altar call

i hated altar calls. so unoriginal, so bland, so overdone. so stupid how every altar call you supposedly give your life back to Jesus and to do what, just fall right back into sin? there's no point in altar calls, it's just an image thing. that was running through my mind today, where we went to a praise night in san jose. the speaker invited us to pray with him on stage; what a clever way to rephrase the typical altar call. i sat in my chair, not planning to go up like a fake christian. i was sure that there would be no difference in my life if i went up there or not, so i decided to just sit. then i thought if repeated altar calls mean nothing, then is repeated confessions mean nothing? if an altar call is meant to be a one time thing, why does every speaker stress the importance of it, if they know every other damn person out there is calling for one? an altar call is not a moment to proclaim your christian-ness. it's a time to renew your trust in God and everything He stands for. It's not about your image, it's about the image you show others when you say "yes, i am a christian. and yet i come up to this altar because i do not fully grasp God, and im here now to show you that i know what i have is not enough." so yes, i proudly admit that the holy spirit inspired me to walk out to the altar without following anyone, the first time in my life i've ever done that. i didn't care who was looking at me, because i had a goal, a goal to be restored. because the times are going to be changing soon.