The Culture of Conversionism and the History of the Altar Call - Paperback

by Jason Cherry (Author)

How is it that the history of the central methodology of the American church has remained largely ignored, unprobed, and untold? For two hundred years it was the routine of American Evangelicalism to give an altar call at the end of church services. Many people may think they know the history of the altar call. They know is started around the time of The Second Great Awakening camp meetings and they may connect it in some manner to Charles Finney. And yet there has been a gaping hole in American church history regarding the foremost evangelical methodology. This invigorating new history of the altar call fills that hole, describing the cultural and theological context out of which it was born, the individuals who systematized it, and the lasting results that persist in the present day.

Author Biography

I am a deeply flawed husband, father, friend, and employee who, through faith, is completely dependent on the mercy of Jesus Christ. I have irrational fear of EF5 tornadoes, green peas, and personal bios. I once owned a female cat named Jeri that was a candidate for exorcism. I have the useless ability to spot a toupee (Bob Costas is my next study; look into it), but have yet to figure out how to harness my powers into Bill Gates level wealth. Sometimes I wonder if Stevie Wonder is really blind (Exhibit A is when he caught the microphone that Paul McCartney accidentally knocked over). My most frequent dream casts me back to the glory days of high school basketball...and I dribble off my foot and the ball lazily rolls out of bounds. Science has interpreted the dream to mean you are supposed to buy my book. Perhaps my greatest weakness is my fondness for cottage cheese. Don't hold it against me.