Last I checked, we are baptized into Christ, not into the church (Gal 3:26-29). The church never died for anyone, nor can it forgive sins. The church is certainly not perfect, and is not the one from whom we receive atonement. That person is Jesus, the Christ. The Son of God. The Lord and Savior of mankind. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The church is just the association of disciples that helps us stay on the straight and narrow. Rev 3:4 says that even though Sardis was not an "approved church" there would be some there who would be saved-- not through their association with the dead Sardis church, but because of their association with Jesus Christ. Shame on those who elevate the church to such a high position that they feel capable of judging which baptism is authorized-- solely based on who did the dunking. Paul spends a lot of time telling people that the "dunker" is irrelevant. (1Cor 1:10-18)

Sorry for copying everyone on this reply, but I think it's an important lesson for us all to understand. If anyone disagrees with me on this, I'd love to study it further with them "until they get it right" [:-)]
--Dave