Mass Invitations

Well, maybe not new thoughts, because I've expressed them before in other threads.

We run the risk of deceiving as well as manipulating when we do certain kinds of invitations.

We deceive when we say or imply that we must "come to the front" to be saved. We deceive when we invite people to "come to the altar," when there is no such place in a Baptist church.

I can hear someone now getting ready to type that Jesus called for a public confession before men. True--which is what happens when we are baptized.

I have seen the worst kinds of manipulation on the part of the preacher to get a response, any response. They act as if the Holy Spirit is nowhere near the place. And in some cases He may not be.

I'm convinced in my own mind that there is a connection between manipulative invitation techniques and the bloated membership rolls in many Baptist churches.