What does it mean to “pound the pulpit”?

Pound the pulpit is an old-school metaphor for preaching with fiery emotionalism and forceful conviction. While delivering his sermon, a zealous preacher might exuberantly pound the pulpit with his fist to get listeners’ attention, stir up emotion, and drive home his point.

Although pound the pulpit is a figure of speech that does not always denote the literal beating of one’s fist on a podium, the expression originates from the actual practice of banging on the lectern while preaching. Terms like Holy Roller and hellfire preacher invoke the image of Puritan ministers, charismatic pastors, and Great Awakening revivalists like Jonathan Edwards (1703—1758), who would pound on their pulpits with unusual vigor as they lectured their audiences about the eternal flames of hell.

Sixteenth-century Scottish reformer John Knox was known for his impassioned “martial or do-battle style of pulpit oratory” (Broadus, J., Lectures on the History of Preaching, Sheldon & Company, 1876, p. 194). “In his sermons, Knox typically spent half an hour calmly exegeting a biblical passage. Then as he applied the text to the Scottish situation, he became ‘active and vigorous’ and would violently pound the pulpit. Said one note taker, ‘he made me so to grew [quake] and tremble, that I could not hold pen to write’” (Galli, M., and Olsen, T., 131 Christians Everyone Should Know, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000, p. 171).

Baptist pastor W. A. Criswell (1909—2002) was called “a holy roller with a Ph.D. He would shout, spit, weep, plead, and pound. He preached with the bombast of Billy Sunday and the urgency of Savanarola” (George, T., “The ‘Baptist Pope,’” Christianity Today, 3/11/02, p. 54).

Pounding the pulpit also carries the idea of using one’s place or position of authority—one’s pulpit—to influence or manipulate listeners. One preacher writes, “I’ve often felt drawn to pound the pulpit about certain social ills plaguing our city. I’ve seen firsthand the broken lives and think I know what it will take to turn this evil trend around. But I resist that temptation. My people need to hear God’s Word on Sunday morning” (Fowler, R., “Unlikely Allies,” in Growing Your Church through Evangelism and Outreach, ed. Shelley, M., 1st ed., Library of Christian Leadership, Moorings, 1996, p. 278).

In terms of sermon delivery, kinesics is the study of communication through facial expressions, eye contact, bodily movements, hand gestures, and posture. In her book Delivering the Sermon: Voice, Body, and Animation in Proclamation, Teresa Fry Brown broadly classifies bodily gestures and hand motions as either “open” or “closed.” According to Brown, open gestures, such as unfolded, upraised palms, tend to convey confidence, while closed gestures, such as making a fist and pounding the pulpit, typically communicate defensiveness (Fortress Press, 2008, p. 79–80).

Pounding the pulpit can have negative or positive connotations depending on the context of the discussion. Similar to an overzealous, “preachy” Christian being labeled a “Bible-thumper,” an exceedingly passionate preacher might be criticized for being a “wild-eyed pulpit-pounder.” Conversely, a long-standing, dedicated minister of the Word may be praised for pounding the pulpit faithfully throughout his years of ministry.

For some old-timers, pounding the pulpit simply means preaching with energy, enthusiasm, and conviction. For others, this age-old preacher’s adage applies: “When your point is weak, pound the pulpit.” Contemporary pastors, preachers, and teachers are less inclined to incorporate pulpit pounding in their delivery style, understanding that most people today interpret the behavior as manipulative, off-putting, unnaturally excessive, or aggressive.

Ultimately, a preacher’s job is to minister the Word of God in faithful obedience to God’s instruction and the Holy Spirit’s leading. Just as the Lord inspired the prophets and preachers in the Bible to communicate in unconventional ways, the Lord may inspire a preacher to shout or whisper, lift his hands in praise, or pound the pulpit. His body language should follow naturally with the message God is using him to convey.