eahaddix
06-23-2006, 04:26 AM
When you go to a local assembly, do you know what you get? Case in point, an increasing number of "pastors" download "their sermons" from the Internet.
Megachurch pastor Rick Warren may fill the pulpit of your church this Sunday morning. Actually, he might have been there before too. The question is, did you recognize him?
Warren's sermons--and those of other well-known preachers--are available for the buying in books and on websites such as SermonNotes.com. And pastors increasingly are turning to pre-written material to upgrade their sermons from tired to inspired.
"Whether pastors are pressed for time or feeling the need to preach a 'Cadillac sermon,' the practice is becoming a common phenomenon," said Robert Smith, professor of Christian preaching at Beeson Divinity School.
But with instant improvement available at the click of a mouse, pastors are faced with the temptation to take sermon swapping one step too far, Smith said. Some pastors preach the material nearly verbatim without giving credit to the authors.
Source: "Busy Preachers Face Temptation to Plagiarize Ready-to-Preach Sermons," by Grace Thornton, Alabama Baptist @ BaptistStandard.com, 11/5/2004 (http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=2535&print=1)
The following three articles expand upon this issue:
"Word for Word," by Gene Edward Veith @ WorldMagazine.com, 4/30/2005 (http://www.worldmag.com/articles/10576)
"When Pastors Plagarize," by ChristianityToday.com, 12/26/2002 (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/013/32.29.html)
"Today's Sermon: Thou Shalt Not Steal," by Ted Olson @ ChristianityToday.com, 2/4/2002 (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/002/37.13.html)
Now, hold on a second. Why are these people serving as "pastors," if they do not have the time to shepherd their congregations?
Moreover, many "pastors," such as Charles Stanley, say that God the Spirit inspires a message "at the moment," even after they had prepared a written sermon. Yet, other "pastors" claim that they must download materials for sermons, since they do not have the time to prepare any sermon.
Now, how are these phenomena not inconsistent with each other? Do today's "pastors" not possess the necessary spiritual gifts?
Megachurch pastor Rick Warren may fill the pulpit of your church this Sunday morning. Actually, he might have been there before too. The question is, did you recognize him?
Warren's sermons--and those of other well-known preachers--are available for the buying in books and on websites such as SermonNotes.com. And pastors increasingly are turning to pre-written material to upgrade their sermons from tired to inspired.
"Whether pastors are pressed for time or feeling the need to preach a 'Cadillac sermon,' the practice is becoming a common phenomenon," said Robert Smith, professor of Christian preaching at Beeson Divinity School.
But with instant improvement available at the click of a mouse, pastors are faced with the temptation to take sermon swapping one step too far, Smith said. Some pastors preach the material nearly verbatim without giving credit to the authors.
Source: "Busy Preachers Face Temptation to Plagiarize Ready-to-Preach Sermons," by Grace Thornton, Alabama Baptist @ BaptistStandard.com, 11/5/2004 (http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=2535&print=1)
The following three articles expand upon this issue:
"Word for Word," by Gene Edward Veith @ WorldMagazine.com, 4/30/2005 (http://www.worldmag.com/articles/10576)
"When Pastors Plagarize," by ChristianityToday.com, 12/26/2002 (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/013/32.29.html)
"Today's Sermon: Thou Shalt Not Steal," by Ted Olson @ ChristianityToday.com, 2/4/2002 (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/002/37.13.html)
Now, hold on a second. Why are these people serving as "pastors," if they do not have the time to shepherd their congregations?
Moreover, many "pastors," such as Charles Stanley, say that God the Spirit inspires a message "at the moment," even after they had prepared a written sermon. Yet, other "pastors" claim that they must download materials for sermons, since they do not have the time to prepare any sermon.
Now, how are these phenomena not inconsistent with each other? Do today's "pastors" not possess the necessary spiritual gifts?