains over the baptism of infants, indeed baptise anything that is brought to them with a pulse that fits in a pram.