OK on Sermon Plagiarism Is Misguided Advice, Says Christian Professor
by Allie Martin
September 20, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A professor at a Christian university in Tennessee is speaking out against what he says is a growing trend among evangelical churches: pastoral plagiarism.In a recent column for Baptist Press, Dr. Ray Van Neste, associate professor of Christian studies at Union University in Jackson, wrote about an e-mail link he received for an article titled "Don't Be Original -- Be Effective!" The article, written by Steve Sjogren -- a Vineyard pastor and author from Ohio -- appears at Pastors.com, a division of Purpose Driven Ministries.
In his article, Sjogren states that ministers should stop trying to produce their own sermons and instead preach the material of others, word for word. "In my mind there is a tremendous amount of pride (let's call it what it is) when we insist on being completely original as communicators," he writes.
Van Neste says such an attitude is disturbing and misguided. The college professor contends that when people are in church, they "don't need a flashy presentation or to hear the latest from a prominent preacher." Instead, he says, "They need to hear God's Word explained by their pastor, the man who visits them in the hospital, who has done their wedding, who's at the funeral of their family members -- their own local shepherd."
Sjogren's article suggests that pastors who want to increase their congregations should copy sermons from pastors of mega-churches. Van Neste says that attitude is flawed.
"The argument goes something like this: 'We must draw larger crowds. To do that, you have to have a certain level of speaking ability. Most people don't have this, so use material from such gifted people. And it's all okay because the goal is to draw crowds.' I think that's the problem," says Van Neste. "We're starting with the wrong premise."
Van Neste believes that pastors who plagiarize sermons are short-changing not only themselves, but also their congregations. He says pastors should be focused on studying and preaching God's Word faithfully, which will result in true repentance for many. "[S]kipping the hard work of study and, instead, preaching other men's labors is unacceptable," Van Neste writes in his column.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
