The old way, there was emotional music that sometimes began before the pastor even finished his sermon. Then as the sermon wound down, an 'invitation' was made to 'come forward' and 'accept Jesus as your savior.' When this happened, someone was there to sit you down on the front pew and hand you a card to fill out. After it appeared that no more people would come forward, the music would stop and those who came forward would stand up, be turned around to face the congregation, and voted on right then or there as to whether the person should be allowed to join the church, either by profession of faith, personal 'statement,' or 'transfer by letter' from a 'sister' church where they had previously been a member, within the institutional denomination.
I've finally come to understand the fact that with so many religions and denominations out there, that people may want to join a given church, which usually results in voting rights that will affect the future policies and direction of that church, without necessarily agreeing with that church's doctrine and the way established members want that church to go. So it's now the trend that 'we can't just let anybody in' for some churches, unless they want to risk being taken over by people whose beliefs could destroy the church by turning it into something completely different from what it may have been from it's founding. The person is met with by a pastor long after the service is over to make sure they agree with certain written statements, then made to attend a "New Member's Class" which could go on for weeks, weeding people out just through lack of perseverence to finish the process, then look over a one-sided contract document where they check boxes and sign at the bottom in agreement with the statements. They must also write something about their salvation experience while there, or at another church, to be evaluated by staff as part of the "Membership Application."
So, you 'walk the aisle' just to let the 'men at the front' know (or women, depending on the church), that you want to be baptized and join the church. Whether joining the old school way or the current newer way, when you go down, you'll be watched by all the people who are standing while the emotional music plays. Billy Graham did the same thing at his crusades, so anyone old enough has seen it, if only on TV. They would come in droves down every aisle and across the stadium field.
Once the 'invitation' is over, pastors today will still announce that anyone who want's to 'talk with someone' about 'what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus' to come meet with them after the service ends, as 'there will (still) be men at the front to greet' them.
It suddenly dawned on me recently that the whole 'invitation' time could be skipped. Whether you 'walk the aisle' during the emotional music, or find someone to talk to after the service is over, the process from the point you shake their hand is the same. There is no instant membership anymore.
So why have an 'invitation time' at all? Why not just end the service with the exact same announcement as is given after the invitation, and let people walk down and talk to one of the men (or women) as everyone is leaving? They would then be advised to meet with a pastor and/or attend the New Members Class, the same as they would be told after walking the aisle during the invitation?
Why the spectacle? My Bible says that after hearing the gospel preached, people would line up, sometimes by the thousands, to be baptized. Just being dunked counted as a public acknowledgement that you believed what had just been preached, no? In any event, if there's a scripture somewhere that mentions requirements of a 'public profession' being made in order to be saved, and what exactly constitutes such, I'd love to know where it is and read it. There's John 3:11, which I presume is the primary basis for Baptists and other churches to encourage baptism, but no mention there of a public routine or invitation spectacle required, much less meetings with pastors, new member classes, boxes to be checked, or one-way contracts that must be signed.
I've finally come to understand the fact that with so many religions and denominations out there, that people may want to join a given church, which usually results in voting rights that will affect the future policies and direction of that church, without necessarily agreeing with that church's doctrine and the way established members want that church to go. So it's now the trend that 'we can't just let anybody in' for some churches, unless they want to risk being taken over by people whose beliefs could destroy the church by turning it into something completely different from what it may have been from it's founding. The person is met with by a pastor long after the service is over to make sure they agree with certain written statements, then made to attend a "New Member's Class" which could go on for weeks, weeding people out just through lack of perseverence to finish the process, then look over a one-sided contract document where they check boxes and sign at the bottom in agreement with the statements. They must also write something about their salvation experience while there, or at another church, to be evaluated by staff as part of the "Membership Application."
So, you 'walk the aisle' just to let the 'men at the front' know (or women, depending on the church), that you want to be baptized and join the church. Whether joining the old school way or the current newer way, when you go down, you'll be watched by all the people who are standing while the emotional music plays. Billy Graham did the same thing at his crusades, so anyone old enough has seen it, if only on TV. They would come in droves down every aisle and across the stadium field.
Once the 'invitation' is over, pastors today will still announce that anyone who want's to 'talk with someone' about 'what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus' to come meet with them after the service ends, as 'there will (still) be men at the front to greet' them.
It suddenly dawned on me recently that the whole 'invitation' time could be skipped. Whether you 'walk the aisle' during the emotional music, or find someone to talk to after the service is over, the process from the point you shake their hand is the same. There is no instant membership anymore.
So why have an 'invitation time' at all? Why not just end the service with the exact same announcement as is given after the invitation, and let people walk down and talk to one of the men (or women) as everyone is leaving? They would then be advised to meet with a pastor and/or attend the New Members Class, the same as they would be told after walking the aisle during the invitation?
Why the spectacle? My Bible says that after hearing the gospel preached, people would line up, sometimes by the thousands, to be baptized. Just being dunked counted as a public acknowledgement that you believed what had just been preached, no? In any event, if there's a scripture somewhere that mentions requirements of a 'public profession' being made in order to be saved, and what exactly constitutes such, I'd love to know where it is and read it. There's John 3:11, which I presume is the primary basis for Baptists and other churches to encourage baptism, but no mention there of a public routine or invitation spectacle required, much less meetings with pastors, new member classes, boxes to be checked, or one-way contracts that must be signed.
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