By Ingrid Schlueter
A recent increase in concern over false conversions should be accompanied by a hard look at the practice of altar calls. How many times have I witnessed this ritual in chuches. My son refers to these as the pastor's "payback". A pastor gets the immediate gratification to see whether his sermon hit home and judges that by a human response to his call to walk an aisle, raise a hand, etc. I have mentioned before that as an organist at a small inner-city mission church, I used to have to play multiple verses of "Just As I Am" or "Softly and Tenderly" until the pastor got the desired response. Someone would come and then we could all go home. Dr. John MacArthur addresses this practice in this message.
http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/ALTAR.HTM
It is excellent food for thought. Fundamental pastors will frequently inveigh against empty tradition or unbiblical ritual. Every denomination or sect has tradition, the question is always which ones? More importantly, are they Biblical?
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