Adults being baptized in our church are asked, "Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" Confirmands who were baptized as youths or infants are asked the same question. Jesus commissioned his Church to, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Simple obedience always has been and always is required of us by God. Through Jesus we have the power to obey and forgiveness whenever we fail.
Jesus taught his disciples a prayer, which included "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." In God's kingdom, God's will is done. Jesus taught, "Unless you are born of water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God." Romans 8:14 tells us that, "Those that are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God." God's Spirit leads us to do God's will. When we turn from our own will to God's will, we are following the Spirit of God.
In the United Church of Christ (UCC), there is a movement among pastors, theologians, and lay persons to challenge the wider church to remember Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who is head of the church (as the preamble to the UCC Constitution affirms). Our minister is a member of the steering committee for this "Confessing Christ" movement which offers the church a joyful encounter with God in Christ with some real theological substance.