the pulpit is a dare

(found this in geez magazine, summer 08)

the pulpit is a dare

a dare to speak with conviction
invoke authority
say what god might say
bounce a proclamation off the pews of the world

it is an elevated, up-front
bulky wooden dare.

to speak boldly
believe firmly
and stand resolutely
is both necessary and problematic.

because we have an awkward relationship with conviction.

certainty, as a concept, is out of vogue. dogma is the devil. question everything. yet we want to hold onto something, to care enough to give utterance when the moment is right.

while we may hold secret contempt for the preacher who is so sure, so knowing, we also hold a desire to stand up front, if only for a few minutes.

but we know the pulpit also inhibits like a dead weight around the neck of language. it tethers imagination to dominion, sitting there so smug, the center of too much attention, too much piety, and propriety.

[but we've] unleashed the old bulwark from its moorings and hauled it out the back door.

now it's on the loose...