To Know to Preach Against Something and You Dont

These are interesting times for communicators and preachers. Never have nosotros had access to so many other people's messages that would be piece of cake sermons for usa to preach.

And never have nosotros felt more than pressure in delivering our own.

Virtually monthly I hear of pastors (most of whom volition never make the headlines) who are losing their job because of plagiarism—using someone else'southward content merely passing it off equally their own.

That's just lamentable on about 100 levels.

First, it'southward sad for their church, who lost a leader and saw some trust fractured.

Second, it'due south pitiful for the pastor who evidently got into some kind of content trap he or she didn't know how to get out of. I'm sure a few of the people who got fired intended to steal other people'due south work and didn't care nigh the consequences. Only my estimate is that'south a small group.

I'll bet the majority actually but got defenseless in a trap of overwhelm and shame: they felt besides decorated/inadequate/desperate to write their own content, downloaded someone else'due south, and were too ashamed/insecure/embarrassed to admit that. Rinse, soap and repeat and you have a fireable crime.

A third gene may be that vicious bike of jealousy and inadequacy. Considering nosotros can access messages past globe-class communicators every twenty-four hours for free (equally can our congregations likewise), it's not that hard to get lulled into thinking we can never measure up, so we beg, borrow and steal other people'southward ideas without giving credit.

A Rip Off Epidemic (Likewise many preachers are wanting easy sermons.)

If you don't think this is an epidemic, please know I'm not even shut to being the most well-known preacher on the planet, nor the all-time-known author. But my team has found other preachers preaching our local series verbatim, with no permission and nil attribution. Even the jokes were re-used.

Ditto with my blog. My team has plant other bloggers who have taken my content, pasted it give-and-take for discussion into their web log, and written their name above the post as the author. (We've asked them to take it down.)

So what'due south the trouble with idea-theft, sermon-theft or writing-theft?

Information technology's an integrity issue. It's a character issue.

And at the heart of it is giving credit where credit is due.

There is nothing incorrect with using other people's ideas. Only fools remember they are truly original thinkers. There really isn't much new nether the sun, so to quote, share and borrow ideas is fine. You lot just need to requite credit.

And that'southward the crux of it. If youmostlypractise other people'southward content, then you'll stop up saying, "today'southward message is based on a message written by Mark Batterson/Beth Moore/Andy Stanley/Tim Keller/Steven Furtick/Sheryl Brady/John Ortberg."

At that place is nothing wrong with that occasionally. A few times a year I'll open a message saying "What' I'thou sharing with you today aren't my ideas—they're based on the work of Ten, or come from a message/book past Y."

Simply do that week after calendar week afterwards week, and people will begin to realize you lot aren't writing your own stuff. Which is exactly why most pastors who plagiarize resist giving credit.

So what should preachers do?

Rather than finding easy sermons online, I suggest a simple guideline for preachers:

Write your own stuff. And if you didn't, tell people.

That'southward information technology.

And so why do we want to rip off other communicators? There are at least 5 reasons that get pretty ugly if we're honest.

Preachers, write your ain stuff. And if y'all didn't, tell people. Click To Tweet

i. Y'all want people to think you're smarter than you actually are

Let'south be honest…one reason nosotros infringe other people's ideas and make them appear to be ours is so it makes u.s. await smarter than we are.

Don't call back yous can give credit and withal seem smart?

Simply mind to Tim Keller. In virtually every message, Keller references a book he's read or a thinker he's borrowing from. He does this regularly and generously.

And estimate what? Keller's ane of the sharpest thinkers alive today. Too one of the smartest.

Quoting other leaders doesn't make you seem dumb. Information technology actually makes you look smart.

Quoting other leaders doesn't make you seem dumb. It actually makes y'all wait smart. Click To Tweet

It's show you've read more than than a few tweets, and that you've dug deep into the heart of history or electric current events. It's a sign you lot're not lazy.

Ripping people off is lazy. Learning from other authors and thinkers isn't.

2. You lie

Lying is an integrity issue.

People rightly assume when a speaker, creative person or author shares something without citing a source, it'southward their take on an result.

Far too many preachers today are literally downloading another pastor's messages every week and preaching them verbatim.

If you steal money, y'all go fired. If you steal ideas, maybe you should exist fired as well.

If you lot steal money, yous become fired. If yous steal ideas, maybe you should exist fired too. Click To Tweet

iii. You stop growing

Of all the leaders and communicators who have their ideas ripped off, Andy Stanley is likely at height of the list. He's 1 of the most quoted leaders alive today in the Western church building, and for good reason. He's brilliant.

I had a chance to talk with Andy on my Leadership Podcast and I asked him nigh how he felt most others 'stealing' his fabric and ideas. I loved his answer (you can listen to the episode here).

Andy said—so accurately—that preachers who preach other people's messages forfeit the growth that comes with preparing a message from scratch. They miss the malaise, the frustration and the tremendous reward that comes from wrestling downwards ideas until they come out in a powerful and helpful mode.

Andy's so right. Preachers, when you lot start stealing, yous stop growing.

Y'all too lose your ain voice. If you're like me, you may not be the biggest fan of your ain voice, but it's a voice God gave you and that God loves.

Further, if y'all're simply a copycat, my suspicion is a younger audition will eventually tune you out. Why? Because Millennials tin can smell a lack of authenticity a mile away.

You lot may not be quite as clever or articulate as your favourite preacher, but yous're existent. And real resonates.

You may not be every bit clear as your favourite preacher, but you're real. And real resonates. Click To Tweet

Only wait, you say, can't you purchase some preacher'due south sermons so y'all can reteach them at your church? Tin can't you download Craig Groeschel'southward messages and reteach them at your church? Both legally?

Yes, you can.

At that place can be strategic purposes for doing and so. And when you lot practice, requite credit.

But on all those other weeks of the year, don't lose the border you gain by wrestling through your own ideas, your own reading of God'south word, and finding your own voice on a regular ground.

Preachers, when you lot outset stealing, y'all stop growing. Click To Tweet

four. Y'all lose touch with God

When you plagiarize, you lot lose affect with God in at least two meaning ways.

First, the sins of lying and stealing are themselves a barrier. Confession stands between you and God.

Second, stealing ideas required nil reliance on the Holy Spirit for inspiration, direction, backbone or insights.

Ironically, in trying to brand your content better, you lot've made it worse. You've robbed it of its truthful power. The existent power in preaching comes non from our words, simply from what God does with our words.

Practice the hard work. You and anybody effectually y'all will be improve for information technology.

Stealing ideas required zero reliance on the Holy Spirit for inspiration, direction, or courage. Click To Tweet

five. It creeps into other areas of your life

I don't know for sure, but I think it'south by and large truthful that when yous compromise in one area of your life, it doesn't take much to commencement compromising in other areas.

Sin is like a weed: It grows fast and you never accept to water it.

The all-time way to tackle sin is to pull it out by its root before it creeps into other areas of your life.

Sin is like a weed, information technology grows fast and y'all never have to water it. Click To Tweet

Then what do I do?

What should yous do in a hyper-connected era when you and I are exposed to more ideas in a day than our grandparents were in a month or twelvemonth?

Starting time, employ other people's ideas generously. Just give credit where credit is due. Quote. Attribute. Link back.

That covers most of the states.

But what near those preachers who realize they're guilty of knowingly stealing entire messages or lines of thinking and passing it off as theirs..and no one has confronted them on it (yet)?

I would strongly encourage anyone in this category to come make clean. Talk to your lath. Explain what'due south been happening, and tell them y'all want to finish.

See a counselor if you demand to (there's something inside that collection y'all at that place in the first place), and kickoff writing fresh.

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Source: https://careynieuwhof.com/5-reasons-you-shouldnt-preach-other-peoples-sermons/

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