The old saying is, "As goes the pulpit, so goes the church/congregation." In general, sound preaching helps produce sound thought and action "in the pew," while loose preaching tends to produce loose thoughts and ways among the listening members. It is a fact that "a strong pulpit" (strong, scriptural messages) can help strengthen a church and help keep it headed in the right direction. On the other hand, it is just as true that "a weak pulpit" can play a decisive role in weakening a church and moving it in the wrong direction. Yes, the role of public preaching can, indeed, have a major effect on a congregation. In fact, the preaching that a congregation receives has the potential to influence it, not only at the present time, but also for generations to come.

When foolishness goes on in the pulpit, the shepherds of the flock have the duty to step in and put an end to it. They have been entrusted with the care of the flock of God, and they must not allow false doctrine or a lack of respect for divine things to be sounded forth from the pulpit of the congregation in which they serve. When false messages are put forth, elders must be ready to hold fast the faithful word and use it "both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers [convict those who contradict, NKJV]" (Titus 1:9]. This requires that overseers have (1) the Bible knowledge to recognize falsehoods when they hear them, (2) the genuine care for the welfare of the sheep that will cause them to actually take action rather than be silent and wish for the poison/problem to just go away by itself, and (3) the courage to deal with those who teach falsely.

Again, it is obvious that the preaching that is done in our church buildings is of great importance. Congregations act wisely when they proceed deliberately and cautiously in extending an invitation to any brother to come and preach during their services, whether it be on a full-time basis or just for one occasion.

That being said, in some instances today there appears to be too much pressure put on the pulpit. Case #1: Sometimes the idea seems to be that if a congregation is having problems, then the solution is to give the preacher his transfer notice (spelled "fire him"), and get somebody else in here who can help us clean up this mess. The rulers of a congregation have the right to hire a preacher, and they also have the right to unhire him. If the preacher was/is part of the problem(s), and efforts to deal with the problem(s) have not turned out well, then it may be time for the church to inform the preacher that he will no longer be serving as their evangelist. Sometimes, for the good of the church, that unpleasant step needs to be taken.

But, listen, please. A new preacher, though he may be a solid, sound, soul-oriented man of the Book, cannot turn an unfriendly group of people into outgoing-eager-to-greet-visitors-at-the-door folks. A new preacher (or an old one, for that matter) cannot turn a domineering elder into an humble servant. A preacher cannot come in and force a couple that is living in adultery to give up and get out of that relationship. Nor can he stroll in and put an end to teenagers smoking and talking disrespectfully to their parents. Is it possible for a preacher to be aware of such in-house problems and address them in his lessons? Sure. He could, and should, in due time present biblical lessons that deal with members being friendly, the danger of being a Diotrephes (3 John 9), God-approved marriage, the use of tobacco, and proper respect for parents and other adults. Can his lessons be instrumental in helping people learn the truth? Absolutely. Is it even possible that his lessons will prick people’s hearts and play a role in their decision to get out of darkness and turn away from their sins? Yes. But, the preacher is not a machine that can come in and in the course of ten months or ten years remove all troubles and sin by his preaching. Churches put too much pressure on the pulpit (meaning the preacher) when they expect public sermons to be the single avenue that can get rid of every mess and keep sin out of the camp.

Case #2: A congregation is not enjoying the numerical growth that it would like to see. The leaders of the church conclude that the preacher is at fault. What is the problem? His sermons are not powerful enough. Hardly anyone responds to the invitation. The church is just not baptizing many people, but it would, it is convinced, if it could get a more dynamic orator in the pulpit. So, the evangelist is given a message from the elders. It might be a direct statement, or it could be an indirect hint, but their point comes through loud and clear: either he starts getting more people to "walk down the aisle," or else they might have to consider a change that would be in the best interest of the church. Translation: Preacher, either you produce numbers, or else your time with us is short-lived. Brethren, that is unfair pressure on the pulpit and the man who fills it.

We sometimes hear about brother So and So getting huge responses when he preaches in gospel meetings. If people genuinely obey the gospel from the heart (Romans 6:17,18), whether it is one person or one hundred, let God be praised. But it is not fair to any faithful gospel preacher to start comparing him to others. God’s preachers are not in competition. If I were to be in the keeping-track-of-numbers game, I would double-dog dare any preacher of this era to compare his preaching results (meaning converts, in this context) with what happened on the great Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41). About 3000 received the word and were baptized that day. Not even those who are purported to be "somewhat" (Galatians 2:6), the so-called big names among us, can produce those type of statistics. Brethren, it is unfair and unscriptural to try to pressure a preacher into preaching in such a way that he gets a high number of baptisms or responses.

Read the Book of Jeremiah and see how many converts Jeremiah made. Do not bother getting out your calculator, because you do not need a calculator when the answer starts and remains at "zero." Did that make Jeremiah a failure? Many of Jesus’ disciples left Him (John 6:66). Did that make Jesus a failure? When Paul preached at Athens, the great majority of those that heard him rejected his message (Acts 17:22-34). Did that mean that Paul was not an effective preacher of the gospel? No. Were those great preachers of God ever pressured by Him to produce numerical results, or else? Never.

We, too, share the desire for the church to be free from all internal havoc and iniquity. We also "Amen" the longing for the church to enjoy true numerical growth. However, my brothers and sisters, putting pressure on the pulpit to "make us grow" and "clean up all our messes," that is an approach that is unrealistic, unscriptural, and is doomed to failure. Public preaching is a needed element of the church’s activities, but it alone is not some type of wonder drug.

-- Roger D. Campbell