“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
- John 10:27-29 [TNIV]
There are two sacraments/ordinances which the Protestant faith recognizes as a command from God: Baptism and the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper). However, over the past 200 years, there has been a “new sacrament” which Protestants all over the world have seemed to participate in: the altar call. When many Christians are asked to describe their conversion, they will often times explain their walk down the aisle at the call of a preacher. As we begin thinking about this famous “Christian” act, we need to contemplate the positive and negative effects this has had on our faith.
In an article written by Steven Gertz[1], he looks back on the historical beginnings of the altar call. It appears that in the early 1800’s, Methodists in America wanted to have some sort of evidence to determine who was saved in their audiences. In attempts to make this apparent, they began to call people to the altar which was generally used for the Eucharist and prayer (for those who needed it). This model of conversion would be popularized and is used even to this day.
Although you will see quickly that I have a bias against the altar call, one positive aspect I see in this ritual is that it gives a person the choice at a given moment to consciously follow Christ. In making that decision, that person will always have an event to look back on, to remind them of the moment God intervened in their lives. Outside of this, my limited thinking does not allow me to see other positive aspects. As a matter of fact, I find altar calls to be a distraction to the true mission of the Church, which is to go and make disciples of all nations, loving God and our neighbors as ourselves.
As I look back on my 24 years of church experience, I remember more altar calls than Communions and Baptisms combined. I used to attend a church where the preacher would have an altar call every week but I do not remember a single instance of taking the bread and wine or even attending a single Baptism (and this was a fundamentalist Baptist church!). How is it that the Altar Call has become more famous than the very acts which God has commanded His believers to take part in?
I find a major problem with the altar call because it gives many people a false sense of salvation and hope. Someone who is not a member of a local church may be completely sure of their salvation because they remember walking down the aisle and praying a prayer to “give their hearts to Jesus.” With such assurance that they are in the “safe zone,” many will never feel inclined or convicted to live a life which goes beyond their borders of comfort and sacrifice.
If the altar is the place where salvation takes place, the goal of the Christian is not to take part in culture and the world but instead their goal is only to get a person in the pews of their church. The rest of the work will be done by a preacher who with the skill of rhetoric should be able to convince people to get saved. The Church is no longer a body of believers who live to redeem the world but instead it becomes an advertising company worried more about adding numbers to the congregation instead of making people whole. Relief work and social justice become an unimportant branch of the Church and is taken over by “fellowship” and “outreach.”
As we reflect upon the nature of the Western Church today, I pose a few questions to you, the reader:
1) What is more important to you: bringing unsaved people to Church or being there for your unchurched friend in a time of need?
2) Where do you place the Baptism and Eucharist on your list of important things the Church does?
3) How important is it for you to have this experiential moment in reminding you of your salvation?
4) In your opinion, can you be saved and yet never be committed to a local church body?
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