Baptist preachers

[IainH]

Our new pastor is a Baptist and Baptists hold to the prescient view of election and decision theology, fine whatever floats your boat. Sermons always end with an altar call to "accept Christ as your personal savior" week in week out. I call it "First Stepology" it's baby food and it's boring. There is no meat. I find that this borders on an obsession with adding fresh souls and little else. I have friends who are Baptists that hunger and thirst for more. I find myself filling the role of teacher for these folks, well there's only two so it's not much of a class but, they are learning and they're finding joy which is awesome, praise the Lord.
Question. Is this focus on getting people saved the primary object in the training of Baptist ministers? I ask because these friends of mine are woefully ignorant of knowledge past salvation. It pains my heart somewhat.

[Ed Hurst]

As former Baptist preacher, I can assure you that your summary is very nearly accurate. They have this obsession that if they do not prod the next soul into a decision, then that person might "die without Jesus." They talk spiritual birth, but they always congratulate themselves if they can get someone to say the right words and do the right rituals -- a "public profession of faith" and baptism. Of course, any inkling of post-decision "discipleship" is equally cerebral. The whole thing is a matter of "renewing the mind" via conditioning. But you can be sure that Baptist preachers put an awful lot of resources and effort into "getting people saved."

I call it filling churches with spiritual stillborns.

[jaybreak]

As former Baptist preacher, I can assure you that your summary is very nearly accurate. They have this obsession that if they do not prod the next soul into a decision, then that person might "die without Jesus." They talk spiritual birth, but they always congratulate themselves if they can get someone to say the right words and do the right rituals -- a "public profession of faith" and baptism. Of course, any inkling of post-decision "discipleship" is equally cerebral. The whole thing is a matter of "renewing the mind" via conditioning. But you can be sure that Baptist preachers put an awful lot of resources and effort into "getting people saved."

I call it filling churches with spiritual stillborns.

Sounds like a psychological numbers game. How repulsive.

[Ed Hurst]

Sounds like a psychological numbers game. How repulsive.

It is. I refer to it as sales-pitch evangelism. It's little more than promoting a club membership.

[IainH]

Spiritual stillborn, that's good. No, that's accurate, people believe they're going to heaven but, they ain't and that's the problem with decision theology. The pitch used to be a get out of Hell free card, if you made the right choice. Nowadays it's the threat of being "left behind" woooo... Big bad anti-Christ is gonna git you. Which begs the question why do they spend so much time and energy on something they say they won't be around for? Dispensationalism is bizarre, if you dig into it. No one I've met who adheres to it has even a basic understanding of it's teachings beyond the "Rapture" and Left Behind novel series fantasies.