Rev. Stephen Williams, Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church
As we get ready to celebrate Reformation Sunday on October 25, we do well to remember a central doctrine that animated the reforming movement of Martin Luther and John Calvin. It is called “the priesthood of all believers.” No longer was the church centered around the activities of the clergy. Every member has a calling and ministry from God.
We preachers can talk ourselves hoarse, but the living witness of one church member can accomplish in one minute what we have been talking about for years.
Whether or not a minister can preach like Peter and pray like Paul, it is a lay person’s life that is still the decisive witness in this world. The pew is the pulpit that finally counts.
I believe that. Your life, and your favorite pew where you sit, is the pulpit that counts in the church.
The most important witness of your Christian commitment are your own words and deeds.
This requires your time and imagination. It requires prayer and focused concentration. It requires energy and devotion and money.
There are so many ways to make the pew into the very best pulpit. There are many fine preachers serving the churches in our area. But the true measure of those churches is how the people sitting in the pews of those churches acknowledge God’s activity in their lives. Are they places where joy overflows, where grace abounds in their attitudes and deeds.
The pulpit in a church is no doubt important.
Another leader of the Reformation, Ulrich Zwingli called it “the sacred desk” for its role proclaiming and teaching God’s Word, but it is how those in the pew hear and apply that proclamation that changes the world.
There are many vibrant churches in our city. We can be grateful that these churches proclaim the good news. But there are thousands of people in the area who do not attend church, folks who are not reached and touched by the Christian message.
That is our challenge and opportunity—to grow spiritually and stretch the scope of our witness with people who are not part of a church. We can reach out and invite and involve these people—friends, co-workers, relatives—to join us for worship, study and service.
Our mandate is the same as it was for the Twelve. We are still to go into the world and share the gospel with people, to preach and teach and make disciples and baptize. And the thing about this great commission is that Jesus told us what to do but not how to do it. The commission was clear, but how we would reach our un-churched neighbors was left in our hands. Each in our own way, using our unique gifts, with dedication and verve, everyone has a job to do.
Reformation Sunday, October 25 is a perfect day to discover how the best pulpit is the pew.
The church celebrates the last Sunday of October when Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Moreover, the day recalls a central hallmark of the Protestant Reformation, “the priesthood of all believers.”
Everyone has a role in sharing the gospel.
Many churches on Sunday will sing Luther’s stirring hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”
After he wrote the hymn, Luther liked it so much it is said he sang it daily for the rest of his life! May our praises and our very lives witness to the truth that God is “a bulwark never failing.”
Rev. Stephen Williams is the pastor of the Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, 12965 GA Hwy 144.