Poor little guy.

As I Christian, here's what I think about this...

1) The church should have made it a choice for both the adults and the youngsters whether they wanted to come to the altar or not. From what Langston wrote here, it seems like they were peer-pressuring everyone a bit and that can lead to dishonest confessions of faith or even, like what happened with the younger version of the author, a complete mistrust in God.

2) No one is going to be saved unless God works in his or her heart. I think that's very important for Christians to remember. As believers, our job on earth is to be a good witness for Christ: to spread the gospel and to love and help others and to pray for everyone. Without that, people wouldn't have a chance to come to God. However, trying to make people confess Jesus or something like that isn't going to help anything. I have heard of people who've waited and prayed for years and years and sometimes even decades before a loved one finally left their sin and came to Christ.

3) Being saved isn't necessarily about feeling something profound. God can work like that where He touches your heart deeply, but essentially salvation is simply a choice: the choice to turn from your past and your sins and to put your trust in Jesus and in the sacrifice He made for you on the cross. ( )