I’ve preached from a variety of pulpits. One was ornate polished marble (would its voice have an “upper crust” English accent?). Another was translucent smoky plastic (what voice do you suppose it would have?). Some have been portable handcrafted pulpits – like the beauty my son-in-law made from cherry and walnut trees cut down by a nephew. Some have been massive. Some have been too short for me. Some tall pulpits come equipped with a step stool for shorter preachers.
Once I was asked to speak to a group of men who met monthly on a large deck that overlooked a picturesque lake. Custom dictated that the speaker sign the homemade pulpit. Introducing me, the host said: “Let’s welcome Bostrom to the rostrum.”
Our church’s pulpit in South Carolina was an antique shipped from Scotland. The preacher stepped up to enter this pulpit. The preacher who followed me found it too confining and chose another style. Some preachers find any pulpit too confining. Some take their shoes off before approaching the pulpit. This is holy ground.
“Pulpit” is from Latin – “pulpitum” – “raised structure on which preaches stand.” Note, this is not the “desk” where we place our notes – but the platform – perhaps even a stool. Street preaches, like John Wesley, were advised: “It is an immense advantage to stand on a stool or chair, some raised platform, when speaking to a street crowd” (“Definite Directions for open-air Preaching,” by Gawin Kirkham).
Although a pulpit presumes a preacher who stands, in some cultures, preachers sit. The Latin word for the seat from which these preaches spoke was called a “cathedra” – hence the building was called a “cathedral.”
An unusual use of “pulpit” is “coward’s castle” – defined as “the place where a clergyman may speak without fear of contradiction.” Who would not desire such a place of privilege? Teddy Roosevelt popularized the term “bully pulpit.” Preacher, beware!
As a young man, Mark Twain had two grand ambitions – to be a riverboat pilot and to be a preacher – a Presbyterian minister at that! He became a pilot – but never a preacher.
At thirteen, his daughter, Susy, wrote about her father “He doesn’t like to go to church at all, but I never understood why until just now. He told us the other day that he couldn’t bear to hear anyone talk but himself, and that he could listen to himself talk for hours without getting tired. Of course, he said this as a joke, but I’ve no dought (sic) it was founded on truth” (Writings, 37:83).
Then there was the time Twain heard a fine sermon. He thought, “I’ll put $50 in the plate!” But the preacher went on. So, Twain thought: “I’ll put $45 in the offering.” Finally, when the sermon was over, Twain took $5 out of the plate. What do we do with a preacher who goes on and on?
Using “pulpit” in the original sense raises other questions: “Upon what does the preacher actually stand?” “What does he proclaim from this advantaged place?”
A preacher I love once told me the truths of 2 Corinthians 4:5 had significantly impacted him: “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” With his son, this preacher had traveled to India to meet Chandra, a pastor he respected. When they arrived, the Indian pastor read this Corinthians passage to my friend and asked him these questions:
“Do you preach yourself?” My friend wisely responded, “I try not to.” We want to preach Christ and His Word. But, since we are our own frame of reference, we can still preach ourselves.
“Do you preach Jesus Christ as Lord?” He responded, “I hope so.” If we do not, our churches are merely another sociological phenomenon – a club.
“Do you preach yourself as a slave” (we better translate this word as ‘slave’ than the softer translation of ‘servant’) “to God’s people for Jesus’ sake?” My friend answered: “No, I do not.” The Indian pastor replied: “You are right. No independent American would preach that he was a slave.”
Some sermons rely on actions – not words. As you consider what preachers preach, those who take communion may be startled to learn that the Bible calls you a preacher. “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you ‘proclaim’ (from Greek – “katangello” – “to announce publicly” – “preach”) the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). The Lord’s death – the cross of Christ – My Life for Yours – the love of God confirmed – is a platform so inspiring that your participation is a megaphone declaring that you stand upon what Christ has done. When you take communion, you preach Christ.
“Preach” is from Latin “prae” – “before” (see “pre”) + “dicare” – “to proclaim, to say.” Preaching is literally “declaring the first things.” Taking communion is preaching the gospel to yourself and to others. In communion, you give preeminence and priority to the gospel – this is the message that goes before whatever else you have to say.
Again, what is the message of communion? “Receiving the Eucharist is rooted deep in the soil of not-doing. In this intentional, disciplined passivity we become aware that the work of salvation is far wider and deeper than just us. In God’s saving work, God does for us that we cannot do for ourselves, so we simply let God do it. The Eucharist puts Jesus in his place: dying on the cross and giving us His sacrificed life. And it puts us in our place: opening our hands and receiving the remission of our sins, which is our salvation” (Eugene Peterson, “Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places,” pp. 202,203).
My favorite physical pulpit is the one that gave me a surprise. As I climbed the spiral stairs of the pulpit in the sanctuary of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, Georgia, just before I rounded the last corner to see the congregation, a brass plaque quoting John’s Gospel momentarily stopped me. The quotation was from John. John tells of foreigners who had come great distances to Jerusalem for the Day of Atonement. They told Phillip: “Sir, we would see Jesus” (John 12:21). Exactly; what a message from the pulpit for the preacher.
Christian, you are a pulpit. Preach Jesus from the pulpit of your life. Some have come far to see him.
