Recklessness behind the pulpit

I was saved at the very young age of seven. It was during Vacation Bible School at Elm Street Baptist Church. It was an experience I’ll never forget. I felt true conviction after hearing the Gospel, and the pastor of the church, Adral Hall, thoroughly questioned me of my knowledge of Christ. I realized that I was lost and on my way to hell without a Savior. I also knew and believed that God sent his son, Jesus, to earth to die for my sins so I could be saved. I knelt on the altar and poured my heart out and asked Jesus to save me and I accepted Him as my Savior. I was baptized not too long after that. I wish that I would've had someone to take me under their wing and teach me the things of Christ. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Oh sure, I was took to church every time the door was open and attended Sunday school every Sunday. But I never received much Bible instruction at all when I was young.

As I got a little older I began paying more attention in church. I would listen intently of what the pastor or preachers were saying. One Sunday we were having a particularly spiritual service with many people shouting, crying, walking around, etc… In a Baptist church we call that “having a good service.” I was enjoying myself watching others and I felt happy. Then, it happened. The preacher made the following statement from the pulpit, “if you aren’t feeling the Spirit then there must be something wrong with you and you might want to consider whether or not you are saved.” I was flabbergasted. While I was enjoying the service, as a 10-year old boy I had no desire whatsoever to shout, run, or cry like many of the adults were doing. I felt that I must not have really been saved. I agonized over this for weeks. I would lie in bed at night and worry and cry and wonder what was wrong with me? I started noticing at other services the preacher making similar statements such as; “if you don’t feel like shouting then you might want to check up on your Salvation!” My fear kept building up and I began going to the altar to pray. Folks would come down and pray with me and I would feel a little better but still worried. I guess I did this off and on for 3 or 4 months. Finally one day I decided that I hadn’t really been saved when I was seven and I made another profession of faith. I was even re-baptized.

It wasn’t until I was in my late teens or early twenties that I come to the realization that I was truly saved at 7-years old and it was the recklessness of that preacher that had caused me to doubt my salvation. It was then that I decided if I ever became a pastor, preacher, or teacher that I would never say anything to make someone doubt their Salvation. It is not the job of the preacher or pastor to convict hearts; it is the Holy Spirit’s job. The preacher or pastor is the deliverer of the Gospel message. I fear that too many times, ministers are desperate to see people come to the altar and they say things to make people doubt their Salvation. How irresponsible of the man of God. Also, nowhere in the Bible will you find where people all had to have the same "feeling" or "experience" in order to be saved. It's an individual thing. The Holy Spirit deals with hearts on a personal basis and just because one person may feel like shouting doesn't mean that someone else should feel the same way. Not only that, just because a person shouts or says "Amen", does not mean they are more spiritual or closer to God either. I've seen many a shouter put on a big show and minutes later look stone cold. I've got more to say on this subject but I will save it for another posting.

One big flaw of the Baptist church, or at least the ones I am familiar with, is the lack of training provided to new Christians. It’s almost as if all churches want is to see people get saved, slap a new Bible in their hands, dunk them under the water, and send them on their merry way, just so they can add another name to the roll book. There should be follow up with each person that makes a profession of faith in Christ. If it’s a young man that gets saved then the pastor, a deacon, Sunday school teacher or other male officer of the church should be responsible for seeing that this happens. If it is a female then there should be some Christian ladies in the church to take on this responsibility and the pastor should hold them accountable. Perhaps we would see less “church jumpers” and more church workers if this happened.

I’m not sure why I wrote all of that. I guess it has been building up all of these years and now seemed to be a good time to let it all out. I pray that if you are a pastor or preacher of the Gospel that you will consider my testimony and reconsider the next time you make careless statements about one’s Salvation. Remember, it is your responsibility to present the Gospel, let the Holy Spirit worry about convicting hearts.