Simple Church Minute 60--pulpit and stage

60—pulpit and stage

NOTE:  I originally wrote a segment for each of the 61 points Frank Viola and George Barna make in their book, Pagan Christianity, about traditions in the institutional church not based on scripture.  After writing it, I chose to not include this segment merely as I felt that in wouldn’t be an interesting radio commentary.

My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute

            The word “pulpit,” as used to describe structures in a church building, is derived from a word that means “stage.”  When church buildings were first introduced, sermons were delivered from what was called the bishop’s chair.  Later, sermonizing was moved to the ambo, a structure derived from Jewish synagogues.  The speaker was on a raised stage so the speaker could be seen, as the people has no seats.  Later yet, came a pulpit, in the sense of being a podium-like structure from which to speak behind and to potentially hold books and notes for the speaker.  Prior to the Reformation, the altar, from which the Eucharist was performed, was the central focus of the church.  With the Reformation, the pulpit took center position on the stage, as reformers like Calvin considered the sermon to be the centerpiece of the worship service.  At this point, there was a symbolic division, the pastor on the stage, and the laypeople off the stage.  The 18^th century brought about pulpits being placed high in the air as a result of a trend of people buying and decorating personal box seats to watch a sermon, with the elevated pulpit so others could see the preacher above the decoration.  Recent years, along with social trends toward greater informality and technology, have brought about smaller stands like a schoolteacher might use, and the clear acrylic stand, which implies transparency, clarity and being contemporary.  In all post-Reformation cases, it and the person using it, become the focal point of the room.

            First Thessalonians 5 verse 11 tells us to comfort one another and edify one another.  The pulpit reinforces a clergy-laity division and an audience-performer dynamic, antithetical to this verse’s directive, as the most highly trained leader and the newest believer can only edify by the work of the Holy Spirit.

            You..

Simple Church Minute--pastor's chair, stained glass windows

30—pastor’s chair and stained glass windows

NOTE:  I originally wrote a segment for each of the 61 points Frank Viola and George Barna make in their book, Pagan Christianity, about traditions in the institutional church not based on scripture.  After writing it, I chose to not include this segment merely as I felt that in wouldn’t be an interesting radio commentary.

My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute

            Today, I mention two traditions in some traditional church organizations, but cannot be found in the Bible.   The first is a special chair for the pastor or priest to sit in, sometimes plain, but usually ornate.  How’d it happen?  Back in the Roman Empire, a judge had a special chair, robe, and music in the courtroom.  As Roman pagan priests rose in influence, their temples copied the majesty of the court, including the special ornate chair.  When Rome legalized Christianity, the ornate chair was copied for the bishop, who over time became the priest.  The Reformation brought the word pastor for the person officiating over the congregation, the chair was made less fancy, but in many churches, the special chair exists today.

            The second tradition is stained-glass windows.  After Rome got church building started, the architectural style went from basilica to Byzantine to Romanesque.  At that style, which is about the 6^th century, Gregory of Tours introduced stain glass to the church building.  Sugar, abbot of St. Denis, took it to another level by having sacred stained glass paintings made for Gothic cathedrals.  This style is to this day renowned for their beauty and quality.  The architects were influenced by Plato, who taught that sound, light, and color had mystical meanings, and could induce moods to create a sense of splendor and transcendence.  Gothic architecture, with its excessively high ceilings, combined with the colorful windows, was made to create a sense of awe.  During that time, though, priests were mainly taught how to do ceremonies, the common person had no access to the Bible, and there was a great lack of spiritual light, which we now call the Dark Ages.

            You…