The Preacher's Relationship To His Surroundings

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the final aspect of preaching: its relationship to the physical environment. He establishes three foundational principles: recognizing that people are embodied…

Martin recounts a congregational meeting where he had people stand due to discomfort, illustrating the principle of recognizing the physical needs of the body during long periods of sitting.

and therefore a great impediment to having the word come home to the heart. Now that's reality. And we need constantly to remind ourselves that we are not preaching to disembodied spirits or to insensitive bodily creatures. I hope you got the lesson when in the middle of that lengthy congregational meeting a week ago Wednesday I didn't try to hide it with some pious reason.

4:13 - 4:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Do anything to neutralize instruments Satan uses to pluck away the seed of the word from men's minds, especially in the physical context of preaching.

The parable of the sower is used to illustrate Satan's constant presence and efforts to 'pluck up' the seed of the Word, just as birds hover around a sower.

Satan, as you know, means the adversary. And the parable of the sower is very clear on this point. When our Lord says, When our Lord interprets that parable He says that when the word is sown the devil is always there like birds that constantly hover around the sower who is broadcasting his seed on the open field to pluck up to their advantage any seed that is not enfolded by the earth. So wherever there is a gospel preacher there is the adversary.

5:27 - 6:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Do anything to neutralize instruments Satan uses to pluck away the seed of the word from men's minds, especially in the physical context of preaching.

Paul's exhortation in 2 Corinthians 2:11 to confirm love to a penitent man is given as an example of taking preventive measures against Satan's devices, showing practical application of spiritual warfare.

Do you remember that setting? The preventive measure was exhorting the believers to confirm their love to the penitent man who had been disciplined lest he be swallowed up with discouragement. And he says, For we are not ignorant of his devices. Well, every time you enter into the pulpit remember, you are not to be ignorant of Satan's devices.

6:13 - 6:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Ensure the pulpit is aesthetically and architecturally compatible with the rest of the building to avoid distraction.

Martin uses the example of preaching with glasses perched on his nose to illustrate how minor visual distractions can hinder concentration, emphasizing the need for aesthetic compatibility in the pulpit.

gothic motifs on the front wall where we built a platform and if I can put it sort of in perspective a little bit as the side walls came down this way to the platform area the side walls then the back walls went back at an angle similar to the way this present building does and as the pulpit sat was here on these side walls what we had was some imitation beams that had a curved kind of gothic motif imposed upon it and then we had these heavier dark beams so it would be something you'd call sort of a semi gothic motif and so when we bought a pulpit and communion table we got one that had a curv...

16:04 - 17:33 Read in full sermon

The point: Ensure the pulpit is functional, compatible with your height and size, and aids efficient proclamation of the word.

He describes the design of Trinity Baptist Church's octagonal pulpit, explaining how its shape was chosen to maximize visual impact and direct the preacher's presence to all parts of a square auditorium.

building oh there it is thank you as you know we have a square auditorium and the pulpit is here and we have the banks of pews laid out as we do one two three and four well I've been in many places where in sitting over here with a pulpit that looking down from the top was designed like this where I never felt even when the preacher turned to me that I had the full impact of his visual presence and even when I've seen pulpits that were like this so when I saw a pulpit that was an octagon that is eight equal planes with three of them cut off and came like this I found that when sitting over her...

20:32 - 22:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Ensure the pulpit is functional, compatible with your height and size, and aids efficient proclamation of the word.

Martin shares an anecdote about a church in Mebane that copied Trinity's pulpit design, including a coat hook, highlighting how small functional details can significantly aid the preacher and minimize distraction.

in this part of the auditorium they feel indeed that everything because they can't see you apart from that pulpit that's in front of you brings forth that impression visually consciously or unconsciously that everything is being directed to them so it should be functional have a place to place books that you may occasionally want to quote from have a place where a glass of water can be put out of sight and you're not in danger of water watering the flowers and if necessary have a coat hook on the inside people laugh when they see the pulpit with its two glass holders and its coat hook that was...

22:00 - 23:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Place the pulpit centrally in the gathering place of God's people as a theological statement of the Word's importance.

He humorously mentions bruising his knuckles on the solid oak pulpit, illustrating the importance of a 'substantial' pulpit that can withstand vigorous preaching without appearing flimsy or rickety.

with the rest of the building and secondly it should be functional with respect to your own size with respect to the shape of the auditorium and then thirdly as to its structure it should be substantial Webster's Collegiate Dictionary meaning number three under substantial says strong solid or firm not only does a substantial pulpit make an architectural statement to the eye but if the people have to hold their breath any time you raise your hand to thump it wondering uh-oh is it going to come to pieces this time then it's not substantial enough it ought to be substantial enough that if Big Mi...

23:27 - 24:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Place the pulpit centrally in the gathering place of God's people as a theological statement of the Word's importance.

Martin describes how the Reformation overhauled church architecture, moving the altar to floor level and elevating the pulpit, to make a theological statement about the centrality of the Word over sacraments.

preaching of the word of God so the pulpit ought to reflect the flavor of the ministry and therefore it ought to be substantial okay so that's what I want to say about its structure the pulpit itself large letter A number one its structure I've said three things now its placement with reference to this I will say but one thing it must be central in the place where the people of God gather and that's when any action is vital in a play the playwright will describe that action as taking place center front stage or front center stage you ever heard the term he was trying to up stage me the closer ...

24:57 - 26:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Ensure adequate and unrestricted mobility around the pulpit, avoiding designs that tether or restrict the preacher's movement.

He recounts a frustrating experience preaching in a tiny, enclosed pulpit in an old UK church, illustrating the importance of 'unrestricted mobility' for the preacher.

and unrestricted mobility for example I've seen some pulpits designed in such a way that here's the pulpit and it was on a little platform sitting on top of a platform and you had a stair to go up in there but you were always there was no way to let you know when you were stepping back how far you were and it was a terrible thing to feel that you might be just about three inches from the ludicrous position of legs straight up in the air going backwards and make sure that you don't have any anything like that and if the only way you can have adequate visibility height wise is to build a platfor...

36:46 - 38:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Aim at optimum physical comfort for the congregation through appropriate chairs, benches, or padded pews.

Martin describes how Trinity Baptist Church tested various chairs for comfort over several weeks, involving people with back problems and children, to ensure optimum physical comfort for the congregation in their first building phase.

as far as the seats and their arrangement number one aim at optimum physical comfort aim at optimum physical comfort here we come back to our introductory principle our father knows our frame if people are physically uncomfortable because of the kind of chairs or benches or pews they are sitting on you will be undermining the efficiency of your preaching ministry before you buy chairs if you're going to use chairs test them why did we end up with these particular chairs in phase one well what we did is for a period of a month to six weeks we got three basic good substantial chairs we put no pr...

39:44 - 41:13 Read in full sermon

The point: Secure optimum visual access to the pulpit for all congregants.

He tells of a salesman trying to convince them that screws would hold better in particle board than hardwood, illustrating the need for discernment and knowledge when purchasing church furnishings like pews.

That he obviously never turned a screw into a piece of wood all his life. He just oozed salesman and that's all. And he had the temerity to try and tell some of us who know a little something about construction, plus a couple of our men who know more than a little. Jake Vanderwill, who is an accomplished, uh, carpenter, that screws would actually remain more firmly fixed in particle board with veneer than with hardwood.

44:00 - 44:28 Read in full sermon

The point: If using chairs, consider staggering them like in theaters to prevent people from looking directly at the back of someone's head.

The practice of staggering seats in theaters is used as an example of how to achieve optimum visual access in an auditorium, preventing people from looking directly at the back of someone's head.

Now, if you're setting up chairs, as we had to do in this auditorium by optimum visual access, what you may have to do is what they do in theaters, and that is to have the seats staggered so that you are not looking directly at the back of someone's head. Now you'll notice upstairs that the platform and the pulpit are not dead center. We have that,

46:47 - 47:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Aim at optimum avoidance of visual distractions in the placement of pews and chairs.

Martin describes how Trinity experimented with chair arrangements in their first building, using soda boxes, to identify and avoid visual distractions caused by latecomers entering the main doors.

Aim at optimum avoidance of physical distractions in the placement of your pews and of your chairs. Now, here again and give you a testimony when we were trying to figure out where to place the chairs in phase one here, we have a building 50 by a hundred. This is more proportionate. It's more like this.

49:01 - 49:25 Read in full sermon

The point: In existing buildings, add or subtract sound-absorbent materials to achieve comfortable audibility.

He recounts the first meeting of Trinity Church in a women's club with hard surfaces, leading to excessive echo, illustrating the need to manage sound-absorbent materials for comfortable audibility.

Plaster walls. Plaster ceiling. Not a sound-absorbent item in that whole place, but the clothing the people wore. Well, when 65 of us met on that first Lord's Day and sang, I tell you, it was thrilling.

58:14 - 58:28 Read in full sermon

The point: If installing exhaust fans, ensure they are not audibly distracting.

Martin references Spurgeon's humorous anecdote about breaking church windows to improve ventilation, emphasizing the practical need for fresh air to keep the congregation alert.

But is it going to be placed in such a way that it will not be audibly distracting? So you must be concerned. You read Spurgeon, page 129 and 130 in his lectures to his students. That's where he tells that humorous incident of the church.

67:04 - 67:19 Read in full sermon