The place of ‘altar calls’ has exercised my mind in recent weeks.

For years I’ve been ‘working the cards’. You know how it goes, I’m sure. The evangelist explains the gospel in a clear and lively manner, she then invites people to pray a prayer of commitment to Christ after which a response card is completed. An effective and ‘safe’ method, it seems to me. Why? Well, you capture all the necessary data without what many consider to be the undue emotion or pressure associated with ‘coming forward’. All very neat and clinical, really.

That’s all well and good until you meet a pastor from another diocese with a very different set of expectations. The conversation went something like this:

Me: How would you like people to respond after the message?
Him: I’d like them to repent to God and place their faith in the risen Lord Jesus.
Me: Yes of course. What I meant was, what method do you use to find out who in fact repented?
Him: Well, we’ve never done this kind of thing before…you’re the expert. You are a missioner aren’t you?
Me: Sure [feeling a tad uneasy].
Him: I’m pretty sure our people are expecting an altar call. They’ve been praying and fasting for six months, you know. They’re looking to God for great things.
Me: Of course. But it is the 7.30am ‘Eucharist’ service.
Him: Yes??

So the service begins. I’m having this mental struggle. “what if no-one comes forward….don’t be ridiculous…it’s God’s gospel, He’ll call out his elect…”.

We have the set readings and then I’m ‘up’.

The tradition in that context is for a shorter presentation, so they get a 14 minute special. I then read out a prayer and invite anyone who wants to “do business with God” to come down to the Communion rail and we’ll pray the prayer together.

I climb down from the pulpit (marble, 15 steps, curves behind a pillar) and lo and behold there’s a throng three deep waiting to pray the prayer.

Assuming they’ve misunderstood my instructions I explain the deal again and two more people come forward. Some are in tears (they are men, farmers, tough guys).

We pray the prayer and the rector takes down details.

The service then re-inforces what had just taken place; we stand for the Creed (and affirm our faith in Jesus) and then we share in the Lord’s Supper. Very powerful.

Afterwards people freely comment either on how helped they were by making a stand for Jesus (for the very first time) or in seeing God at work in answer to their prayers.

Now, I know we walk by faith and not by sight but this is one little community of Christ’s people in regional Australia (who’ve been battered by drought and rural decline) who are now fired up for Jesus.  May God in his grace continue to bless their gospel initiatives.

I’m ‘on the air’ in Sydney next week. Shall I play it safe and ‘work the cards’,  or should I step out and ask them to step out too? To call or not to call…......