Altar Call

Tim Stair

It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a church service when an altar call is given. Considering Pastor Daryl’s black Pentecostal style and that it’s a warm night where we are, just outside New Orleans and inside the yellow stucco of Salvation Church, I confess my radar perks up. I’ve seen this stuff done so badly and people exploited. I like Pastor Daryl. I want to trust him, but between the Pentecostal style and the altar call my internal yellow caution lights are flashing question marks in my heart and mind.
Pastor Daryl launches into the invitation.

Now I don’t want a dead church,
but I also don’t want to just play church.
You know what I mean. (Yes. Yes. Preach it Pastor.)
The kind where they come and get all excited (Yes. Amen.),
but afterwards, when they walk out those doors, (My, my)
they’re back to playin’ around just like they’ve always played around, (That’s right!)
and they were just playin’ church too. (Yes, Lord.)
Now, I am not interested in that kind of church and I don’t think God is either. (Amen. Amen.)
But if you want a new walk with God (Yes.)
and don’t want to just be playin’ at it (Yes, that’s it.),
then I invite you to come up here and not hold back. (Amen. Preach it now.).

The song leader, Pastor Daryl, and the choir launch into “Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus,” Jesus their friend, Jesus their Lord who woke them and told them to “run on.”

Two women have come forward during the singing. The first is sturdy, vibrant and young, probably not more than eighteen or nineteen. The second is older, I would guess approaching forty, but she could be younger or older. What is clear to me is that she’s likely seen more than you would wish on someone. Who knows what it’s been, but it’s marked her—her posture, her countenance, her eyes. 

She’s left four children back in the pew to come up here. Some of the church sisters quietly move into place to oversee them if needed. They look to range in ages from two or three to eleven or twelve. It’s hard to know if they are her children or grandbabies she’s helping to raise.

The first young woman has been joined by another from the choir, clearly a friend, who has placed an arm around her and is quietly praying with her. Pastor Daryl approaches them and speaks with them quietly. The young woman speaks with him, indicating she wants to know God better, learn to follow Jesus and be baptized. He tells her to talk with Sister Louise, his wife, and they’ll set an appointment to see her together. He quietly prays with her and thanks her for her courage. So far, so good.

He approaches the older woman who is kneeling. He lightly touches her elbow and helps her rise to her feet. He still has his microphone on; I can see the red light. He speaks to her, gently.“What did you come forward for, Sister? You were up here last Sunday, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I just need a closer walk with God.”

Pastor Daryl smiles kindly. “I can appreciate that, we all need that.”

He turns with her now to the whole congregation which, understand, is about fifty to sixty people, but he keeps his eyes focused on hers.
“Now, Sister, I want to tell you something, but it is something we all need to hear.”

My internal caution lights are flashing but not too rapidly.

“You don’t need to come back up to the altar every time you feel you need a closer walk with God. None of us need to. You, and all of us, just need to keep coming together, staying in the Word together and walking with each other. And Sister, you keep coming and I promise we will keep walking with you, whatever you are going through. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

He is standing tall now as he asks her this question. And somehow, she is standing taller too. She smiles and says a firm “Yes. Thank you, Pastor.”

Whatever he has done and however he has done it, she walks back to her seat with her head held higher and a touch more lightness in her step. I have my answer. I notice my internal caution lights have stopped flashing.
—Tim Stair, Goshen, Indiana, is pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing from Murray State University. He is also a consultant with Mennonite Health Services Alliance. Until the end of 2008 he had been Minister of Calling and Outreach at College Mennonite Church. “The Altar Call” is part of Salvation’s Storm, a larger piece Stair is working on regarding the experience of Salvation Church in Pearl River, Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. Through a set of existing friendships, College Mennonite Church formed a relationship with this congregation after the storm.