How many of you have a pulpit in your church? I am sure the vast majority do. We had an interesting object lesson taught at church a few weeks ago, on the pulpit that stands at the front of our church.

To describe it to you, it really is more of a podium that a pulpit. It is clear, standing about four feet tall. The person that gave the object lesson started out by saying that when he came back to our church after an absence, one of the new things that he noticed was the pulpit/podium. He went on to say that the pulpit is on a solid base, much like a Christian is, with God as their base. This particular podium has a cross in the middle of it, which is also a cross support for the podium. If we have a cross as the center of our lives, representing Jesus, then we should stay strong. The front and back are in the shape of an hour glass, signifying the fact that we have only so much time here on this earth. The top is slanted toward the reader, which is the way that God’s word should be. There is a ledge at the edge of the podium, that holds everything on the top, and we need edges, or guidelines, around us keep everything together. Finally, the podium is clear…you can see right through it. He mentioned that usually when you are in front of a crowd, you want something to hide behind, but you can’t hide behind this one because you can see through it. That is the way it is with God, we can’t hide from Him. He sees everything we do.

Who would have thought that there were so many object lessons in this podium? When the preacher got up to give his message, he said that the reason he got this particular pulpit/podium was because it was clear. He didn’t want to consider himself better than anyone else in the church, which can be the silent message that is projected through a pulpit. I considered that as I remembered the pulpit that was in my previous church. It was raised, so that it sat higher than the congregation, it was made of some kind of dark wood, very large and impressive, and now that I think about it, it made me feel like I was somehow inferior. I also know that one of the ministers, who had been there my whole life before he retired, didn’t use the pulpit too often. Instead he came down to the level that we were, sometimes leaning against one of the pews, to give his message. That just describes the kind of man that he was. He wanted to speak to us as human to human, not making himself to be anything special, or any better than anyone else.

The next time you are in church, and your preacher gives his sermon, take notice of the podium/pulpit, if there is one. Does it say anything about the type of church, or the preacher that is using it?  There might be more of a story there than meets the eye!