The Altar Call: The Origins and Present Usage - Hardcover

Bennett's engaged history serves as a reminder that traditional practices should not be immune from scrutiny. * Doxology * David Bennett's history of the altar call is the best sort of engaged history. Many historians have commented on the practice of inviting serious inquirers to the front after a service of Christian proclamation as a part of making a decision for Christ. Until this time, however, no one has worked out the history of the practice so well, and only a few have evaluated its theological significance as carefully as it is evaluated here. -- Mark Noll, Wheaton College David Bennett's history of the altar call is the best sort of engaged history. Many historians have commented on the practice of inviting serious inquirers to the front after a service of Christian proclamation as a part of making a decision for Christ. Until this time, however, no one has worked out the history of the practice so well, and only a few have evaluated its theological significance as carefully as it is evaluated here. -- Mark Noll, Wheaton College Bennett's "engaged history" serves as a reminder that "traditional" practices should not be immune from scrutiny. * Doxology *

The Altar Call is a thorough examination of the public invitation practice within Christian evangelism. In addition to giving a comprehensive historical background that spans three continents, The Altar Call also poses the following question: If John Wesley, George Whitefield , and Jonathan Edwards are regarded as the great figures of modern evangelicalism, why did none of these important leaders practice the invitation system that became so important in so many later evangelical groups? This important study will be of interest to both religious scholars and lay people, who are curious about the antecedents, development, and current use of the altar call.