Ministers may still sound a call to decision, but they generally address it to unbelievers, asking them to open themselves to Christ, rather than to believers, asking them to take up the cross of discipleship. The Reformers remind us that even the righteous need to be converted. The call to decision is a call to live out the implications of the law as well as to acknowledge the truth of the gospel. We resort to apologetic argument rather than biblical exposition, to psychological manipulation rather than to proclamation of the good news of salvation. Part of the problem lies in the lifestyle thrust upon the pastor, who is expected to be active in the community as well as to keep the church's wheels turning.
Most pastors give up study first, then prayer usually follows.
John Calvin insisted that study is almost as important as prayer. This study, moreover, should entail not only the Bible but theology, for at its best theology is commentary on Scripture for the present age. The virus that infects our contemporary worship also contaminates much traditional worship. Evangelicals who are rightly unhappy with the poverty of liturgy in their services would for the most part be equally unhappy with Catholic and Orthodox services, which give the impression of burying the Word in liturgical rites rather than allowing the Word to renew and perhaps transform our ceremony. Perhaps as a means of avoiding the rigorous wrestling with Scripture and theology, we direct our energies to mastering skills in church management and communication.