What does the pulpit look like at your church?
In many European cathedrals, pulpits are placed high above the floor. Other churches use a glass or metal pulpit. Some churches use a music stand, or may not use any pulpit at all.
In my office, I have a simple wooden pulpit from a church in England given to me as a gift years ago. I display it to remind me of the primacy of scripture and of the specific calling God has given me as a minister.
I have also seen a wide variety of pulpits in use around the world. In grass huts, simple concrete buildings, or even while worshiping outside, ministers often use pulpits as they proclaim the good news about Jesus.
But the most stunning pulpit that I have ever seen was in Sudan’s Nuba mountains a few weeks ago.
This pulpit was from a church that was bombed by the Khartoum government. The church was destroyed, and shrapnel shredded the pulpit.
When I interviewed the pastor of this church, he shared that when their church building was bombed, his people fled to the mountains. Now many of them live in caves.
But one thing that they couldn’t bear to leave behind was the pulpit from their church building. Now it stands as a reminder to them, and to us, that the Church will never be destroyed.
We may have scars, to be sure, but “the gates of hell will not prevail” against Christ’s Church!
Watch this short video and celebrate with the church that uses a shrapnel-ridden pulpit each week as they worship under a thatched roof.
Next time you gather at your church, please remember to pray for our Sudanese sisters and brothers. May the pulpit at your church remind you that we are part of the larger community of believers around the world.
Dr. Jason Peters oversees Global Partnerships and travels frequently to meet with our persecuted sisters and brothers. He has ministered in 39 countries, as diverse as Cuba, India, Sudan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Nigeria. Jason ministered as a military chaplain for more than 18 years, with assignments at the Pentagon, the US Air Force Academy and as a faculty member of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, where he directed Crisis and Trauma training. Jason and his wife Kimberly lived overseas for several years, where two of their five children were born.
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