May 17, 2006
Spanked From The Pulpit
There are times when a young child’s temper tantrum calls for a swat on the behind. I can remember thinking that when I grew up I’d be too old to be spanked, but I was wrong. If you have an ear for church politics you can pick out sermons that include a ‘verbal spanking’ for someone in the congregation. In many cases it’s easy to identify the target, but other times you look at one another and ask, “Who do you think that was intended for?” Over the last few years we’ve had repeated verbal spankings directed toward our older members. They’ve dared to ask for the music volume to be turned down, or for hymns and praise music to be balanced during congregational singing. It’s sad when church politics are woven into the message, but I guess the one holding the microphone also holds the paddle.
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Gail;
----Excellently said!
----The man who stands up in the congregation, as called by the Lord, and delivers any message has a tremendous responsibility to hold to the truth. The more highly the congregation holds the speaker, the more this responsibility increases. And the less the congregation is studious in the Bible, then even the more is added to the responsibility. Peter states, "If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God." (I Pet 4:11).
----I suspect the contemporary preacher thinks Peter meant that anything he preaches from the music stand (formerly a pulpit) is certainly the word of God. It is sad to see the contemporary preacher's behavior bear witness to this suspicion. I have written many letters to our preacher about the partiality of the leaders, and most of those letters have drawn a defensive reply from our preacher nestled in his next sermon. What a comic act! I so distressed him a few weeks ago that through the first third of the sermon he crossed the stage to the furthest west wing of pews, where I sat, to face straight at me thirteen times before he even once turned to face those on the other side of the room.
----Many preachers and leaders fail to consider that Peter really meant they were to actually limit their message to only the concepts of the Word of God. The pulpit is not the place for opinion, personal philosophy, or doctrine embellished beyond what is written. And the authority of the pulpit is most definitely not for taking positions above others by use of intimidating remarks or by the manipulation of mass appeal. God's people are called to be pure in heart, and that requires feed pure in Biblical content.
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