Worship Service Altar Calls Are for Justin

A Story in the West Side Church Series

Worship Service Altar Calls Are for Justin

“What is Justin doing walking down the aisle towards me,” I thought as I stood at the front of the church during the response hymn following my sermon.

He is one of the most faithful men in the church. Not that he has any formal leadership position. He does not. His wife, Carol, has several roles. Justin is always volunteering to do various things around the church.

I quickly reviewed a list of possibilities. He wants to rededicate his life to Christ. He needs to share a serious prayer request. He has finally decided to transfer his membership to this church. I do not think he wants to declare that God is calling him into vocational Christian ministry.

As he arrived at the front, I reached out to shake his hand, and placed my other hand on his shoulder, and said, “Justin, what brings you to the altar this morning?”

Humbly he declared, “I need to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior today.”

He wants to what? I caught myself in mid-thought and realized I needed to respond to his request.

“Yes, Justin, you can receive Jesus today. This very minute.”

We prayed. He received. I cried. He cried. Then he announced his public profession of Jesus, and the congregation applauded.

Several weeks later I baptized Justin as a testimony to his Christ commitment.

Shock and Lament

The Justin experience that day was one of my highest experiences of joy as pastor of the church. Also, one of my lowest feelings of sorrow and mourning about my ministry.

My shock was that I thought Justin was a Christian. His life seemed to be an example of our loving God. His marriage to Carol was one of great redemption as her first husband had deserted her and their son. Justin later came into her life and embraced her, adopted her son, and they had a daughter together.

He had never expressed himself as a leader in the congregation. I knew he had not joined the church yet as it was always said that he was not ready.

My lament was that I had interpreted this as he – certainly a Christian – was not ready to join our church yet.

Justin was a very quiet person. I never asked him about his spiritual condition. Others had shared their interpretation of his spiritual life with me and confused it with church membership.

My lament was that I had also. I had respected Justin’s privacy in this matter, and never asked him about his spiritual situation.

When I think about Justin now almost 50 years later, I still have the emotion of lament.

A Growing Relationship

Over the next years and decades, Justin had a growing relationship with God and with his church. Leadership roles even became something with which he was comfortable.

My wife and I also had a growing relationship with Justin, Carol, her mother, and their children. We were in their home multiple times.

Fifty years later we still hear from them at Christmas.

Justin and Carol lived a long distance from our church. Carol’s mother lived in the church’s neighborhood. When her mother died, Justin and Carol connected with a church closer to their home.

About 25 years after Justin walked down the aisle, I had a contact from a retired ministry colleague. He was the interim pastor of Justin’s church. He said Justin was the chairperson of the pastor search committee.

In getting to know Justin’s story he discovered that he credits the ministry and relationship with Betty and George Bullard for his deepening journey of faith.

I disagree. It was the unconditional love of God. It was His amazing grace. Betty and I happened to be God’s servants at a particularly important time in Justin’s journey.

Altar Calls Are for Justin

None of us ever know with whom and in what way God’s Holy Spirit is working in the lives of every person. We likely ought to know more than we do. Life and ministry are at times too busy. We do not have or take time to know the spiritual journey of every person with any depth.

We call people to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Yet we often do it without directly inviting people to step out, come forward, respond to how God’s Holy Spirit is moving and working in their lives during a service of worship.

There are many Justins out there we do not know about. Our church processes will connect many of them to salvation and other spiritual callings from God.

Some others need to come to the altar amid God’s Holy Spirit empowering their walking. If we do not call them to the altar, they may miss the moment of salvation for them.

Our failure to call them forward should be a time of sorrow and lament for us. When we call people forward, we may be surprised by God.

Altar calls are essential for every congregation. They were made for Justin and everyone else for whom we do not know their spiritual situation. We do not know the timing or content of God’s Holy Spirit working in their lives.