This list was created in reaction to the question: “Mario, why don’t you do altar calls?”
- Depending on how you define them, I have done them in the past.
- I’m not 100% against them. So, even though I don’t plan on doing one soon, it’s possible I’ll do one in the future.
- Anyone who has heard the story of how I came to know Jesus knows that I was manipulated into a false conversion when I was little – so it makes sense why I’m sensitive regarding this issue.
- Unless defined broadly, altar calls didn’t exist for the first 1800 years of Christianity. The gospel is certainly able to spread without them.
- We’d never suggest people make their wedding vows in an unplanned emotional moment; we’d never rush them to say “I do” quickly before the closing song ends!
- Jesus said to count the cost when it comes to following Him (See Luke 14:25-35) so we probably shouldn’t pressure people into making a decision about Him quickly “while the mood is right.”
- It is possible to get people to respond to an invitation without them actually placing their trust in Jesus as Lord. This could result in a false assurance that they got saved when they did not.
- All methods of gospel preaching will produce some percentage of people who profess to trust Jesus and then fall away (See Mark 4:16-17.) Certain methods can maximize or minimize these short-term conversions.
- Methodical weekly Bible teaching can probably communicate the same salvation with less emotional pressure and false assurances.
- We can believe all of the above without criticizing other churches who do this differently than we do.
That’s a lot of ground covered in less than 300 words. I hope this was helpful to you.
