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Online pastoral inspiration increasing: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s sermons?

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mwkruse
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Cleveland.com: Online pastoral inspiration increasing: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's sermons?

MINNEAPOLIS — Ministers moving to a new church have a long tradition of dusting off some of their favorite homilies from the past. But in these electronic days, that's just where the recycling begins.

Clergy who run short of time or inspiration can turn to a plethora of Web sites offering ideas, outlines and, if necessary, entire sermons that can be downloaded in a ready-to-read-Sunday-morning format.

Users can search for sermons based on denomination (Assembly of God to Wesleyan), event (marriage or funeral), topic, Bible passage or even a particular day (from Yom Kippur to Mother's Day). SermonSearch.com has more than 100,000 subscribers paying $21.95 a month to search and download from its library of 20,000-plus sermons.

We know what you're thinking: Isn't this plagiarism?

The arrival of downloadable sermons throws religious leaders into the debate that has bedeviled college campuses since the first term paper went online. But where taking a term paper is clearly cheating, the sharing of sermons apparently isn't. Some preachers see it as a compliment. Even seminaries have a love-hate relationship with it. …

 

Comments

7 responses to “Online pastoral inspiration increasing: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s sermons?”

  1. Alan Wilkerson Avatar
    Alan Wilkerson

    I really have no idea how many pastors do actually download and preach someone else’s sermon. I use sermoncentral to search what has been preached on a passage and I sometimes glean an illustration I would not have had.
    But I also try to trace back news stories, illustrations, etc. to an original source, and cite it. In the same way, I have no problem quoting another preacher verbatim if they’ve said something much better than I could have.
    Alan

    Reply
  2. ZZMike Avatar
    ZZMike

    Rick Warren got started by posting sermons.
    “… subscribers paying $21.95 a month to search and download from its library of 20,000-plus sermons.
    We know what you’re thinking: Isn’t this plagiarism?”
    Not if it’s paid for, and the source site says that’s what they’re for.
    It’s not easy to come up with 52 riveting sermons a year. And 52 new ones next year.
    New pastors might find it hard to get going. Old pastors may burn out.
    How much of a pastor’s “grade” is based on his sermons, and how much on the rest of his pastoral duties?

    Reply
  3. Travis Greene Avatar
    Travis Greene

    “It’s not easy to come up with 52 riveting sermons a year. And 52 new ones next year.”
    Perhaps we should take that as a hint that, just maybe, more than one person is gifted to teach in each community. And just maybe, even if there is a main teacher, they don’t have to be entirely responsible for all sermon insights. Or, just perhaps, our entire system of religious speeching is, while well-intentioned, is more than a little off-base.

    Reply
  4. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Amen, Travis.

    Reply
  5. Conrade Yap Avatar
    Conrade Yap

    Who is the preacher trying to glorify? For me, I think the most important and most difficult part of being a preacher is not the message nor delivery. It is the preparation of the heart.
    conrade

    Reply
  6. Believer3 Avatar
    Believer3

    “Gleaning” of ideas is quite acceptable. And that is likely what most pastors do with it. I would be surprised to hear that pastors were actually taking the whole sermon and redoing it in their own viewpoints.

    Reply
  7. term paper writing Avatar
    term paper writing

    The good thing about your information is that it is explicit enough for students to grasp. Thanks for your efforts in spreading academic knowledge.

    Reply

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