Elevation Church Debuts Water Slide Baptism-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, has debuted a water slide baptismal.
The Truth:
Reports of baptismal water slide at Elevation Church are works of satire.
The story first appeared at The Babylon Bee on August 2nd under the headline, “Elevation Church Debuts Water Slide Baptismal,” that reports:
Pastor Steven Furtick took the stage under a single spotlight, and after some coy banter, he reportedly announced that it was “Baptism Sunday,” but that this was “not your Mama’s Baptism Sunday.” At this cue, a giant water slide, stretching from the balcony down to a small pool of water, was unveiled from behind a large curtain as the worship band began performing TLC’s 1994 hit “Waterfalls.”
Those, like Marie Dotwiler, who had been ushered to the new entrance were directed one-by-one into the orange contraption and, with a push, sent hurtling toward the waters of baptism in screaming identification with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church had hired auctioneers to stand along the sides of the slide and speedily utter the phrase, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” as the unsuspecting congregants whooshed by into the pool below.
The story quickly spread to social media, where readers didn’t have access to the disclaimer in the website’s footer that states, “The Babylon Bee is your trusted source for Christian news satire.