The Unique Place

Preachers should always be careful about what they carry into the pulpit.  The only thing which should be carried into the pulpit is a Word from God that is based on the Word of God.  But, there is always a temptation to use the Word of God as a crutch to support something else the preacher wants to say to the congregation.  It is an understandable temptation and any preacher who denies ever having given consideration to succumbing to it is probably not in touch with the whole truth. 

 

Preachers are hopefully people who have heard a Word from God which sent them out to preach the Word, but everyone I have ever known is also human.  Very human.  Just like everyone else.  During times which might be characterized as contentious and difficult, preachers may be tempted to take their case to the congregation in the guise of a sermon.  The preacher always errs when the sermon is used to enlist support for his or her side when the only side they are to enlist support is the side of Christ.  And while it is important to be as relevant as today's news and not be afraid of the things consuming culture's conversations, the task of the preacher always remains proclaiming the Word of God instead of being another political commentator.

 

Preaching is a hard task.  It is a demanding task.  Anyone who does it and takes it lightly needs to find another profession.  When the preacher stands in the pulpit to preach the Word, the world stops to listen not because the preacher is a spell binder, but because people are in need of a Word which connects them to God and enables them to understand that life inside His will is what really counts.  There is no place except where the preacher is preaching that people can go and rightly expect to hear the Word of God.  The pulpit and the preacher stand in a unique place in this upside world of ours.  It is a shame, a tragedy, and a sin when the preacher waste the opportunity provided by the God who called and the people who come to listen.