sermon plagiarism

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first, read this article advocating it, then read this response to it.

i guess its the low-tech version of one church many campuses. if you don't have the video link tech or money, just have someone read the sermon you are cribbing.

i've talked about this before, why not just read Chrysostom's sermons today. I've reviewed elsewhere another's view that there is nothing new to say, so stop saying...

is this the slacker generation of preachers coming home to roost?

Comments

Unknown said…
I've thought a lot about this, because I "preach" a lot. I used to read commentaries BEFORE I would teach, but I always found it hard to not repeat what they had already said so well. There is after all "no new thing under the sun." So now when I do read commentaries (not as often) I read them after I put together a message. Only to find that they discoverd many of the same things I did. But at least I discovered them.

If a Billy Graham sermon spoke deeply to my heart, what would be wrong with repeating that almost verbatim to others? As to being part of the 'slacker generation' I'm not so sure because I would have done some work and preparation just in the reading, the thinking, the expereincing.

I have a friend that says, "Take sermon material and reuse it freely. After all it's the Holy Spirit that gave it." I agree with that - somewhat. It seems like those of us that teach want people to take what we say and share it with others. Is it wrong for them to quote word for word as though it were their own? Or, it is truely their own, because they heard it from you? I would say the latter. Once I say it or write it publically, it is no longer mine, but yours. Unless of course I copyright it.

I still can't bring myself to lift the sermons of others, but maybe I can be healed. I would think the criteria for me would be that it was (1) Internalized (2) Applied in my own life. If it speaks to me, it doesn't seem like much of a problem passing it on to others. If it doesn't speak to me -there's a good chance in my opinion - that maybe somebody is just being lazy in their own spiritual / preaching life.

It seems like a good sermon preached once is worth repeating again.
September 21, 2006
John Umland said…
repeating it isn't the issue, it's giving credit, that's all
September 21, 2006
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