Why Pastoral Plagiarism Is Wrong

Dealing with a situation in my own church life, I have located a lot of articles on the internet with regard to pastoral plagiarism. With the advent of widely available digital resources it seems that the problem has become epidemic. Some defend and legitimize it. Others condemn and make it a matter of legality, insisting that a pastor caught plagiarizing should resign or be released. While I would never defend the practice, I do not automatically interpret plagiarism as outright lying. I do think a pastor should be released for the offense, and not merely because of the moral issues involved. I think oftentimes plagiarism is not a malicious attempt to deceive, but a desperate act when a pastor's own resources have dried up. As I throw my thoughts into the ring, I want to look at several aspects of the issue that I have not seen elsewhere.

What Do I Mean By Plagiarism?

By way of qualifying what I mean by sermon plagiarism, I would define it as using another's work as the bulk of a sermon without citing the source. Every good preacher will often consider and quote resources which are not original (foremost among these the writings of the biblical authors) and will frequently find in the works of others the spark of an idea that inspires a sermon. I believe a line is crossed when you utilize the exact words of another while representing them as your own.

The Place of Preaching in the Church

Most small to mid-sized churches cannot afford to have a stable of 'specialty' pastors. They can not support a preaching pastor, an administrative pastor, and a separate counseling pastor. The man who pastors this church must be a able to handle all of these functions and more, and must be able to budget and prioritize his time accordingly. A man who is gifted as a counselor will naturally tend to budget more time (or give more time to urgent needs) for counseling. Gifted administrators will drift toward administrative tasks. A gifted preacher will want to dedicate more time to study and preparation of sermons. When selecting a pastor, a modest church should determine which of these is most important and seek a man whose gifting matches their need.

So how should a church decide which of these should be most important? In the Book of Acts, Chapter 6, there arose a need for more counseling and administration among the early church members. The apostles addressed the issue in a unique way:

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." Acts 6:1-4 ESV

Recognizing that their primary calling was the ministration of the word, the apostles sought to have the church select a governing body from among themselves to handle issues not related to preaching. These first deacons were chosen to mediate between the parties and to minister to the practical needs of the church, freeing the church leadership to concentrate on prayer and the preaching of the word. This first church model requires that the church seek lay leaders who are capable of mediation and administration, full of the Spirit and wisdom. These men need to recognize that they are co-equally responsible with the pastor to insure that he has the time needed to prepare a message that will present the gospel in a fresh, powerful and effective way. They should deal with squabbles and needs within the church that would distract the pastor from his primary function as a preacher of good news.

Likewise, if a church expects to adopt the first-century model her members must be willing to accept the fact that the pastor does not have a revolving door and will not be continuously available to them to meet any and every need. This means that the church will need to understand the importance of preaching and be prepared to respect and guard the pastor's preparation time, leaning on the lay leadership to meet other needs. A pastor who spends time in study with his door closed is not 'aloof', but wise. The pastor who continually caters to the tyranny of the urgent is more likely to resort to plagiarism because he 'can't find the time to study'.

Paul councils his protégé Timothy, pastor at the church in Ephesus:

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:16 ESV

Perhaps I am naïve as a lay person, but I believe that the pastor who effectively communicates the gospel will find a decreasing need for mediation, administration and counseling duties. By persisting in the teaching and preaching of the gospel, he is saving both himself and his hearers. Faith always comes by hearing, and a congregation that has a living faith is a congregation who is hearing the good news preached to them week in and week out. The gospel is always the answer, and preaching the answer Sunday after Sunday is bound to head off many of the problems that tyrannically steal a pastor's time.

The Root of Plagiarism

With all of that said to establish the importance and primacy of the preaching of the gospel, let's explore what the practice of sermon plagiarism indicates. An effective preacher is one who can take the truth that God speaks to him through a passage of scripture and focus that truth through the lens of scripture upon his audience. There is a sense of immediacy in this kind of preaching - as if God were speaking directly to each person in the room. This preacher can present the word as living and active, first wounding and then healing the audience by effective use of law and grace. Anyone who has ever preached in this way will tell you that it must come from a sense of urgency that God places within you while studying the scripture. Even the re-use of your own sermons, regardless of how well they preached in the past, cannot re-create the urgency and impact with which they were first inspired, preached and received by your hearers. How then can the use of someone else's words capture and direct those qualities?

The pastor who is willing to plagiarize his sermons is logically suffering in one of several ways. He is either unwilling or unable to feel that sense of urgency from the word, unable to convey that sense of urgency, or unable or unwilling to invest the time in study to hear from God with that sense of urgency. He will find that sermon preparation holds no joy for him. He cannot recognize the jaw-dropping wonder of the gospel and as a result he cannot convey it to others. I suspect that most pastors do not begin their ministries feeling this way, else no one would ever enter the preaching ministry. When facing down a Sunday sermon becomes nothing more than a chore and a task that you have no desire to do, I can only imagine that pastoring becomes a bleak and dismal occupation. Preaching is always burdensome because you feel the weight of rightly dividing and passionately delivering the word of God to your hearers. When even the hearing from God becomes a burden, I can see where the temptation toward plagiarism could become almost unbearable.

Some defend plagiarism by stating that certain pastors are just not gifted at preparation and communication and therefore serve their congregations better by using the sermons of others. I would counter that by arguing that preparation and communication are the primary functions of pastoring and the man who does not have the desire or ability to do these has missed his calling. Hopefully we have not come to the point within the church where we believe that pastoring is merely an occupation that does not require a particular calling. In a majority of cases where plagiarism occurs, I have to believe it is a result of a man's faith growing cold or his allowing too many things to distract him. But in the case where he never had the desire or ability to preach, he has missed his call and would do well to find an occupation that utilizes his true giftings. 

Everybody Does It

The most common defense I hear for plagiarism from the pulpit is that everybody does it. First off, that is simply not true. Many people use bits and pieces of others work and simply cite the sources. A pastor does not have to (and probably will not be able to) come up with several entirely original sermons every week, but he must never use that as an excuse to pass another's work off as his own. The "everybody does it" excuse never worked with your mother and it shouldn't work with the church. If this same man were to be caught downloading pornography, no one would simply shrug it off with "everybody does it" though in fact there would be more truth in that statement. Churches should expect better.

A pastor knows that the church is paying him a salary to do prep and present a compelling sermon several times weekly and that using and citing the works of others may feel like he is not investing the required time (or does not have the ability) to do so. If he then begins to plagiarize sermons to cover the perceived deficit he is effectively lying to his congregation, allowing them to believe that he is fulfilling his obgligations when he is in fact stealing the work of another. He would do better to cite and quote the works of others that he respects and feels will benefit his congregation.

A Deeper Problem

To me, plagiarism of sermons indicates a deep spiritual problem. When a man is not hearing from God and no longer sensing the awe of the gospel, continuing to preach borrowed sermons is merely a bandaid over a mortal wound. Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687-1752) said: “Apply yourself wholly to the text; apply the text wholly to yourself.” When a man comes to the place where he applies himself to his text in such a superficial way as plagiarism of another man's understanding of the word, can he be applying the text to himself in any less superficial a manner? The man in such dire circumstances needs a gospel IV; direct and prolonged exposure to the good news of the gospel. Often his pride may prevent him from removing himself from the pulpit despite his evident spiritual drought. Rather than humble himself before God and his congregation and admit that he has lost his love for the gospel he will resort to measures as desperate as plagiarism.

Despite the moral implications of plagiarism, which indicate a problem with integrity, the spiritual implications may be more critical. Pastors are held to high account and should be those among us who are most watchful to keep their spiritual wells from running dry. They, like all of us, must search out the gospel at every turn through time in the word, study of the word, exposure to other Christ-centered preaching and teaching, and fellowship with other gospel-dominated believers. Beyond that, they are specifically tasked with delivering that gospel to a congregation. If a man no longer seeks the gospel, he is no longer fit to serve it. Churches must look long and hard at this issue and not simply dismiss it with an "everyone does it" excuse. It should be assumed that any man preaching a sermon which is not his own without specific attribution of the source has lost the will to seek God for his inspiration and is operating according to the flesh.

That, harsh as it is, is the gospel truth.

Read other viewpoints:

TGC Asks Don Carson: When Has a Preacher Crossed the Line into Plagiarism in His Sermon?

So, what about preaching and plagiarism?
I Think the Pastor Stole That Sermon

God's Faithfulness

When we preach the gospel correctly, there should aways be the risk that our hearers could take it the wrong way. It is to be preached as an unashamedly free gift, a salvation conditioned solely upon the work of Christ at Calvary. It should be emphasized that this gift cannot be earned, nor is it possible by any human effort to earn it, however extreme or simple that effort may be.

Most will not or cannot bring themselves to Preach a message like that because there is a high probability that the hearer will abuse God's gift of free grace. He will use God's grace as a cover-up for his sin. This is labeled cheap grace because there is no cost associated with the gift and it is assumed that people will do as they please without regard for holiness or righteousness. Honestly, this is a risk we must be willing to take as evangelists.

The message of God's free gift of grace is the message of the gospel. It is good news. It demands nothing other than faith, and the faith it demands it also creates. If this message meets with one who is called of God to salvation, there is no risk involved. There is no chance that such a person is going to abuse God's grace. We can be sure of this because God promises it.

In Romans 8, Paul tells us this:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (V. 29)

This predestination for conformance to the image of Christ occurs prior even to our calling. This Paul makes clear as he continues in verse 30:

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

So the one who is predestined for justification by faith is not predestined to use that faith as an excuse for sin, but is called to faith as a means of being conformed to the image of Christ. That is the ultimate goal of our salvation - not our happiness - but the transformation of our lives for the glory of God. The more famous verse that opens the thought explains that when coupled with verses 29 and 30:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

That all things work together for good does not mean that all things work together to suit us or our idea of what is 'good' for us, but that all things work together to conform us to the image of Christ.

Again, Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Vs. 8-10)

Here, once again, Paul couples the idea that grace is an absolutely free gift, not of our own doing, not the result is any work (including the mythical "give your life to Christ" demand) which leads to good works which God prepared for us to do before we were saved. There are no good works which earn us our salvation, but good works are evidence of our salvation. And these are not arbitrary works but the very works for which God has justified us and gifted us.

This enables the evangelist to do two things. The first is that he may stop juggling law and grace as a means of insuring that the one he is preaching to is 'sincere' in his decision. We don't have to wonder if someone has believed 'with all their heart' - if they have there will be long-term evidence. We don't have to instruct them to 'give their life to Christ' because those whom God has called will be in Christ already when they believe.

Secondly, it frees us to preach to whomever we will. I am not limited to sharing with only the ones with whom I have continual contact, but with anyone with whom I make contact. It would always be preferable to continue a relationship with someone to whom we have witnessed, but it is not necessary because God is faithful to complete that which he has started.

All of this leads back to the importance of what it is that we preach. If we do not clearly and concisely help people to identify their sin and the severity of their sinfulness and then just as clearly identify God's ridiculously free gift of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit through trust in the finished work of Christ alone, they cannot be justified by faith. If they are not justified by faith and empowered by the Spirit, they will not be conformed to the image of Christ. If they are not conformed to the image of Christ, being fruit-bearers, they will not be saved. Even if we do everything right, some will believe in vain, and that is beyond our control.

I guess the bottom line in all of this is that the outcomes are beyond our control. We are responsible to preach the gospel - to plant seed and to water - but it is God who brings the increase. So preach the free gift of God in Christ with reckless abandon knowing that if God begins a good work any of your hearers He will be faithful to complete it.

The Obedience of Faith

Paul's introduction of himself to the church at Rome includes these words:

...Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations...
Romans 1:4-5

In the past four years since I began to distinguish law and gospel, words like obedience have not been a big part of my vocabulary. You see, to me obedience smacked of law, and law was the enemy of grace. And yet here I have Paul, my favorite biblical writer, writing in my favorite book of the bible that he was given his apostleship, and God's grace, to bring about not just justification of all nations, but the obedience of faith. It suddenly seems to me that grace by faith is a means to keeping the law in the end; that the gospel seeks obedience to the law as it's primary aim. Forgiveness of sin is a necessary component of salvation,  but the primary end of salvation is obedience by faith.

We can be certain that we cannot keep the law of our own doing and out of the flesh. The apostle says in Romans 8:7:

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

But just because we cannot keep the law, it does not mean that we do not keep the law. We need not throw up our hands in defeat and think, "It's a good thing the Lord forgives me for Christ's sake, because I am only a sinner and will always be only a sinner." Yes, as long as you are in the flesh you will deal with sin, but the point is that we've been given a new nature and that nature is perfectly willing and capable of desiring and performing the law as it's ultimate objective. The new creature, born of the Spirit and not the flesh, seeks to fulfill the law:

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:3-4

There is not even a hint that works in some way earn us God's favor in any of this. Lawkeeping is not the cause of salvation, but the result. Or perhaps it could he said that salvation is the cause of lawkeeping and never the other way round. The trap I fell into was thinking that forgiveness was the ultimate goal of salvation and that any obedience that came about from that was a happy accident fueled by gratitude. It's not surprising that any of us can think that when we hear the voices of many in the new reformation. The message I have heard (and the message I have taught) boils down to, "if you understand that you are forgiven for the sake of Christ alone, that is enough."

But forgiveness is just the beginning. A glorious, liberating, exhilarating beginning. The beginning of a new way of life and thinking that is empowered by a new nature that, with Paul, will "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)

Don't quit at the forgiveness. Don't just use the glorious freedom God has given you as a cover-up for sin in your life. Embrace that Spirit-empowered freedom and cooperate with it the put that sin to death and be transformed into the image of Christ.

That is the goal. Obedience by faith is the gospel truth as well as forgiveness by faith.

God bless.

Missing the Boat

Let me start by saying that I have not been completely wrong. I'm starting to see that I have been wrong nonetheless.

God's grace is free. Completely free. There isn't a thing we can do to earn it. God's love for us is completely conditioned upon the finished work of Calvary. There never has been any amount of lawkeeping that will merit God's favor and never will be. But here's the deal; God's grace is no excuse for sin.

The sermon of a friend helped me to realize that I have been coddling sin in my own life and the lives of others in the name of grace. After all, if my relationship to God is not conditioned on my actions, what's a little indescretion here and there? God will forgive me for Christ's sake, right?

First of all, sin is not a little indescretion. Sin, as James says, is lawlessness. Sin is the enemy of grace. Grace is not meant to make it easier for me to accept my sin. Grace is meant to kill my sin. Dead. Gone. To use God's grace as an excuse to continue in my sin as every bit as foolish as trying to use the law to attain righteousness. To do so is itself sin. If being saved to me is nothing more than accepting God's gift of forgiveness and continuing as a saved mess then I am gutting the gospel.

Hearing this would have raised my hackles two weeks ago. In fact it did. But it left me confused as well, because I came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit whom I've tried to ignore in both my teaching and my personal life. The helper who gives us the power over sin. The Spirit of Christ who dwells within us. The teeth of the gospel.

God expects us to obey. God expects us to be putting to death the sin within our lives. God's grace is the agent of the death of sin, and He has not left us alone to figure out what is and isn't sin and he's not left us without help in using His grace to combat sin and the enemy. He has given us the Spirit as a pusher. He drives us to hate our sin, to want to expose it to the light - to want to douse it with the good news of Christ's victory.

I owe an apology to my students. I fear I have lead many of you to believe that you are what you are and that's all you'll ever be. I have lead some of you to accept defeat to sin as a way of life. It's not, and that's not what God intends for us. He wants us to become pure, righteous and holy like Christ.  Not in a frustrating law-keeping way, but by His Spirit and His grace. Paul put it best in Philippians 2:12-13:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We have work to do. Work that involves fear and trembling, but work that is empowered by our God.

Forgive me for being a close-minded smarty-pants. A new day is dawning and we must be holy if we are to see God.

More to come... God Bless