ROY FISH Southwestern Seminary professor of evangelism Roy Fish says because of the public invitation, some people will decide for Christ who would not have otherwise decided, but he also believes the key to using the new approach to invitations is to follow up on the cards. “I don’t see anything wrong with winning people

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ANDY MCDONALD Andy, we are Baptists. We will have an invitation at a Pizza Party, just in case…” My mom spoke these words to me while I was growing up in a Southern Baptist youth group. Growing up, the invitation, or altar call, was the time during a service when people got saved. Every once

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BLAKE GIDEON As a preacher, I do believe in extending an invitation for response after every sermon. However, not all invitations are biblical. I have heard preachers stand in the pulpit and have people pray a little prayer, raise their right hand and say, “now look up here at me, now stand up, walk forward,

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BRAD DAVIS There are many incredible experiences I have encountered after 20 years of being in the ministry. None of these is greater and more amazing than watching God working in the life of his people. Seeing that incredible relationship between God and his church being lived out before my eyes week after week is

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MARK MCCLELLAN Is there biblical/theological support for an “invitation/altar call?” Although the two are considered interchangeable, “altar call” has a theological nuance that we will interpret at the conclusion. The invitation will be evaluated as a part of, and not an addition to, a message or sermon. While an invitation can involve a number of

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“The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark 1:15) These opening words of Jesus’ ministry, according to James Edwards, follow a characteristically Old Testament structure where divine action and blessings are to be followed by a duty or response on the part of the

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TIM GENTRY The pastor closed his Bible, and I knew that the service was about over. A few miscellaneous items and I would be free from another worship service. Free from having to sit still, free from having to stay awake and free from the uncomfortable dress clothes I was wearing. This experience I had

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Typically, Christians are hawks when it comes to spotting the content of shows, movies, music, and other entertainments flowing from the steady stream of popular culture. The vehicle, or form, that transports such content (e.g. television, radio, computer, etc), however, tends to be overlooked. Cognizance of the form is perhaps just as important, maybe even

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I liken the forthcoming general election  to the World Cup; even if you don’t want to embrace it or like it, you have to care about it  because it is everywhere. In Stillwater the streets are lined with signs endorsing a bevy of candidates who are seeking to lead us back to the American promised

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