Standing in the Pulpit

I am of the conviction that we should, as much as we can, have reasons for everything we do as a church. This includes having reasons why your sanctuary is set up the way it is, such as the position of the pulpit, the communion elements, and the like. Everything symbolizes your beliefs, or lack thereof, about something.

The obvious example of this is the pulpit. The reason most Protestant churches have their pulpit front and center stage is to symbolize the centrality of the Word. The Word of God is the central thing we gather around as a church on the Lord’s Day.

I want to consider for a moment what standing in the pulpit symbolizes. When I say standing in the pulpit I literally mean standing behind the pulpit to preach.

I believe that it is important to stand behind the pulpit to preach based on what it symbolizes. As a preacher literally stands behind the Word, it symbolizes that he stands behind the Word. The Word is what leads us, guides us, and keeps us in line. We don’t go to the right or to the left of it, but right in line with with it.

It also symbolizes that the Word is the focus of the attention, for the preacher and the congregation. The people of God are not there to watch the pastor perform, but to be given and fed the Word. The pastor stands behind the Word, as if he is simply a server delivering the food of God’s Word that has been prepared and made edible.

In the same way, it symbolizes that it is not the pastor who is there to be put on display, while part of his body is literally covered up by the pulpit, but it is Christ that is on display.

Finally, when a pastor is free to simply stand behind the pulpit and deliver the Word it symbolizes that the Scriptures are sufficient. Both for the pastor and the congregation. There is no need for a show or performance, for the Word is enough – not in a “just enough to get by” sense, but in an overflowing happiness “more than enough” sense.

This of course is no hard and fast rule from the Bible, I am simply exploring what how we preach symbolizes. Even if you disagree with my conclusions, I hope you consider these questions, “Is the Word the center?” “What is my preaching style symbolizing?” And, “Is what I symbolize more important than my preferred style?”