 |
| "The Pulpit" |
Backstory: A few of my closest friends live and serve in "Bako." Namely, Gabe and Staci Woodward and Pastor Steve Swartz. Outside of my home church Grace Bible Church is one of my favorite places to worship and preach. This past year Pastor Steve invited me to come and preach three sermons during a Sunday-Bible Conference. It was my joy to preach to such a hungry (1 Peter 2:2-3) congregation. After one of the services I commented to Steve how amazing his "sacred desk" is. I said it is the nicest and most preacher-friendly pulpits I have ever preached from. He explained that a member from the congregation custom made it for him. Special features included "ostrich skin" on the surface of the pulpit to keep one's sermon notes from sliding.
Steve went on to say, "I will introduce you to him so you can let him know how much you enjoy it." Long story short, this dear brother said he would love to build me (a guest preacher) an exact replica if I would be interested. Interested? Yes! But the cost of such a great piece of architecture- not to mention the challenge of getting it from the West Coast to the Midwest seemed insurmountable. Many months later on August 4th, 2017 my "gift of gifts arrived!" As I have testified before on this blog Christmas has come early and often for me this year.
The Pulpit- Two of the most sacred pieces of furniture in any Christian sanctuary are the Communion table and the Pulpit and here's why: The communion table holds the bread and the cup (which symbolize the body and blood of the Savior, Jesus Church); while the "sacred desk" holds the inerrant Word of God.
The Word-centered Pulpit has been called "the throne for the Word of God." This fits the language of Scripture where in 1 Peter 4:10-11, the apostle Peter writes,
"As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
I have yet to preach a sermon worthy of the masterful construction of this pulpit and of the Holy Word of which I weekly proclaim. Nonetheless, I seek to "fulfill my ministry" by proclaiming God's truth, one verse at a time (2 Timothy 3:16-4:5).
Post-Script: The Word-Focused Ministry of the Protestant Reformers
The centerpiece of Luther’s ministry was his forthright preaching in the pulpit. He believed the preaching of the Word must hold the place of preeminence in the church. “The pulpit,” Luther asserted, “is the throne for the Word of God.” He added, “The highest worship of God is the preaching of the Word; because thereby are praised and celebrated the name and the benefits of Christ.” The renowned Oxford scholar Alister E. McGrath comments, “For Luther, the Bible was central to the life and thought of the church, as it was to the personal devotion of the individual Christian.” Luther was clear that his fundamental commitment was the preaching of Scripture, for such preaching is the primary means of grace God has given to His people.
Such a Word-focused ministry represented a radical paradigm shift in the sixteenth century. At that time, the preaching of the Bible was completely lost in the Roman Catholic Church. Sermons had been reduced to short homilies in Latin, a foreign language to the uneducated populace. Worse, they espoused tradition-bound Roman dogma. These deluded messages were delivered by unregenerate men who did not even believe the Word. Rather than preaching, the Mass occupied the central place in the Roman church. This left the pulpit relegated to the side in the typical Roman Catholic church building, with the altar in the center. Thus, the Mass was elevated as the primary means of grace, while the preaching of the Word was eclipsed.
Excerpt from Steven J Lawson.
