Someone asked the other day, so I thought I would put this out there again.
The answer to this question
comes as a bit of a surprise to those who were raised on altar calls.
First of all, we don't have
altar calls because Jesus didn't have altar calls. If you read Jesus
interactions with people, he was very laid back. As the people sat and
listened, He told wonderful stories about the kingdom. Jesus allowed the
information to sink in to the minds of hearts of each person listening. When he
was preaching and teaching, he never pressed the people for decisions.
Secondly, we don't have
altar calls because the church existed for hundreds of years without them.
Altar calls first made their appearance in the 1830's under the ministry of
Charles Finney. Billy Sunday, D.L. Moody, and later Billy Graham followed this
altar call pattern. Since most of us grew up at least knowing of altar calls,
we aren't aware that the church existed for 1800 years, making disciples,
without the practice of altar calls.
Next, we avoid altar calls
because of the potential for manipulation. Many of us have had experiences at
churches where well meaning pastors or youth leaders felt that it was their
duty to get someone to come forward. The meeting is not going to end until
someone comes forward. The music is just so, we will sing 100 verses, because
the pastor is just sure that someone is going to make a decision. There is too
much room for human ego to be on display in an altar call.
Finally we don't need altar
calls because God doesn't need them. The Holy Spirit is able to reach people
and convert them without the benefit of a preacher or a church. Some of my
favorite stories of conversion are moments that people had just between them
and the Lord.
I close with a quote from a
Baptist pastor that I found on the Internet.
“Most everyone who comes here notices that we do not
practice the generally accepted and practiced ritual of modern day religion
commonly called the "invitation" or "altar call." There are
many reasons why we do not, the greatest being that it is not taught or
practiced in the scriptures. In the inspired record of the church in the book
of Acts there is no mention of any such practice. As a matter of fact, we do
not find this practice appearing in the life of the professing church at all
until about 1820. It appears then being introduced by a preacher seeking to
produce what God alone can produce. How were all the people who were saved
before Christ and over the 1800 years after His death saved without an
invitation or altar call? Of course, by
coming to Christ in the heart.”
Gary Shepard, Pastor
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church
Jacksonville, NC
Gary Shepard, Pastor
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church
Jacksonville, NC
It’s a beautiful day in God’s
world, be sure to see the good.
2 comments:
Jeff, I fully agree with everything you said about this subject. However, I would add one thing. You have taught us so well that we can't fully know the mind of God.
I believe He can work his will, even through flawed methods or ill conceived motives by over-zealous pastors. So, for the hundreds of thousands of people who have met the Lord and had their lives transformed by God during a time they went forward at a Billy Graham Crusade, it's okay. The fact that they have changed lives is what matters.
And being one who used to disdain the extended, manipulative, one more verse invitations, if there are those who met the Lord and had their lives changed during that "one more verse," I'm glad.
And I'm glad that Jeff regularly invites people to Christ, without using public, pressured, guilt inflicting invitations.
Jeff, I've appreciated the times, during your sermons, that you've explained your long journey to search for the most authentic denomination, and found you could best live out your faith in the Methodist church.
Your post this morning has caused me to realize that every denomination and every evangelical organization is subject to flaws. I hope you won't mind if I share this with you, but as a member and regular attender for several years, here at WCC, I never fill out a Stub.
If I were a person who is new to WCC or a person who wants to ask a prayer request, request more information, or sign up to volunteer, I would probably complete one. However, the idea of completing a stub, just for attendance record keeping reminds me too much of grade school and attendance keeping. For me it also hearkens back to the days of the Baptist or maybe other denomination's 8-point record keeping system. "Did you read your Bible every day this week; how many people did you contact this week? yada yada. Also reminds me of the perfect attendance pens Baptists and maybe others used to give. Some people had perfect attendance pens dangling halfway down their chest, and yet had sour grape attitudes (don't get it.)
Bottom line, when I come to church each week, God knows I'm there and why; and I know I'm there and why, so call me stubless.
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