IN MANY PARTS of Northeast India, pulpits in the churches have been misused a lot. The sanctity of the pulpit has been diluted, and that is one of the reasons so many crimes, corruption, bribery, killing, and disrespect for parents and elders among the young people are growing.
When we talk about the pulpit, it is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin pulpitum (platform or staging). In short, the pulpit is a place where heaven and earth meet, a place where God talks with His loving children through the preachers or messengers. This pulpit must be respected and honoured.
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The pulpit must be used only for preaching the word of God and prayer for God’s glory only. In North and South Indian churches, the sanctity of the pulpit is still prevalent compared to that of the Northeast churches. Over there, the pulpit is used only by ordained pastors. One of the reasons the sanctity of the pulpit is highly maintained in North and South India is that many of them are from other faith backgrounds. In their culture, they highly value and respect the place where God’s word is preached.
In the gospel of John, chapter four, verse 24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The pulpit must be kept holy, and as we find in the Bible, what He wants from us is to worship God in spirit and truth. That is the reason we must keep the pulpit where the word of God is preached, holy and respected. We must not use the pulpit to share with the congregation about our own ideologies, philosophies, thoughts or ideas or about politics.
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Pulpit is not a place where we have to act and speak like a comedian, glorify people or worldly things. It is a place where only God’s word (the Bible) has to be given glory and honour. The pulpit must be a place to preach the word of God boldly.
When the preachers use the pulpit rightly to preach the word of God with the help of the Holy
Spirit, many hardened hearts are penetrated by the Holy Spirit through the word of God and lives are changed.
Praise the Lord! In the past, the pulpit was highly respected and honoured by our people compared with the present. We have to restore the pulpit to bring only the word of God so that the lives and minds of people can be changed, so that souls will be saved.
Unfortunately, worshipping God in the church becomes like we are in some secular program. Instead of focusing on the word of God, the committee focuses on the sound system, the dresses or individual songs. When the time comes for the word of God to be preached, people are already tired and exhausted and don’t have the energy or the interest to listen to the word of God.
Recently, I came across a short video where the speech of PM Modi’s visit to Manipur was telecast inside a church. In another short video, a lady was eating gutkha inside the church. Not only does the pulpit become a circus place as many preachers crack jokes to make the congregation laugh, but the pulpit is so desecrated and becomes a place to glorify oneself, or tribe, promote their denomination and their own achievements.
When the pulpit is not kept holy, the sanctity will be lost, and instead of a blessed place, it can become a place of curse for the congregation.
The preachers must keep in mind some points when they occupy the pulpit:
The pulpit must always be approached with the fear of God: As the pulpit is holy, we must preach only the word of God. As the pulpit is the place where we convey the message of God to the congregation, we must respect, honour and keep the place holy.
Whoever occupies the pulpit must always remind themselves they are God’s messenger. It is not a place for the preacher to share his thoughts or ideas. It is not a place for comedy or to make people laugh. The pulpit must be used only to glorify the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The gospel or the word of God is the alpha and omega for the pulpit. Amen!
The pulpit is a place to share biblical foundations: The word we preach from the pulpit must be from the Word of God (the Bible). It is not a place to appreciate people, and it is not a place for a preacher to praise himself. It is not a place to share about the tribes and denominations.
The pulpit is a place to respect, honour, and preach only the word of God to the congregation.
When God’s messenger occupies the pulpit, the congregation must prepare themselves to listen to the word of God. The congregation must open the heart and mind and prepare to listen. They must keep themselves away from gossiping or watching mobiles.
The pulpit is a place where thousands of people lives are changed. Praise the Lord! The pulpit must continue to be a place where people’s lives are changed by the Holy Spirit.
In order for the congregation or people to respect and honour the pulpit, the messenger of God must prepare himself with prayer to share from His Holy Word, the Bible. He must not share about himself, but only and only Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and only Him to be glorified.
The word of God must be listened to with invitation from the Holy Spirit, and we must try to learn something to put into practice in our daily lives. Through the changes they live, they will impact society, and reforms and transformations will take place due to the changes in people’s lives.
Last but not least, I want to encourage the pastors and church leaders of Northeast India to pray together, to try to restore the dignity of the “Pulpit,” and to give it a priority by respecting and honouring it.
Let the pulpit remain a place where God speaks to individuals through His messenger and where the Holy Spirit visits us. May God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, continue to use the “Pulpit” as a place where thousands of hearts and minds are led to repentance by the Word of God.
(The author is the Pastor of The Journey Church, New Delhi. He can be reached at letlal.haokip@gmail.com)
(The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ukhrul Times. Ukhrul Times values and encourages diverse perspectives.)