Imagine if you can, Jesus having people bow their heads after hearing the Sermon on the Mount, and then very slowly and softly (while Bartholomew plays “How Great Thou Art” on the accordion) saying to the crowd, “While your heads are bowed and your eyes are closed, if you really want to be My disciple tonight, if you really want to show My Father and I that you truly mean to follow this sermon I have given, then I want you to slip your hand up slowly, so that I may see it. There now…yes…yes…I see that hand…and that one…and the one way back by the fig tree…yes! Now, please, while Bart plays another chorus, I’d like you to start moving down through the center of the crowd…yes, those who raised their hand. I want to know if you really mean business. I’d like to lead you in a prayer…”
I realize that there are some who will see such an illustration as sacrilegious. And that’s just the point. They think that making fun of the “altar call” is making fun of God. But it isn’t. Traditions die hard, because they take so long to form. Once I received a very intense letter from the pastor of a church who had sponsored me in a city-wide concert in his area. He was upset that I had “let several hundred souls go ungathered” because I had not given an altar call. He said, “It seems you have no burden for souls.” (Nothing could be further from the truth.) But because I had not given the recognized “official invitation,” this pastor could see no value in my presentation of the Gospel. Or as Tony Salerno (director of “The Agape Force”) recently remarked, “If you don’t give an altar call, they think you have committed the unpardonable sin!’”
Believe it or not, the altar call was invented only about 150 years ago. It was first used by the American evangelist, Charles Finney, as a means of separating out those who wanted to talk further about the subject of salvation. Finney called the front pew “the anxious seat” (for those who were “anxious” about the state of their souls) or “the mourner’s bench.” Finney never “led them in a prayer,” but he and a few others would spend a great deal of time praying with and giving specific instructions to each, one by one, until finally, everyone was sent home to pray and continue seeking God until “they had broken through and expressed hope in Christ,” as Finney would say.
The early Salvation Army, going a bit further on Finney’s innovation, developed what they called “the penitent form” or “the mercy seat.” After a rousing time of singing and preaching, they would invite any sinner present who wanted to confess his sins to God and repent, to come to the front, and they would be prayed for individually. I have met a few older Christians who used to attend some of these early meetings, and they said that sometimes people would stay there all night, and on a few occasions, even a few days, weeping and confessing their sins with broken hearts. There were always some who would stay right there to instruct them further, encouraging them to make a clean sweep of sin from their lives.
This is what the early “altar call” was like. But gradually, it began to become a fixed part of every meeting, and like all other traditions, it began to lose its original spirit. The “coming forward” part started to be more important than the “sorrow, confession, repentance, and instruction” parts. Eventually, anyone who would “come down the aisle” was excitedly proclaimed “a new believer in Christ!” No matter how they felt, they still were told, “Your sins are forgiven, brother! Rejoice in Christ!” How many a miserable, defeated, and confused person has come away from a meeting like this? (Jer. 6:14).
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Okay, need some input.
I recently attended a church. At the end of the service, the preacher asked us all to close our eyes and bow our heads. Then he asked for anyone that wanted to receive salvation and receive Christ into their hearts to raise their hands....but added that he wasn't going to embarrass them and ask them to stand up, while assuring them that everyone's eyes were closed.
This really bugged me. Is it embarrassing to receive Christ? Are we going to start out discipling them by telling them that we won't embarrass them?
Is it wrong that this disturbed me?
That's all...anyfeedback?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tammy on
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Hmmmm. Well, there are some that may be a little shy at first. Some are timid. I don't think he necessarily was saying that it was an embarrassment to proclaim Jesus as much as he was saying he wasn't going to make a spectacle out of that person in front of the entire congregation. Some people are bolder then others. This person may not be comfortable running the aisles at the moment. This also gives the pastor an opportunity to pray for this person if he knows their needs. They may not be willing to show others that need if everyone was looking. For some, it takes longer. Should it bother you? That I can't answer. If you believe the man behind the podium is an anointed man of God called into His service for teaching the saints, I would probably trust him that he is doing as God has led him to do.
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Permalink Reply by thewatchman on
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This was really good insight, Thank You.
I guess it just hit me wrong...possibly. I just never have met a new believer in Christ Jesus that was shy about it. I don't know, when someone receives Christ Jesus [in my experience, perhaps not everyone's] I see such enthusiasm, excitement, and joy. To be honest, I don't know much about the Pastor, it was my first time visiting the church. Maybe I was dismayed, when, at the beginning of the service, he promised to keep his sermon short enough that everyone would have time to get to their favorite establishment before all the other churches let out. Do I sound picky when I say that bothered me too?
I don't know, if by saying, "I won't embarrass you", it seems that he was inferring that receiving Christ Jesus could be an embarrassment. After all, we all are there because we need Jesus' right? And once we receive Christ we are all anointed ambassadors of Christ, wouldn't we all be invited to celebrate, pray for, and encourage, or is that only the Pastor's responsibility?
So yeah, it still bothers me.
I just never have seen this in the Bible and was wondering about it. Jesus expected everyone that followed after Him to follow Him completely.
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Actually, that statement would have bothered me as well. I would never want a man of God placing a time limit on the word of God. If the Spirit was to speak to him & tell him to do something different that may take hours, I would love to be under the teachings of a man who would follow this command. Poop on someone getting the first place in a buffet. I want the first place in the Lord's buffet. I want Him to know my name instead of the corner cafe. So, no, I wouldn't stress about that worrying me. It should bother you in a sense.
Another negative that I don't like much is: Many pastors say "Now, you don't have to come up to receive His salvation, but to make you feel more free, come on up. You should come forward to beat down the enemy." There are several different ways to say it but I think you get my drift. You first tell them not to be embarrassed but then you turn around & tell them that they should come forth in front of everyone. I would think that would be a big turn-off but this is just a matter of opinion. I have met so many different personalities that have received Christ. Those that are so excited that they barely can contain their enthusiasm. Then you have those that are so timid that there is no way that they could share what Jesus has done for them other then live it in front of others. And man, when they do share it, it will be phenomenal. I guess we need to understand that everyone isn't the charismatic, in-your-face type disciples. Everyone is different. The Lord has blessed us with personalities that defines us. One may be withdrawn & passive. One may be in your face & aggressive. Neither is right nor wrong. We're just all heirs to the promised prize & rest.
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Permalink Reply by ribbon on
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I have heard pastors ask everyone to shut their eyes like that before. I never thought about it being wrong before. I think because of my deep fear of people , I was thinking it was for people like me. People who sometimes wfelt they had to have at keast a half pint just to have courage enough to move in front of people. I walked up to the pulpit before when I thought the eyes were closed. It wasn't because I was embarrassed to want to know the Lord it was just because of my fear of people. But, as I learned more about Jesus and started to love Him... I "still would hide in the back of the chrch" but I would talk ore at work..... I was what people call happy in the Lord... I couldn't stop talking about Him. So, I guess I am saying maybe that preacher is being loving and understanding and helpful to some IMO.
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Thanks Chip, Tammy, & Confused.
@ Tammy, I love how you put it, I want to be first in the Lord's buffet. :)
I also believe that everyone is different, look at the apostle's. I believe that receiving Jesus is a personal & public profession, it's both. I'm only saying that I've never seen that method in the Bible. There is no prayer of salvation in the Bible, and there isn't any record of anyone raising their hand, going to an altar call, etc., at least that I know of.
@ Confused, I understand. The thing is, how do we disciple those who are babes in Christ for those who are timid or hide? Some mature Christian women took me under their wing and we meet together regularly to pray, study, and encourage one another in our walk. I was strengthened and encouraged by their prayers and friendship when my friends turned away from me, some of my family members stopped talking to me or when I began my walk with Christ, or even the knock on my door with Jehovah Witnesses bringing me a very confusing message that I wasn't mature enough to defend the Gospel of Christ. They were there with me, walking with me through all of those things, raising me as a child [metaphorically]of their own, listening to my endless questions about the Bible and reading Scriptures with me.
I don't know...just asking questions.
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If it was a lady, the pastor could confide with his wife the decision the lady made & she approach her. She could help the lady come out more as time went on. If it was a man, the pastor could do the same for him. It's not an impossible situation. With God, all things are possible. I'm sure He would open doors for these new saints to understand the foundations of their faith in one way or another.
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The Trouble With The Altar Call by A. W. Tozer
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Yes, I'm sure that he could, do not know if he was married, but I do not believe that this is the case in many churches of today...especially the larger ones.
I don't think that they pull those people out and disciple them. Sometimes, not always.
I think that we are using more psychology than True Spirituality in the churches of today, more concerned about the feelings than the Gospel. I'm still concerned that it isn't ever mentioned in the Bible. Is that wrong? Should I be more compliant?
The Gospel saves today, just as it did 2000 years ago.
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oh sheesh. I don't even want to get into the larger church stuff. lol. I was talking about a true blue, down-to-earth, Gospel preaching Spirit led church.
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the Jehovah witnesses studied at my home 2 different years ... it was years ago though. A coople years ago I got brave enough and emailed a church and told them a little about me. Told them I wished someone would visit. Somone who understood people living in fear. They never wrote back But I bet if I wrote the jehovas they would write back. Of course I wont. I am glad you found someone to help you. I think I am blessed too for having all of yall here on aag. Even thiough I don't know yall well and ont communicate much it helps me to read yalls back and forths. It especially helps when yall respond to me in wanting to help me. Thank you ....
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I'm sure they would be, you're right, and it's shameful the lack of caring for those souls who reach out and ask. let alone those who don't. I don't know where you live, but I am willing.
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