The late gospel preacher Leroy Brownlow reportedly said, “No church will ever outgrow its parking lot or its pulpit.” If I might presume to modify that, I would add, “No church will ever outgrow its parking, its pews, and its pulpit.”
Whether that should be the case or not is another discussion, but I think it is the case. When people can’t find a place to park or a place to sit, they will start looking elsewhere to worship. This has been proven true so often that there is a science to the number of parking spaces and empty pews that will allow for church growth to take place. If that percentage is not present, the church will plateau and begin declining until it reaches that percentage.
But, what I want to focus on in this article is the statement, “No church will ever outgrow its pulpit.” While one may be able to find a rare anecdotal exception, I believe the statement is true. How will a church grow more knowledgeable than the one who feeds them? If the preacher is deficient in his knowledge of God’s word, then it only stands to reason that those who are fed by him will also be deficient.
But beyond knowledge, I believe it will be rare to find a church possessing love greater than that which is demonstrated in the pulpit, grace greater than that which is shown in the pulpit, and commitment to Jesus greater than that which is demonstrated in the pulpit.
The preacher has a unique position in a congregation. He will either facilitate spiritual growth and development or hinder it. Preacher, the congregation where you preach doesn’t need you to be a “21st Century Facebook Reformer,” arguing with fellow preachers and taking potshots at the low-hanging sins of the world. Quit deceiving yourself into thinking that such activity is “doing the work of the Lord.” What your congregation needs is for you to meet their needs by studying the Bible, growing in your relationship with Jesus, and preparing yourself to stand in the pulpit and present sermons that communicate the will of God and help listeners to want to be conformed to the image of Jesus.