The baptismal formula for early Christians in the Roman empire was ‘Jesus is Lord’ (Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor12:3) (Treier, 58). There was nothing simple about that confession. It was bold and real, and for those on the outside it must have seemed risky crazy.
Then what would be the equivalent ‘baptismal formula’ for a 21st century Christian in America?
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I want to define it by comparing to things that we follow now. Saying “Jesus is Lord” was so meaningful because for most, Caesar was supposed to be Lord.
It seems appropriate to talk about what we treasure/value, since those are the things we seek after. But we would need to use culturally relevant words.
Maybe “Jesus is most valuable” or something to that effect.