The Spurgeon Pulpit at FBC Orange Park

Several years ago I was meeting with Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. at his office at Shiloh Church here in Jacksonville. I arrived a bit early, and his associate pastor greeted me and gave me a quick tour of the facility. We went into the worship center and I was asked if I had seen the Spurgeon pulpit that Pastor Charles had in the room. I had not but was very interested. We walked toward the stage and there in the center front was the replica of the pulpit used by the prince of preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.

Over the years, our church has had several different pulpits in our worship center. Our previous pastor had a beautiful one created that resembled three crosses together. When I became pastor, it was clear that I was too tall for this one, especially as my eyesight began to…progress, thus needing progressive lenses. We gifted that pulpit to a sister church in the community.

I have since used tall glass, tables (trendy for a season) and a glass pulpit with a logo etched in the front. That glass one was extra tall, so whenever a guest was preaching, he would look like a Muppet trying to peer over the top. Thus, we moved that one to our gymnasium stage (it didn’t survive the move as it cracked and is now in a landfill somewhere.) We purchased a new glass pulpit for the worship center, without an etching on the front, and made for normal-heighted people. That is what we have used for the past few years. 

Earlier this year one of our church members came up to me asking about the pulpit. She referenced something I said about the three-cross wooden one our previous pastor had and asked if I would like one like that. I responded, “No, not really. It required a hole in the stage and we just refitted the flooring here…and I’m a tall guy and it looks like I’m standing behind a toothpick if the pulpit is too skinny.”

She then asked, “Well, if you could get a new one, what type would you want?” I responded quickly, “One like Spurgeon’s.”

She knew of Spurgeon but was not familiar with the pulpit desk he used. I pulled up some photographs of other replicas and told her to go to Shiloh Church to see the one H.B. Charles, Jr. uses. Little did I know that this short conversation on a Sunday morning would lead to what it did.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST

“The man who is relying for salvation on his own strength, does not like the doctrine of the cross.”

- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Johnna McKinnon, the church member and unknown to me prior, woodworker by hobby, set up a meeting with me and proposed a new pulpit in the style of Spurgeon’s. She told me she would make it. To be honest, I was a bit nervous at what that may look like. She then told me about her hobby that was growing. She showed me her website and images of other things she had created. I was impressed. So…we talked about the Spurgeon pulpit.

Unlike other replicas, Johnna wanted to make it with two different types of wood, and thus create a unique style for us, but based on the historic Spurgeon one.

She went to Shiloh Church and took measurements. We talked about making it a bit taller (since I’m 6’7”) and yet not too tall for “normal-heighted” people. I referenced the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where nearly 6,000 volumes of Spurgeon’s personal library are stored…not to mention a replica of Spurgeon’s pulpit, his preaching rail, and even his final cigar. 

On April 15, 2023, Johnna McKinnon delivered the finished product to our church. Simply put, it looks amazing! The colors, the woodwork, the embedded clock (like Spurgeon’s,) and the engraved Spurgeon quote under the lid makes this a perfect desk from which to preach.

Significance of Spurgeon

I have regularly decried the growth of the celebrity preacher in our age, as the growth of media shares and idolatry seems to be evident, how does having a Spurgeon pulpit replica weigh against this? Would looking up to Spurgeon be just as sinful as idolatry? I think not. While Spurgeon could clearly be categorized as a celebrity in his time, simply due to notoriety and the crowds that were drawn to the Metropolitan Tabernacle, his legacy is far more than what has been identified as celebrity preachers in our era. Thus, it is not idolatry, but inspiration.

Photo credit: Wilderness Kev on VisualHunt.com

Spurgeon was a pastor (beginning at age sixteen,) college president, ministry founder, and clearly called and gifted by God to preach the Word. As stated by Philip Ort at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary:

“Charles Spurgeon exemplified the Christian virtue which David Bebbington has termed ‘activism,’ the passionate belief that the gospel must be expressed in action. In addition to the Pastors’ College, he also founded a ministry to prostitutes, a ministry to policemen, two orphanages, and seventeen almshouses for widows.  Research conducted at The Spurgeon Library has shown that a conservative estimate of his net worth ran about $50 million, and yet when he died only about $250,000 was left in his bank account. What does one do with $49,750,000? For Charles Spurgeon the answer was simple; invest it in God’s Kingdom. Orphans had to be fed, the houses of widows subsidized, and the Home Rescue Society for women suffering from domestic abuse had to be funded somehow.

Anyone of these qualities; evangelistic zeal, theological integrity, or evangelical activism would have been sufficient to earn Charles recognition as an exemplary Christian man. Yet, God was pleased to work all these things through his chronically depressed, arthritic, and gout smitten servant Charles Haddon Spurgeon. It was not Spurgeon who made Spurgeon great, it was God who made Spurgeon great, or rather, God who magnified his greatness through Spurgeon’s weakness. In Spurgeon’s words it was “all of grace.” Faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ above all other things was the chief goal.”

Charles Spurgeon was not perfect. He had flaws as any image-bearer and was not sin-free. Yet, even now, over one-hundred years later, his legacy and ministry continue to impact many. The impact is not for the glory of Spurgeon, but for the glory of God. 

Why the Pulpit?

What is the significance of having a replica pulpit of Spurgeon’s? I know that throughout our community and around the world, God’s men are preaching God’s Word faithfully while standing behind home-made stands, music stands, milk cartons stacked up, ornate pulpits, tall tables, and some with no stand at all. Yet, in our church, with the facility God has blessed us to have, this stage set-up and pulpit says more than most know. The desk where the copy of God’s Word is opened each Lord’s Day for the preaching of the word is more than just a piece of furniture. It is a heavy responsibility for the pastor to preach the Word, rightly divide it, and feed the flock well, trusting the Holy Spirit to empower the spoken words from the written Word so that God may be glorified.

ENGRAVED UNDER THE LID

“When the Spirit of God goes with the Word, then the Word becomes the instrument of the conversion of the souls of men.”

- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Spurgeon’s pulpit desk is a continual reminder of this responsibility. It was a responsibility he held highly.  

The pulpit created for First Baptist Church of Orange Park by faithful member, Johnna McKinnon is such a treasured gift. It is a classic look, but unique to our faith family. More than that, it is a reminder that he who stands behind it is to preach the Word faithfully, boldly, lovingly, and without apology.

To God be the glory!

I encourage you to check out Johnna’s woodworking site at thecarpentersplace.com. If your church is interested in a new pulpit, she can definitely do the work. You may not want a pulpit in your living room, but check out her site anyway. There are dozens of items she has created and more to come.