Where's the pulpit

OUrs is in the middle.. The church was built that way...

But personally, I like it off to the side...

 

The world is a pulpit, it was for Jesus, it should be for us.

 

At the church I am serving as interim pastor, it is in the middle and at the front of a rather large platform, but it was on a rather small elevation when I arrived. I said something about nearly falling off that little space, as I am not a quiet preacher, and the very next Sunday I came in to find a much enlarged elevated space! Who knew it would be that easy!

In the church I served as pastor, however, it was off to the side of a rather cramped platform, and I did feel inhibited sometimes. It had been relocated from its original central position because one of my predecessors moved the church into liturgical worship.

 

Traditionally, the pulpit was always in centre of the platform because the Bible and preaching was central in all Baptist practice and polity. So, there is significance to having the pulpit centered.

Similarly in the Church of England, the altar is centre and back along wall. The pulpit is elevated and off to right side whilst a reading table is off to left, putting the scriptures up front .

Cheers,

Jim

 

our pulpit is in our equipment room. It is huge, our stage comparatively small, and its presence did not allow for much movement (OK, any movement) onstage.

Not to say our pastor preaches from the equipment room. We use a simple black music stand.

 

What pulpit?

 

Depends.

At HSBC, our pulpit though "massive" can be moved, either to the side or out into the overflow room in the back. This is done when we need the full platform for weddings and the like.

At the Russian EC-B church we attend, the pulpit is on the side. They use the full platform during the services.

Some time in HSBC's history, Pastor Wenigar had both a pulpit and a lectern on the platform. I was told his reason was he didn't want to share the pulpit with lady missionaries giving their reports from the field.

 

You are banned and 2nd class Christian. No pulpit for you, ma'am.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Calm yourself, Jim.
A. The arrangment didn't last past the early fifties.
B. Pastor Wenigar also wore a morning coat on Sunday mornings. Again, this didn't last past the early fifties. So, you might think of him as a gentleman of the old school.
C. He retired in 1977.
D. HSBC (a downtown Historic "Northern" Baptist church) does tend to be a tad "high" church. Good night, we even have a robed choir on Sunday mornings.

 

Rob't K

I did mention in another thread that I started out in 1945 in England.

In Canada, in the early days we wore striped mourning trousers and coattails and waistcoat as our formal dress. Same for weddings and funerals. This lasted into late fifties when we went to mourning trousers, but shorter coat. Coming from the Church of England, I tended to be more formal and wore a clergy collar and Geneva gown when I preached. I was an oddball in many Baptist circles and certainly in the USA..I wore a regular suit and tie when I preached in American churches. It helped to keep the peace...(smile)

The pulpt in Canadian baptist churches remains in the centre even to-day and the pastors usually wear regular suits and ties for services. I don't travel much anymore, so I can't speak for all 540 churches across Canada.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Our wood stand replaced the big huge pulpit a few years after I came. I wish the change had been as easy as Brother Smith's!

But it is in the center for the reasons Jim mentioned at the beginning. But I am usually only there when I start and when I end. I tend to wander when I preach.

 

Our pulpit is on the side because as a pastor to the deaf I memorize most of my message and tend to keep only a brief outline and my Bible there to refer to if I forget something. I also tend to 'wander' as I preach as Bro. Bryant so elegantly put it.

I mean wander physically and not mentally, BTW.:laugh:

 

Sometimes both for me... :laugh:

 

The etimology of the word pulpit shows it originally meant the platform itself rather than that tall stand behind which a preacher stands. But taking it in the sense of the latter, I still said "Other answer" because our church hasn't used one of those in a long time. It doesn't matter much to me personally, but there are some who say that thing is a 'divider' meant to put 'the reverand' in some higher position to be feared and not to be questioned; and you gotta admit, there is a similarity between a church's pulpit and the judge's bench in a courtroom.

Most of the time the speaker is miked and 'preaches' without notes; sometimes there is a podium which is virtually transparent and it can be almost forgotten that it's even there.

 

we want an acrylic (clear plexi-glass) pulpit; but those suckers are expensive!

For now, we'll stick with the black music stand.

It's nice...because it's portable. We bring it up when the pastor comes up to preach. For us, it works out OK. We've only had two complaints...and they have come from two people whose spiritual gift is criticism.

 

Is that a tithe box on the front of this famous Baptist preacher's pulpit?
What are the light bulbs next to the slots for?

 

That is what it looks like. Maybe the light bulbs are indicator lights that lets you know if you need to put more in the box. :laugh:

 

Our pulpit is pushed over to the side against the wall. Our current interim does not use it, but uses a lecturn sitting in the center of the front platform. he doesn't hide behind, but covers the whole platform while he preaches. I tend to do the same thing when I get the opportunity to preach.