We just completed a renovation of the sanctuary at our church in honor of our 175th Anniversary. As a part of that renovation, we got a new pulpit (pictured above). The following is an excerpt from the introduction of my first sermon
in it, which I hope served as an appropriate dedication of the new pulpit and a fitting reminder of the fact that the pulpit matters
because the Word of God preached from it matters.
Christians of the Greek Orthodox tradition have a wonderful saying
about church architecture, which says, “A beautiful church is a sermon in stone.” In
other words, the architecture of the church itself says something – the
cruciform shape of the sanctuary, the vaulted ceilings and large
columns that force your eyes upward to heaven and remind you of how
small you are, the symbols of different aspects of the Christian faith
used throughout. The artistry of the building is a sermon all by itself,
a sermon in stone, as the Greek Orthodox say.
Well, when we as a church decided several months ago to renovate our
sanctuary, I knew there wasn’t much need for me to weigh in on the
decorative decisions because we had a great committee who was very
capable of making those decisions. And haven’t they done a wonderful
job! But I did want to have input on one thing. I wanted to have input
on the new pulpit. And not for the reason you may think. It wasn’t just
because I would be the one preaching from it. In fact, I hope our new
pulpit is here long after I’m gone, so that’s not the main reason I
wanted to have input on it. I wanted to have input on it because I
wanted the pulpit itself to be symbolic of what we believe and value as a
church. I wanted it to communicate something all by itself. I wanted
our pulpit to be more than just a piece of furniture; I wanted it to be a
sermon in wood. I wanted it to be a symbolic sermon all by itself.
So in a day and age in which many churches are moving away from even
having pulpits, I wanted someone who walked into our sanctuary (even if
it was empty and even if they knew nothing about us) to see our new
pulpit and say to themselves, “This looks like a church that values the
Word.” In a day and age in which pulpits seem to be getting smaller and
smaller, I wanted us to have a pulpit that no one could miss…and I think
we’ve succeeded! So if you’re wondering why our new pulpit is so large,
the reason is because I wanted it to serve as a symbolic reminder to me
and to anyone else who preaches in it of the weight and gravity and
significance of the task of preaching. Puny pulpits too easily lend
themselves to puny preaching. Lightweight pulpits are too susceptible to
lightweight preaching that’s shallow and superficial. And we don’t want
puny, lightweight, superficial preaching at First Baptist Church!
In a day and age in which biblical, expository preaching is lacking, I
wanted us to have a pulpit that serves as an ever-present reminder that
the regular, consistent preaching that should happen in our church is
the preaching of the Word of God. That’s why “Preach the Word” is
inscribed on the front of the new pulpit. And in a day and age in which
the gospel is being distorted and even denied, I wanted us to have a
pulpit placed right in the center of our sanctuary with a cross right on
the middle of it, so that we remember that what is central here at
First Baptist Church is the Word of God and what is central to the Word
of God is Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen from the dead. So,
that’s why there’s a cross right in the middle of our new pulpit.
Therefore, our new pulpit is more than just a piece of furniture. Our
beautiful, new pulpit is a sermon in wood. But here’s the challenge
that lies before us – will the sermons that flow
from that pulpit match
the sermon that
is that pulpit? Will what comes
out of it match what is
on it? Will the actual sermons match the symbolic sermon? Because I’ve
seen, and I’m sure you’ve seen, many a beautiful church building whose
architecture preaches a wonderful symbolic sermon, but the actual sermons
in those churches seem to speak of another God entirely. I’ve seen many
a large, beautiful pulpit and yet what flows from those pulpits is a
far cry from the Word of God.
So yes, the symbolism of our new pulpit is significant, and it
matters. It says something, and it says something really important. But
it’s not enough. Our new pulpit must be more than just a symbol. We need
the actual sermons that flow
from that pulpit to match the symbolic
sermon that
is that pulpit. We need sermons that recognize the weight
and gravity and magnitude of being a messenger of the very words of God.
We need sermons that point us to the cross of Calvary, that are
centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we need sermons that exposit
the truth of Scripture, that preach the Word of God, that recognize
that "man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from
the mouth of God," that recognize that "faith comes by hearing and hearing
through the word of Christ," and that recognize that "the grass withers
and the flowers fall but the word of our God will stand forever."
