The Anchor

Some preachers have no use for a physical pulpit because they think it anchors them to one place.  What they want to do is to move one waiy and then another without anything restricting that chancel area wandering.  Over the years of preaching it never seemed that the pulpit forced me to be stationary in preaching, but instead, it kept me anchored lest I wander too far.  There is no argument here about the pulpit being an anchor point, but sometimes we fail to see to what we are anchored.    

One of the first things I often did when arriving at a new preaching appointment was to get out whatever historical record might be available and read the list of preachers who had come to my new pulpit before me.  It helped me be serious about my preaching to realize upon whose shoulders I stood in that pulpit.  Another thing which I always did was keep an open Bible on the pulpit.  It is ok to have one to wave around in the air, but the open book of Scripture reminded me to keep my preaching anchored in the authoritative Word of God. Maybe some might find the past tradition and the Scripture to be outdated anchoring points, but they both are important for relevant preaching in the present.  

And finally, the pulpit anchored me to the "Thus saith the Lord"  tradition of the Word of God.  When the prophet's messages thundered across the landscape, it carried more clout than just a man's opinion.  Both the prophet and the people undestood that the Word being spoken was the voice of God being spoken through a human preacher.  Perhaps, this is the most frightening thing to today's preacher.  To speak in such a tradition requires not just a boldness in proclamation, but a strong conviction that preaching is not just a speech given at a civic club luncheon, but something unique and holy that is not spoken anywhere else in the world.  To this bold conviction faithful preachers are anchored and the pulpit as unique as it is in our world shouts a clear reminder of what is at stake.