Is Altar Call Biblical?

As a child I attended a very traditional fundamental Baptist church. You know the kind; a long skirt wearin', KJV carryin', altar call havin'. While I have come to believe that none of these are essential to a good church, I am specifically going to focus on the altar call. You will have to forgive me if I ramble. I am not so good at getting things like this out, but never the less, writing them helps me sort out holes in my reasoning and I certainly enjoy hearing comments when I post something like this, but be kind please :).

Anyways, back to the point. We have flitted back and forth between churches quite a bit. I am not particularly proud of this, but when Karl and I first got married we felt an obligation to stay at my "home church". I mean, I had literally grown up there having attended school and several services a week. He was a new Christian so relied on my um, expertise, to guide the decision on where we went. When we tried different churches, even up until recently, we always went to ones that were nearly identical to the church I had grown up in. Not surprisingly, we weren't being led to stay at any of those either! After several discussions we tried a few churches that were far outside of my comfort zone. When we found the one we believed the Lord was leading us to, we took a hard look at what was different. There were many things, the style of preaching, the less legalistic approaches to dress and Bible versions, but none stood out more than the fact that they followed a more traditional order of service and there was one big thing missing: altar call. Altar call is a staple in a IFBC church. I have never been to a Baptist church in general that didn't have an altar call, but I would be shocked to my core to find an IFBC church that didn't have one. After much studying and prayer we have both come to the conclusion that while we do not believe that altar call is in and of itself wrong, we do both believe that it is a bigger hindrance than a help to evangelizing. Here is why:

It often creates an emotionally manipulative atmosphere. I know this isn't usually the intention but, think of the altar calls you have witnessed. There was likely an emotional introduction to the call begging you to accept Christ as savior while slow, soft music beckons you to come just as you are. I have found myself caught up in this sort of manipulation. Coming to the altar under emotional coercion will most likely not result in a true conversion. Which brings me to my next thought:

The Sinner's Prayer is deceiving. In an IFBC the "Sinner's Prayer" is a big tool. The prayer itself it completely fine. It is a prayer of repentance, the declaration of faith in Christ and the asking of forgiveness and salvation. Most of us who are born again, will have said some sort of prayer similar to the traditional Sinner's Prayer (I don't necessarily believe the prayer is required to be saved. The prayer is simply an out-loud manifestation what of the new believer is doing through the conviction of the Holy Spirit). However, this prayer is held so highly in regard to so many Protestants that it can be deceiving. Saying a prayer does not save us. Without the opening of our eyes to the need of a savior by the Holy Spirit, and true repentance, the Sinner's Prayer accomplishes nothing. Now, as a Christian whose eyes are opened, I know this, but combine this rote prayer with the emotional manipulation that altar call can produce and how many walk away thinking that because they said a prayer they are now saved? Again this leads into my next thought:

It produces false converts. I went to the IFBC for about 23 years with a few years sprinkled in here and there up until about a year ago. I saw many many "converts" stand in front of the church. Including close friends and even myself. I can attest that there are some converts as a result of the altar call, but if we are to judge by fruit produced, I can also attest that for every 1 true conversion there were dozens of false converts. And oh! How many times I heard the story of how someone walked down the aisle to get saved but later realized they themselves were a false convert. Even the pastor at the IFBC I attended told that story! Thinking back to those I watched converts at the altar, very few were baptized and even fewer continued to come to services. I don't claim to be able to judge the hearts of those who did not appear to follow through with their faith, but the Bible does tell us that we can judge a tree by it's fruits and for most altar converts, the fruit just doesn't seem to be there. If every person that walked up an aisle and said a prayer was truly converted our churches would be over flowing!

Of course, there is nothing in the Bible the specifically forbids the altar call, but looking through scripture will also not reveal a single specific instance in which an altar call was used and it appears to be something that was only relatively recently added to church services. Yes, some people will be saved as a result of the altar call, but can we afford to be pragmatic about something that is also potentially causing such large numbers of false converts?

There are many things I am reconciling as my faith matures and I have had to make changes in order to line up with what I believe to be Biblical. Altar call is not something that I focus on much but when I do think about it enough to study it, I can't seem to bring myself to being ok with it.

Motherhood, Maps, and Malachi

Yesterday I was preparing the boys for a homeschool map activity and my oldest did his best drama in ages, dropping his head all the way back to his spine and letting out a huge sigh. You know, labeling maps is HARD!! We were going to read from Luke, and we did eventually as it was part of our school work. But. I said "hey guys, let's stop for a second, I have something else to read..."

And it began like that...

I said...

"Let's look at Malachai 1..."

I reviewed Jacob and Esau with them, they both remembered the story pretty well.

"6 “‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name"

"Wow guys, God wants the honor due Him! And if we honor daddy, why don't we honor the Lord all the more? Let's keep reading..."

"But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ 7 You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is to be despised.’ 8 But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts. 9 “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts. 10 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you."

"WOW guys look, (I say wow a lot during this lol) these guys question the Lord "how have we done this???" Yikes! And look, their sacrifice matters to God, they aren't giving their best! God gave them the means, but they aren't giving back... God isn't pleased. I don't want God to say that of me! And He says "Oh that there were ONE among you who would SHUT the gates" seems He couldn't see even ONE who would stand against these lame sacrifices. Let's read on!"

"11 For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord of hosts. 12 “But you are profaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’"

"Gentlemen, God's name is important isn't it? And yet, God says they profaned His very name! I don't want to be a bad witness for the Lord! I don't want to misrepresent Him. I sure don't want to profane His name! Keep in mind this comment about a pure sacrifice, we'll come back to that!"

"13 You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the Lord of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the Lord. 14 “But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the Lord of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

"Oh boys! Look at that, "My how tiresome it is." And my how tiresome map making is, and doing dishes, and folding laundry and every other thing we do around here daily! It IS tiresome, so what's wrong with feeling weary from it? Well, hold on, let's look at Romans 12..."

"12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

"Whoa! Ok boys, so our bodies are the sacrifice, right? And is our sacrifice pure? Is God's name great, are we glorifying Him in our actions? How tiresome my housework is, and yet, that very housework is my serving God. Because in Col 3:23-24 we read..."23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." So, my work seems tiresome and I'd like to whine, but we are to do all things without grumbling and complaining (Phil 2:14). And what's worse, my grumbling and whining is a LAME sacrifice! I'm not serving with a PURE heart! When I ask you to do maps, yes, it is tiresome some days, but that eye roll is a lame sacrifice lol! God wants pure worship, a holy sacrifice acceptable to Him. But when we whine and complain we are not giving Him that sacrifice, we are being lame! I don't want to be lame. I don't want God to say of me "I am not pleased with you." But I give Him many opportunities to say such a thing about me and about my so called sacrifice. I don't want Him to say He isn't pleased with you boys! Our bodies are a sacrifice, our daily living can be worship to Him, or it can be the lame sacrifice that profanes His name, and we can be that cursed swindler! Yikes! Oh Lord, remind us how Holy you are and that daily we are the sacrifice, remind us to be a holy sacrifice not a lame one, You have standards of worship. Just because I think it is worship doesn't mean you accept it! Do you boys get where we're going here?"

They did seem to get it, they sat silently through the reading.

"Boys, let's not be lame anymore. If we catch each other offering a lame sacrifice, let's have a secret phrase like "don't be lame!" to remind each other haha!"

They giggled.

The rest of the day we all went about our work with more joy. I didn't get any complaints about maps, or silent reading assignments, or picking up messes around the house. God didn't get complaints from me either. Ok, it was just one day out of hundreds. But I want to save this conversation so I can remember it. I told the boys this was for me every bit as much as for them.

How are you being a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable? How are you worshiping? Are we conformed or transformed? (that was another conversation I got into with the boys, conformed to the world or transformed for and by God... that's another post lol!)

Have a fabulous worshipful day!

christa

Homeschooling and Housekeeping (The Clean Edition)

Is your home company ready?

There it is, the dreaded knock at the door. You look around and frantically yell at the kids to grab everything they can and shove it into a closet and shut the door. A friend dropped by unexpectedly and your house is a wreck. As you open the door you smile and say "I am sorry for the mess, it isn't usually like this", which you think to yourself, is actually a bit of a fib...

Your husband calls you 10 minutes before he arrives home to let you know that his boss is coming for dinner. Panic sets in and again the mad dash to get not only get some extra dinner together but to also get the house "company ready" and yourself cleaned up.



Do either of these sound familiar? As I was perusing Facebook this morning I came across an article entitled Top 10 Reasons Not to Organize Your Homeschool. While I do understand that she probably meant at least some of it to be tongue in cheek...or I hope she did...I couldn't help but think back to all of the memes and blog articles with sweet words reminding us of how quickly the years pass, how there is always work to be done, how we should put aside laundry and dusting in favor of enjoying our children. Really, how can you look at that poem and not nod in agreement?! No doubt there is a time for laying down the broom and just enjoying your children. There are moments when cleaning comes low on the priority list, but how often do we put off cleaning or organizing in the name of "spending quality time with the children" only to find our homes and mind so cluttered that we can't truly enjoy it. What fun is it to play with your children all day and look up to find yourself surrounded by a mess? Or to have your husband come home from an already busy and often stressful day to house buried in chaos? Or to have company unexpectedly show up and your home not be clean and inviting?

We have been convinced that it has to be one way or the other; that if we are keeping a clean house we must be neglecting our children. I am here to tell you it doesn't have to be an either/or! You can do both!

So why should we keep a clean and organized home?

Because we want to be Christ-like and God is not a God of chaos (1 Corinthians 14:33). If our goal is to be like Christ, which it should be, we should be practicing the characteristics of Him. The Bible is clear on how we are to conduct ourselves. We are to do things decently and in order (I Corinthians 14:40) and we are to care for our homes (Proverbs 31 and Titus 2). If we are not following these scriptures we are sinning.

Because a clean and organized home contributes to your child being healthier spiritually, mentally and physically.  We discussed the spiritual aspects up above, but there are other obvious reasons that an orderly home is a good thing. God knew what He was doing when He gave us instructions to be orderly. Cluttered homes make for cluttered minds. You would be surprised at the behavioral differences between a child living in a clean uncluttered home and one living in chaos. I know that when my house is cluttered, I feel flustered and am easily provoked. When my home is clean, I am calm and find it easier to be patient. Then of course there is the obvious, clean homes make for less sickness!

Because we don't want to have to make excuses every-time someone shows up unexpectedly! After about the tenth time of telling the same friend "I'm sorry for the mess" I knew she had to be thinking that my house was always chaotic. She was right. Sure I had moments, when given plenty of notice, that the house was clean for company, but I was never ready for someone just to show up. Just think of how much more enjoyable a visit is when you aren't sitting on your couch staring at a huge pile of dishes while you wonder if your friend notices that you haven't vacuumed the floor or cleaned the toilets this week!

Books are easy to access
And there is plenty of extra room!

Because it makes homeschooling easier, cheaper and faster. I was shocked to read in the blog above that leaving the school area in chaos made things easier for the blogger. I was equally as shocked to hear her say that she found herself selling things only to repurchase them later and that organized books take up more room. I don't know if my experience is unique but that is the complete opposite of what happens here! When our school room is organized I can walk straight into the room and know exactly where the book I am looking for is. When it is messy and books are just thrown onto the shelf this is not so. I also find myself repurchasing things that I was sure I had, but can't find, so maybe I sold it. Of course as soon as I re-purchase it, I clean the school room and find the original. The money I have wasted this way is a great source of embarrassment for me. We are in the process of unpacking and in the process I am having to do some major downsizing, so our school room goes back and forth from being clean to having boxes here and there. Let me tell you, books stacked neatly on the shelf and categorized in sensible manner take up FAR less space than books strewn here and there on the shelves. We also don't have to worry about towers of books tumbling off the shelf when a child pulls a book off the bottom stack. I'm sorry you can't convince me that unorganized shelves make for better homeschooling.


Like anything you can go overboard. If you find yourself spending 4 hours a day scrubbing your kitchen, you probably need to rethink your cleaning habits. If your family is not allowed to relax for fear of making a mess that freaks mom out, you probably need to rethink. If you aren't flexible enough to let your children do some messy activities every now and then, you probably need to rethink. However, keeping a reasonably clean, organized and company ready home is not only healthier it is Biblical.

Stay tuned for my next post which will offer some practical ways to keep a clean house and enjoy your children all at the same time!

Learning That Not Everyone Wants to be Your Friend: Dealing with Conflict

picture credit

Ahhh, the world of little girls...where they all play princess, dance around delicately and only say sweet things. And then they turn 7 and 8 and 9... Yeah, you only thought that you wouldn't have to deal with girl drama until they were teens.

For anyone that thinks homeschoolers don't have to learn to deal with conflict let me enlighten you. We do. Tonight at gymnastics we had a mandatory meeting for the parents and the kids were left to play in the "lobby" (which is open to the floor). For the most part they were all exceptionally well behaved! I was quite impressed. It seems however, as it happens, I missed some conflict that was happening. My youngest tells me that one of the girls spent a lot of time calling people "butt head" and being generally rude to her. We have had minor issues like that before so I have already started coming up with a strategy on how to deal with it, but my daughter is extremely tender hearted and as per usual, her initial response was to burst into tears because she couldn't understand why the girl did not want to be her friend. So how do we deal with this?

1. I validate my child's feelings. I let her know that she is right to be upset and that the things that were said were hurtful and mean. I want her to understand that as small as it seems to me, I know that it is big for her. I also want her to know that she can come to me and be taken seriously.

2. We evaluate whether she could have misunderstood. Sometimes kids get going in their games and get excited and lose control. It happens. In boys we see them start off playing with their action figures, suddenly the action figures are fighting with each other and the next thing you know the boys are rough housing and someone gets hurt. No one really meant to be ugly, but children aren't known for practicing self-control and they definitely don't always think through the consequences of their actions.

3. I  give her an appropriate response. Our "canned" response is to look at the person being ugly and say firmly, "I want to be your friend but you may not treat me ugly. If you are going to be mean I will go get my mother/father/whoever is in charge. Can we play together nicely and be friends?" If they say no, they are to say okay and walk away. If the meanness continues they then are to immediately come get me. What I want to do is teach them to have grace and forgiveness, but that they do not have to be someone's doormat.

4. Let them know that it is okay if they aren't friends with everyone, but that they must extend Godly love no matter what.

5. If it escalates to the point of needing to talk to the other child's parent, I always go there without her first. We all do it, we find out our child might be misbehaving and we get a little defensive when it is addressed. I want to make sure that my daughter is not subjected to grown up bullies just as much as I want to shield her from the child ones.

6. Hitting, kicking, biting, throwing things, etc are NEVER acceptable and they are to come get me at once!

7. Model the appropriate response to conflict. Nothing teaches a child better, how to handle conflicting personalities than to see their parent handle it gracefully.


We are never going to be friends with everyone, but we can show our children that we can still be Godly and loving even to people who are mean to us.

DISCIPLESHIP: TEACHING YOUR CHILD WHAT IT MEANS TO REFLECT CHRIST

Richele homeschools 4 children and has taught everything from tying your shoes to the laws of physics but nothing could prepare her for the mountains of laundry and the many blessings that would fill her life. She blogs at Under the Golden Apple Tree.

1 CORINTHIANS 11:1
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Paul is speaking about being Christ like in his spiritual walk and encourages us to be Christ like in our walk.

MATTHEW 5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
In this verse the term “perfect” is not suggesting sinless perfection yet means “complete” as in having a complete love like God’s love. Meaning one should love those who love him and those who do not.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REFLECT CHRIST?
To reflect Christ in our daily lives means we must walk in the spirit and exhibit love while always remembering who we represent. We are no longer our own but bought with a price as it states in 1 Corinthians 7:23: Ye are bought with a price; be not ye servants of men.
Learning that we reflect Christ daily is a hard lesson to learn for adults much less children. Daily we are faced with stress, trials, distraction, and the flesh. It is all too easy to forget we are ambassadors for Christ in this world when someone takes our toy, breaks our iPod, or disappoints us. Consider this verse from Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing:
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

METHODS OF TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT REFLECTING CHRIST

The Man in Uniform Activity
Show your child pictures of men and women in uniforms. For example, show your child a picture of a policeman and ask him who this person is and what this person represents. Ask your child to give you characteristics he expects from this person. Now ask him why he has these expectations. Most likely your child will view this person based on the uniform and the fact this uniform represents a concept beyond the person’s individual personality. Ask your child what he would think if this person acted the exact opposite of his expectations. For example, what if the police officer committed criminal acts? What if a doctor did not treat a patient but harmed a patient? What if a chef fixed the plumbing in the kitchen and did not prepare the food?
The purpose of this lesson is to bring the understanding that when one puts on a uniform one represents ideals which must be upheld or risks making all of those in that uniform look bad.

The Rude Waitress/The Nice Waitress
This activity requires play acting. Make a made up restaurant name tag for yourself. Invite your child to come visit your restaurant. Set up something simple in your dining area and have a snack prepared. Once your child sits at the table you will want to portray a rude waitress. At first your child may be shocked or laugh. After a few minutes or so of this play acting ask your child if she would ever visit the restaurant again. Chances are she will say no. Then explain that the restaurant consists of other waitresses and staff that may be very nice yet one rude waitress spoiled the reputation of an entire establishment. Now explain how a Christian represents Christ and while being only one person can tarnish the image of Christ in the eyes of other’s.
Next, have your child play the waitress. However, this time we want to play a waitress who represents her restaurant in a positive way, serves gratefully, and is filled with joy. Explain you would certainly come back to that restaurant and love to learn more about it. Ask your child to correlate the experience to a Christian representing Christ.

I Work for Jesus Name Tag
Make name tags for you and your child that say “I Work for Jesus”. Now go about your day. Whenever your child disobeys, displays a bad attitude, or grows slack in her countenance gently remind her that she works for Jesus.
This exercise is not to humiliate, demean, confuse, imply legalism, or chastise your child. It is a way of pointing out how actions we allow to pass by or not realize we are doing are unChrist like. It is to serve as a physical reminder that one is always representing Christ. Use your own judgment if you think this lesson would be lost on your child.


The New Kid in Town
This role playing game will involve one person playing herself and one person playing a new neighbor. The first round you will want to play a new neighbor who is fun, nice, and great to be around. After a few minutes ask your child if she would enjoy having this person as a friend? Could she envision having a love for this person?
The second round the new neighbor will be bossy, rude, and hard to like. Now ask your child if she would enjoy having this neighbor as a friend? Ask her if she could envision having a love for this person? Now ask her what Christ would want her to do? Would Christ want you to love this person? Does Christ love this person?
You do not need to act out these scenarios. You can simply tell a story or use puppets or other toys to tell the story.


©Richele McFarlin, 2011