Altar calls

This article by Thabiti Anyabwile is well worth reading. I love the cartoon, and what he says and cites about altar calls is very close to my own experience.

I think that this great African American pastor's first name is pronounced

ta BEE tee

and am guessing his second name is

an ya BWY lee

but I'm grateful for any help from someone who knows.

Thabiti cites Pastor Ryan Kelly's reasons for not using the altar call method.

1. The altar call is simply and completely absent from the pages of the N.T.

2. The altar call is historically absent until the 19th century, and its use at that time (via Charles Finney) was directly based upon bad theology and a man-centered, manipulative methodology.

3. The altar call very easily confuses the physical act of “coming forward” with the spiritual act of “coming to Christ.” These two can happen simultaneously, but too often people believe that coming to Christ is going forward (and vice-versa).

4. The altar call can easily deceive people about the reality of their spiritual state and the biblical basis for assurance. The Bible never offers us assurance on the ground that we “went forward.”

5. The altar call partially replaces baptism as the means of public profession of faith.

6. The altar call can mislead us to think that salvation (or any official response to God’s Word) happens primarily on Sundays, only at the end of the service, and only “up front.”

7. The altar call can confuse people regarding “sacred” things and “sacred” places, as the name “altar call” suggests.

8. The altar call is not sensitive to our cautious and relational age where most people come to faith over a period of time and often with the interaction of a good friend.

9. The altar call is often seen as “the most important part of the service”, and this de-emphasizes the truly more important parts of corporate worship which God has prescribed (preaching, prayer, fellowship, singing).

10. God is glorified to powerfully bless the things He has prescribed (preaching, prayer, fellowship, singing), not the things we have invented. We should always be leery of adding to God’s prescriptions for His corporate worship.

If this makes you think, please check out the whole article.

A man who kept his promises

In 1990 Robertson McQuilkin resigned his post as president of Columbia Bible College and Graduate School, in order to care for his beloved wife Muriel, who stopped recognizing him in 1993 and went to be with the Lord in 2003 at the age of 81.

He wrote some articles about caring for his wife for the 25 years that she was suffering from Alzheimer's Diesease, which are linked to in this interview which Stan Guthrie conducted shortly after her death.

I like the story of him a hanging a flag in his front garden on the days when Muriel was smiling, to let friends know she was having a good day, which he was enjoying, too.

And I like his comment that she made many sacrifices over the forty years of his student days and working life, which he was now only partially repaying.

I'm sorry that the person who put the video up on Youtube did not do him the honour of spelling his name correctly.

Christmas in February?

When is it too early for a Christmas song? I hope it's never to early to ponder the wonder of God becoming Man.



I love the words of this song, discovered today (and the music).

A Few Helpful Christian Resources

Have you discovered the wealth of great Christian resources available on the internet?

Bibles
Bible Gateway has over 20 English Bibles and many in other languages, (which some people have found useful when talking to a person whose first language isn't English).

You may be satisfied with the translation you usually use, but it can be helpful to use a variety of translations. If you prefer a translation in simple contemporary English like the CEV (Contemporary English Version) or Good News Bible, it can be enlightening to also read the passage in a more formal version such as the NASB [New American Standard Version) or ESV [English Standard Version).

There is a search facility and link to Bible Gateway on the right of this page.

What is Christianity About?
If you are looking for an explanation of the core message of Christianity, you can't beat Two Ways To Live. The site is easy to navigate and is available in Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish and there is also a simple version in English for children.

Questions About Christianity
All About God is a site with answers to many questions people ask about Christianity and includes links to other pages if you have even more questions. We are not saying we have read anything on all of these pages, or agree with everything on the pages we have read, but we can say that the site is generally reliable.

Avoiding Distractions
Some useful internet sites are loaded with advertising, and you may find it easier to use the resources if you install a pop-up filter, or ad blocker, or both.

If you use the Firefox browser, Adblock Plus will automatically get rid of a lot of intrusive material for you. There are also ad blockers for Internet Explorer, but they don't seem to work quite as well.

Yesterday

Yesterday began with this disturbing story.

Australian couple fight to choose sex of baby
An Australian couple with three sons who are desperate for a daughter have launched a legal bid to be allowed to choose the sex of their next child, according to a report.

The couple, whose daughter recently died shortly after birth, have already aborted twin boys because they want a girl, they told Melbourne's Herald-Sun newspaper.

It was at the back of my mind all day, and then, shortly before going to bed I saw this beautiful video:

A great man everyone should know

Have you ever heard of Polycarp? This short video tells his story. Some of it may be legendary, but it is certainly true that he was burnt at the stake for his faith in Christ.

Polycarp (70-155) was a disciple of the apostle John, who is said to have appointed him bishop of Smyrna. Late in life he was arrested as the leader of what was mistakenly thought to be a dangerous cult. A Roman proconsul offered to set him free if he would simply say Caesar is Lord and offer a small pinch of incense to Caesar's statue.

Although he knew that refusal would mean torture and death Polycarp responded with this now-famous reply:

Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?

Polycarp willingly died as a Christian martyr because he was persuaded that Jesus really did rise from the dead and was seen by John and the other apostles Polycarp had met.

Polycarp's life and death provides an inspirational example for all Christians. He gave his earthly life for Christ, and in the midst of his sacrifice, he gained eternal life.

Ruins of Smyrna

Throughout 2011, we will be sharing more stories of great Christians everyone should know. Please come back for our next entry.

More About The Seven Deadly Sins

Someone asked me whether our pastor is speaking about The Seven Deadly Sins so that we can try them all out! I think he is aware that we are all sinners and don't have to be encouraged to experiment.

In a previous post, I shared some links to helpful articles about the historical background to these sins.

Do you prefer to listen to a talk, read the manuscript or do both? Our pastor, Rodney Macready, gives you the choice on our Current Series page.

He has a sense of humour, as can be seen from the two topics he spoke on, immediately after Christmas: gluttony and sloth. This might not make as much sense to our northern friends, but in Australia, after Christmas in a hot country, it is hard to be enthusiastic about work. And we do enjoy our food.

Pastor Macready points out that feasting and celebrating are not wrong in his talk on gluttony and in his talk on sloth, he tells us that there is a place for rest.
I particularly enjoyed the talk on sloth, which reminds us that busyness in the wrong things can be just as slothful as doing nothing at all.