This is the first of seven parts of The Graham Formula video
on www.youtube.com
Welcome
to The Society
for Effective Evangelism
Dedicated to the reformation
of modern evangelism.
If
you're a pastor or evangelist, you probably know the truth:
About 90%
of seekers that come forward in altar calls don't join a church.
We call them "backsliders " because
we can't be honest about the scandal of modern evangelism.
The Society for Effective Evangelism
exposes the reasons for this tragedy, and provides
a Biblical alternative.
Please join us in the fight
for eternal souls.
"...to
him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it
is sin."
James 4:17
The
Facts:
Before the 20th century, evangelists and
pastors were ecstatic if 10% of the people who came forward
for "altar calls" received salvation. D.L. Moody was
one of the last famous evangelists to employ sound evangelism
practices throughout his career.
Seekers
were taught and individually counseled at "after meetings,"
specifically designed to help penitents understand the condition
of their souls. They confessed their
sins, and received individual instruction and prayer, but were
never led in any kind of formula "salvation prayer."They were never told they were saved.
The reported conversions were called "hopeful" since
all understood the deceitfulness of the human heart. Pastors
understood salvation to be a mystical union of God and man,
orchestrated by the sovereign God. Before admittance
to an evangelical church, new believers were examined for evidence
of true conversion. This included power over sin and the witness
of the Holy Spirit.
The
"Sunday Conversion"
Billy Sunday started his ministry using sound
evangelism practices, but by the end of his 39 year career,
he eliminated many of the safeguards used by his predecessors.
He saw no need for pre-salvation counseling, so he eliminated
the "after-meetings" and inquiry room. His
mass production techniques resulted in an astounding number
of "conversions." It seemed too good
to be true. It was. For
More information on Sunday's "name it and claim it"
conversions, click here.
Newspapers
routinely reported 100% conversion rates of those that "walked
the sawdust trail." "Hopeful
conversions" were replaced with universal salvation for
all who walked forward to shake Billy Sunday's hand.
All reputable evangelists after Sunday had to deal with the
fallout of spurious conversions and "Elmer Gantry"
excesses. "Sunday conversion" became a derisive term.
The Group Formula "Salvation
prayer"
Billy Graham brought back the
after-meetings and inquiry room. He employed excellent sermons,
trained altar workers and exhaustive follow-up programs in a
formula for success that according to Graham, resulted in a
25% success rate. But in the 1950's he started leading large
groups of seekers in a group "salvation prayer."
What
started out as a temporary, questionable, timesaving device
because of a shortage of counselors at crusades is now accepted
as THE normal practice in thousands of churches across America.
The narrow path has
become a four-lane highway.
Many pastors and evangelists continue
to report a 100% salvation rate for all who come to the altar,
but they know better. Charles E. Hackett, national
director of the Assemblies of God home missions said, "we
realize approximately 95 out of every hundred will not become
integrated into the church." Church Growth magazine reported
a 6% retention rate for 18,000 decisions. American Horizon magazine
reported a major U.S. denomination in 1991 retained only 5%
of their "converts." In 1995, a leading U.S. denomination
reported 384,057 decisions. Only 6% were retained. Peter Wagner
admitted only 3% to 16% of those who make a decision at crusades
end up responsible members of a church. Ted Haggard wasn't as
optimistic. "Only three to
six percent of those who respond in a crusade end up in a local
church." 1
Understanding
The Facts There's
a plausible explanation for these statistics.
The modern retention rate of 3% to 16% is about the same as
the salvation rate reported by evangelists and pastors before
Billy Sunday.
Up until the 20th century, the hard (and deeply spiritual) work
of dealing individually with penitents yielded true salvations
and a minimum of spurious conversions. Seekers were taught that
salvation was definite, complete and identifiable.2
The scandal of modern
evangelism is not only are we converting 80%-90% of the seekers
into "backsliders," we're inoculating them against
the truth. By giving them a small but deadly injection of hope,
and then telling them they're saved, we've made it more difficult
for them to contract real salvation.
For More information, please read The
Graham Formula by
Patrick McIntyre
To read excerpts of The Graham Formula,
go to www.christianebooks.com.
Pastors, and those that want to evaluate the book
before purchase can download the PDF book for free. CLICK
HERE
The Graham Formula books are available WITHOUT COVERS (covers have been cut off because they were damaged) for $20.00 FOR 10 BOOKS (that's $2 per book) plus shipping.
Footnotes:
1.
Pgs 61-64, The Way Of The Master, Ray Comfort, 2004
2. "Definite
and complete" includes not only a definite and complete
atonement, but also the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and
the supernatural impartation of a new nature which overcomes
the old nature. "Lack of sanctification" was never
used as an excuse for backsliding. Sanctification was always
taught as a going forward from "glory to glory."
No pre-20th century evangelist would ever say a person was
backslidden if they never showed any sign of having forslidden.
They would be told they were never saved.
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