In the larger picture of things, shouldn’t rededication be a part of the Christian journey? I think you would agree with me here. Even after we are saved, that doesn’t exempt us from sin…sometimes we stumble and sometimes we fall away for a longer period of time. But when we confess our sins and repent, we return back to God and get back on the Christian path. Maybe we should clarify on the definition of rededication to renewal in this sense. One of the parts of Christian journey is about renewal after all right?

Churches often times fail at bringing young believers (children) to understand what the decision to follow Christ is all about. Maybe they offer a new Christians class, but this happens after conversion and usually for a month or shorter. Perhaps we can learn from the early church and the use of Catechumens as a method of early discipleship. I think way too often we don’t teach and train and educate people into what they believe.

Case in point: we had 30 people check off they had accepted Christ at our Super Week this past summer, but after checking the records, half of them had already been baptized into the church. Hmmm…

I’ll add that I believe people feel like they need to make these rededications because the pastors/preachers/churches are often high-pressure people. For example, they may have an altar call at the end of every service, even if everyone in attendance is a member of the church. Also, I think it’s sometimes the result of selfish or insecure preachers. They may sincerely hope that their preaching is having some kind of impact, and they may feel like they can judge that by decisions made or number of people crying at the altar.

I think the pressure and guilt by the clergy is more responsible for all the rededications than embarrassment.

And I’m not sure embarrassment is actually that much of a factor. In church, people are told that they can’t lose their salvation, that they won’t change overnight, and that they have to let Christ change them. I think all three of those statements are true (but maybe a little incomplete), so I think it makes perfect sense, to a layperson who has already made a public profession of faith, to rededicate.

If they were dealing with embarrassment, why make a public decision at all? Why not just make a private decision?

So, as you can see, I have mixed feelings on this. I don’t see it as biblical, but I don’t see it as anti-biblical, or anything. And I agree, people probably do it too often, but I don’t think that that necessarily means they shouldn’t do it at all.