When Pulpits Loomed Large

Tom, I and our 11-year-old William attended an organ concert yesterday afternoon at the historic Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Milwaukee. Built in 1878, the old church still has all the original pews and pulpit and flooring. (Charles Spurgeon was in the prime of his ministry across the Atlantic when this church was built.) It’s one of the most gorgeous and acoustically perfect churches in the city with a marvelous old organ. We went to hear a renowned organist from Germany, Uwe Karsten Gross, and it was a lovely hour and a half. We arrived early, uncertain of available seating but we were the first ones there. Tom met a music colleague, Dr. John Behnke, from Concordia University Wisconsin, and Dr. Behnke graciously took us upstairs to the organ loft to meet Professor Gross. William, who is a serious piano student and aspiring organist, was thrilled to have him explain the pipes and the stops and demonstrate the various colors of the organ’s sound. What a treat.

As we sat waiting for the concert to begin, we noticed the old German-style pulpit that literally hung off the wall over the congregation. The pastor would ascend the pulpit from a little staircase at the back. Above the pulpit is a little roof designed underneath in the shape of a shell to help spread the sound of the pastor’s voice long before microphones and speakers existed. The photo on this post is a similar design from another German church. (I didn’t have a photo of Trinity’s.)

“Imagine preaching Dr. Seuss from that pulpit,” Tom commented. His reference to Dr. Seuss comes from a very bad experience we once had at a church Thanksgiving service where a young pastor got up in the pulpit and began his sermon with the words from Green Eggs and Ham. We consider it a low water mark in our church experiences. I have been thinking this morning about Tom’s remark and how apt it was. The pulpit at Trinity was dominant in the church because it represented the dominance of the preaching of the Word. The early conservative Lutherans very much believed in the preeminence of the Word of God and even their architecture spoke of it.

What a serious matter it is for a man to ascend into a pulpit and minister the Word of God to a congregation. How could any pastor view his role with anything but holy fear and trembling when you consider what an awesome thing it is to pastor a flock of Christ’s sheep? When I read of Scottish preacher Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s weeping before the Lord over the names on the church roll, it makes me glad for the people that were under his care. M’Cheyne understood what so few pastors today understand—it is a holy calling and it should be carried out with intense prayer.

We live in an age when a rebellious church is being pastored by equally rebellious pastors, men who are stained by the world and the flesh and who care only about their own temporal, numerical success. They use the name of Jesus but desecrate it by disobeying the commands of Christ Himself. It is a time of wandering for many serious believers who find themselves without an earthly shepherd, and without a congregation of like-minded believers. Many of us long for a day once again when the pulpit looms large in our churches; when pastors have utter confidence in the power of God’s Word to change hearts and lives. We long to see faith in action, answers to prayer and souls converted by the power of the Gospel.

When I find such a pastor’s ministry, I always feel tears prick my eyes. Here’s another that hasn’t bowed his knee to church-growth Ba’al! When I discovered the ministry of Pastor Jeff Noblit of Anchored in Truth Ministries, I knew that here was another who understood his office. We are bringing Pastor Noblit, Lord willing, here to Milwaukee this Saturday night for a VCY America rally. If you are within driving distance, please try to come to hear him. He is preaching on the subject, “Building True Churches in an Hour of Apostasy”. For more information, you can call 800-729-9829. Please pray that Christians in this very needy area of Southeastern Wisconsin will come to hear this timely message. I’m praying that God will raise up some young men in this area to become ministers and evangelists for the encouragement of the remnant and the saving of souls in this part of the country. I know God is bringing Pastor Noblit here for a reason. May His will be done.