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PREACHING SKILLSPlagiarism, ShmagiarismThe why and when of giving creditCraig Brian Larson
Says one prominent speaker with a smile, "When Chuck Swindoll starts preaching better sermons, so will I." For preachers, using sermon content from others can provoke humorand guilt.
For one thing, we don't always know when to credit other sources. Preaching is like blocking defensive linemen in football: the line between blocking and holding can be as fuzzy as that between research and reliance.
Citing sources sounds simple enough, but conscientious preachers run into dilemmas.
At times the need to credit sources is perfectly clear. Tell someone else's story as though it happened to you? Use an entire sermon without giving credit? Penalty, 10 yards and loss of down, major chewing out from the coach. Most everyone says that's a foul.
At other times, citing a source is a judgment call. If you purchase a sermon or receive permission from the source to use it (Rick Warren says, use my stuff), should you still give credit? If you illustrate from a Time article but get the illustration idea from Joe Stowell, do you credit Stowell? What if you use only another sermon's "angle," its interesting approach to a subject? Or only one of three main points? What if you base your sermon on insights from a commentary? On questions like these, ethical preachers will go both ways on whether to throw the yellow flag.
The yes-and-no nature of citing sources shows up in a new survey of 437 Preaching Today audio subscribers conducted by Christianity Today International. When asked, "Do you believe that writing a sermon should be viewed any differently than writing an academic or literary work?" 57 percent of respondents said yes; 43 percent, no.
The diversity of opinion is reflected in an email I received:
There is not a sermon preached that belongs to the one who received it. If they are truly a man of God, preaching his Word, believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and the gospel, nothing they preach belongs to them. It all belongs to God. "Freely you received, freely give."
It is unconscionable that Christian persons' lust for notoriety and money would lead them to take issue with a Christian brother or sister whose desire is to pass on the Word. Plagiarism, shmagiarism —what belongs to God, belongs to all.
How common is sermon idea borrowing (with or without giving credit)? Our survey asked, "In the past three months, have you used any of the following that originally appeared in another person's sermon?"
Illustrations: 69 percent had done so
The main idea: 43 percent
Theological/scriptural principles: 40 percent
Sermon titles: 31 percent
Main outline points: 29 percent
Well-worded sentences or phrases: 28 percent
Metaphors: 24 percent
Subpoints and developing ideas: 18 percent
Some of the manuscript: 17 percent
Most of the manuscript: 6 percent
Have not used anything from another person's sermon: 13 percent.
Thus, nearly 9 of 10 pastors had used an element from someone else's sermon in the previous three months.
Before we explore whether a preacher should credit sources for each of the above sermon elements, we need to answer the main question: why does it matter whether we credit sources? Why is sermon plagiarism wrong? And, before the article concludes, should a pastor caught in sermon plagiarism be fired?
Four reasons to credit sources
Assumptions
Fundamentally, giving due credit is about being honest with hearers.
We might think, I never claim that everything I preach is original. Several years ago my father-in-law returned home from a trip to South Carolina and said, "Funny thing, when I went to my church on Sunday, I heard the same sermon I heard in South Carolina." He chuckled, but clearly disapproved. He asked what I thought. I gave his pastor the benefit of the doubt, saying it probably had something to do with his using lectionary resources, but I didn't sense that my explanation satisfied him.
My father-in-law reflected what most people assume about speakers and writers: that we use our own words and outline unless noted otherwise. Therefore, even if we never claim originality, our hearers will regard us as dishonest if we do not credit significant sources.
In this regard, preaching is like painting. When we see an artist's name on a painting, though we know she has many creative influences shaping her style and vision, we assume she brushed every drop of pigment on the canvas. If she were to pay someone else to paint the picture and then sign her name, something within us cries foul. This would say something false about both her and the art. When we preach a sermon, though hearers know scores of people have influenced our thoughts, our name stands on the painting unless we give credit elsewhere.
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