Before it's everlasting too late.

Many Presbyterians think of the “invitation” in terms of revivals; many of those my age remember seeing on television hundreds of respond to Billy Graham invitations to accept Jesus. We may associate the invitation with tent revivals, Southern Baptists, evangelicals of Pentecostals, but take a closer look at the directory for worship: W-3.3501 An opportunity for personal response may also be provided during this time.

Although largely ignored by white Presbyterians majority African American Presbyterian Churches almost universally offer an invitation to Christian discipleship, or as it is often put; the preacher “opens the doors of the Church.” I was instructed in this practice at the first church I served as pastor, which was an African American Church. I faithfully opened the doors of the church week after week after week, with only a very occasional response. After months of this I went to the session suggesting that this was bad psychology and we should only do it once a month. D. L. H..... looked at me over the top of his glasses and said “boy (this was a sign that I learned to pay attention to) you never know, the very Sunday that you don't open the doors of the church might be the very Sunday some one has come to church to give their heart o=to Jesus.” That ended that discussion, but I found out that D. L. was much wiser than I. The very next Sunday when I opened the doors of the Church Annie B. J...... got out of her pew and came down the aisle. I don't think she had ever attended that church before, I certainly had never met her, although she lived within shouting distance of the church. The session met with her following the service and she said she had been sick and wanted to be saved before it was everlasting too late. She seldom missed Church in the subsequent months. She was sick, she had terminal cancer. I was her advocate when she was turned down for social security disability and we won the appeal. I was at her bedside as she was dying. Neither of ever regretted that she came down the aisle before it was everlasting too late.

Carl W..... was too ill to walk down the aisle, in fact he was too sick to leave his house. He asked one of his friends who was an elder in the Church what he needed to do in order to join the church. The elder brought the question to the next session meeting and we agreed to call him and arrange to visit him in his home. He said he was home and we could come any time so the session walked down the street and heard his Christian testimony and received him on the spot. We informed the congregation and kept him on the prayer list until he had recovered from his illness and began to attend on a regular basis. He joined the usher board and eventually became their treasurer.

Archie C....'s wife was a long time member of the church but he was a very occasional attendee. He had never been a member of any church, in fact he had never been baptized. As we became acquainted I discovered that he had been a heavy drinker and a gambler. According to him he had done some very bad things. As time went by he became more and more faithful in his attendance, always sitting on the very back pew in a section with a number of other older men. I discovered that he had been visiting several of the sick and shut in members of the congregation and one of the older ladies told me that he said the most beautiful prayer. Many of us asked him why he didn't join the church, but he said he had been a very bad person. We talked about forgiveness, about God's grace, but he continued to hold on to his seat in the back pew. He said he hoped he wouldn't wait too late, but he was waiting for the Holy Spirit to move him. Every time the doors of the church were opened there were many prayers going up that this would be the day that Archie came down the aisle, but years went by and Archie held tight to his seat in the back pew. We thought of wiring his seat to give him a shock so he might think it was the Holy Ghost moving him out of that pew. The day finally came, and Archie did walk the aisle, there was much rejoicing in Grace Hope, and presumably also in heaven. I baptized him by immersion in the 80^th year of his life. In the process of drying off and changing clothes I ended up packing up Archie's towel and he mine. We never made the exchange. I still have the towel, although it is only a dust rag now, but I think of Archie every time I use it and how he finally got saved before it was everlasting too late.