Dear Antikathistas,
I really am sorry about not posting a reply sooner, I don't even remember exactly what was happening last week or this weekend to keep me off, except that I only had 1 class on Friday. Anway way though,
You don't have an invitation at the end of your service!?! That's freaking Awesome! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/bow.gif" alt="" />
Yeah, the invitation is like the Billy Graham thing where everyone comes forward, except that I've rarely seen anyone come forward at our church, I guess the Pastor needs to stir the congregation's emotions more or something.
My church feels that you have to have an invitation at ever service wether it's a business meeting to kick the preacher out or the best evangelly call sermon you've ever heard. Again though, most of the adults and leaders in the church I attend don't know what they are, but would almost certainly fall into the catagories of Landmark Baptist and Dispensationalist and Arminian or Semi-Pellagian, if I wasn't convinced that the Gospel was supposed to be preached in ALL the world I'd have no reason to stay some days.
An invitation though is a time right after the sermon (which is almost always ended with a call to come to Christ (choose Christ, draw nigh to Him, etc) or a call for the Christian to go and do something about their faith (which no one ever really does) and basically the pastor stands in front of the pulpit while our Music Minister leads in the first verse of one hymn (such as "Just As I Am" or "The Savior Is Waiting"). If someone feels stirred by the Spirit they can come forward to wisper it to the pastor in front of everyone and they can either sign the little cards that say they've been saved or they can asked to become members of the church or they can do something or other of that nature. My understanding was that it's not a practice of the reformed traditon and that it was invented by Charles Finney, though I've not personally read that anywhere. The justification given is that we must give the sinner a chance to respond to God (as though the only way to respond to God was in front of the congregation and only as a sinner, which I find confusing since the church maintains that we still have our old nature as well as our new nature), and that when 3 thousand got saved at Pentacost in Acts it was at the Invitation of Peter at the end of his sermon (cause God Wooed them, I'm sure) and that even though the 3 thousand got saved where they were it must have still been in service at the local baptist church.
Anyway, the entire idea is rather disagreeable in my opinion and has little actual backing in Scriptures. It is just another example of my church and how contradictory it is b/c the people won't study the Word and the implications of it or read the writings of church fathers.
Again, sorry for any confusion and sorry if I offended you in not posting sooner.
-Brother Luke
