Lighting the Way

I had an idea while sitting in church yesterday. Something I would like to do at our church maybe.

We attended our home church this past Sunday, and they have an "altar call" at the end of every service. That's where you can go forward and pray at the altar if you want to give your life to Jesus, or if you need to pray for something and you want everybody to know, or something like that. I've never been too into this idea - for several reasons - though I have nothing against those who make this their practice. But it made me think of something else.

See, while the preacher was asking people if they needed to go to the altar, I kind of looked around, and it seemed that some people were really wrestling with some things in their mind/heart. And, while I don't like the altar call idea, I did begin to wonder if it would help people to have SOMETHING to "do" - some kind of symbolic gesture to make a "statement" or to "mark" a decision. And I thought of "Lighting the Way."

I'm thinking, rather than praying at the altar, what if you could light a candle? Not only as a way of making a statement, but also as a symbol of adding Christ's "light" to the situation. Say you're struggling with some sin - you could go and light a candle as a way of saying, "God, I want to give this over to you and ask you to help." Or maybe you want to do something like quit smoking - you go and light a candle as a way of saying, "Today I'm giving this over to God and am marking this day as the day I quit by lighting this candle." Or... maybe you want to light a candle for someone else - maybe you're praying for them and you just want to make a way for yourself to know that you're giving this concern to God. Or maybe you DO want to ask Jesus to guide your life - it's a way to mark this decision as well.

Jane told me this was perhaps similar to what Roman Catholics do. I am not familiar with the practice. But if so... I like it. I like the fact that you can "do" something to back up what you've "decided" in your mind.

I'm not real sure about how to go about it though. I don't know what kind of candles to use; where to put them; how to have people do it; how to handle the situation in general; or if anybody else would be interested. I would appreciate any thoughts or ideas anyone else might have if you care to share.

As always, I'm just thinkin' out loud.