Oswald Chambers and Altar Calls, Yea or Nay

I have read about half of a book about Oswald Chambers (1874-1917). Most people know of him because of the book "My Utmost for His Highest," a devotional put together by his wife after his death at 43. The book I am reading is called "Abandoned to God" by David McCasland. Chambers’ parents were both baptized by Charles Spurgeon. When Oswald was 17, he went to a Spurgeon meeting with his dad, who was also a pastor. He remarked that if there had been an opportunity he would have given his life to Jesus that night. His dad told him he could right then and that night he surrendered to Christ. I was quite surprised to read that Spurgeon did not typically give an altar call. I would never have guessed that but read that that practice originated with Charles Finney, that Spurgeon was aware of it but didn't practice it. He instead encouraged hearers to talk to an elder or come to his office to talk about it. An altar call is an invitation to come forward and make a public confession of faith in Jesus Christ or to pray a prayer with someone leading them through some form of the "sinner's prayer." The basic argument against altar calls is that they rely on emotion, can be construed as manipulative, and the person may be making a decision prematurely. If a pastor or speaker is tuned into the Holy Spirit, he or she would presumably have a sense of whether or not this was what God wanted him or her to do. There is indeed the possibility that giving an invitation or an altar call could very well be a tradition that has become less effective in encouraging true conversion than we have thought. I never questioned altar calls myself. If people want to come forward, they should come forward, if they don't, they can come another time. But sometimes preachers pressure people by saying something like, "If you don't accept Christ as your Savior right now, you might not have another chance.” While people may not have another chance, exerting this kind of pressure could indeed be considered manipulative. The Lord doesn't need to manipulate anybody. Chambers himself apparently preferred discipling people, training them, teaching them, interacting with them, rather than just getting people to make a decision. Anyway, Oswald Chambers was a very interesting person. Although he was raised in a Christian home, he was widely read, an artist and a musician. He loved people and animals and children and they loved him. I am always interested in reading about the personal life of famous people. Often, I like the stories about them better than the things they wrote. I enjoyed reading about his eight-year relationship with a person named Chrissie, with whom he eventually broke up before he met Biddy, his wife-to-be, so I was very interested in following up on that story. When Oswald died of complications following a surgery for a ruptured appendix (blood clots on his lungs), he left his wife and young daughter, Kathleen. Biddy compiled and had his writings published and he became much more famous after his death than he was during his life, although his death was a terrible loss and a shock to all who loved him. I can only imagine. The book is filled with his journal entries, letters and poems, and I am enjoying learning the story of his life, the love that he had for people and his complete surrender to his beloved Savior, Jesus Christ.