In some churches inviting people to come forward to the altar to give their life to Jesus may seem as strange as inviting them to come forward and pet an invisible elephant. The preacher may figure that such an invitation will cause people to look at him as if he is someone who has lost their mind. If such was not the response, then surely a score or so would shake their heads and wonder if the preacher has forgotten that the noon dinner alarm just sounded. In some churches an invitation to use the altar at the end of the service would seem strange.
If such is true, then what needs to happen is a change in the spiritual climate. It may involve a slow process of inviting people to start using the altar for a variety of reasons. An invitation can be given for folks to come and pray for someone they know who is in need, or there could be an invitation to come and pray for a mission work team. In churches where people have never seen the altar used, it may be necessary to start using it by giving invitations that do not lift up the need of certain individuals, but to offer an invitation that would be seen as having a broad appeal. In addition to the benefit of the praying, such moments begin to re-set the climate so that people do not perceive using the altar for praying to be a strange and unusual thing.
None of this is to say that prayer cannot take place from the pews. Neither is it to say that people must go to the altar to begin their faith journey with Jesus. Instead it is a way of acknowledging that people need the prayers of others. It is to say that people want to know there is a safe place to kneel and open the needs of the heart to the Father in heaven. It is also to say that at times people feel a need to respond to the work God is doing in their heart. The altar can be a meeting place with God where lives are changes and re-directed. Whatever time and effort it might take to change the spiritual climate of the church so that such is possible will be more than worth it.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment