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PULPIT PLAGIARISM

An Essay

Presented to Professor Terry Edwards

Freed-Hardeman University

Henderson, TN

As a Requirement in

Course

Values

By

Ben Griffith

May 20, 2010

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Many regular church-goers have experienced the uncomfortable feeling of sitting through

a sermon that sounds a little too familiar. Sometimes it sounds familiar but the listener cannot

quite place exactly where it is from. Other times it is very clear–you realize the preacher

blatantly plagiarized an entire tract, sermon, or book chapter.1

Plagiarizing sermons is a widespread problem among preachers of all denominations (and

all times2). Journal articles can be found across all denominations imploring their ministers to

stop stealing from other sources. This essay will define and clarify what constitutes plagiarism,

describe two reasons why plagiarism is a critical moral issue for preachers, and offer some

causes for why plagiarism is so prevalent and advice on how a preacher can prevent/avoid it.

Plagiarism is, in the most basic sense, the stealing of another’s intellectual property. In

literature there are many rules and laws used to determine if a given writing can be labeled as

plagiarism. In the field of preaching, plagiarism is not so much about the specifics of offering a

name and publication for every line of information used in the sermon as it is about attitude.3

Listeners expect a preacher to do his own work, so a preacher crosses the line when he betrays

that trust by purposefully stealing ideas to shirk his responsibility of creating sermons for his

particular church. The poor attitude often involves laziness–often a shortcut to wealth and

acclaim.

1 John Buchanan, “Repeat Performance,” Christian Century 124, no. 8 (April 2007), 3. Buchanan gives an

example of when a member confronted him because her sister in another state sent her a manuscript from her
preacher that was exactly the same as Buchanan’s sermon from three weeks earlier. The other preacher had obtained
a copy of Buchanan’s sermon and later apologized, but the instance caused one of Buchanan’s church members to
question his morality.
2 Shelley Carter, “Stolen Words,” Encounter 66 (2005) 301-16. Carter offers a detailed history of
plagiarizing sermons from antiquity to modern times.
3 Scott Gibson, Should We Use Someone Else's Sermon?, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 46.
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Plagiarism is a critical moral issue regarding the profession of ministry for two main

reasons. First, it simultaneously sets a bad example for others and discredits you as a thinker and

researcher. Plagiarism discredits a person in any field, but it does so even more in the profession

of preaching. While members of any church should be willing to forgive their minister and give

him the benefit of the doubt, as a spiritual leader, the minister should take care to remain

trustworthy. Honesty is a virtue that preachers need in abundance, and one that many lack.4 It is

vital to a preacher’s ministry to have the trust of his listeners. If a preacher is caught plagiarizing

material for sermons, trust is undermined and it becomes difficult to impossible to be effective as

a minister (both in and out of the pulpit). 5 Beyond the issue of discrediting yourself and

becoming ineffective as a preacher and minister, plagiarism also sets a poor example for church

members.6 From an early age, formal education stresses the seriousness of stealing intellectual

property; as an example and model for the church, plagiarizing sermons sets a precedence in the

minds of listeners that plagiarism and other dishonesty is tolerable.

Second, and more importantly, plagiarism completely misses the point of preaching and

the local minister. Beyond the obvious ethical problems associated with stealing, plagiarism

undermines the purpose of homiletics. The calling of a preacher involves both the exegesis of

4 Joseph Jeter, “Posturing in Borrowed Plumes,” Encounter 66 (2005), 294. Jeter discusses common theft
committed by preachers: “Few church leaders preparing for a church picnic would say, "Well, let's go down to the
grocery store and steal some paper plates and cups." But the same leaders might well buy one copy of a piece of
sheet music and then make thirty copies of it for the choir, or do the same thing with some Sunday school material.
They might even feel good about doing so, thinking they are good stewards of the church's money when, in fact,
they are thieves. Even if they feel some small pangs of guilt in doing so, they still see the sin as venial. They may
say to themselves, The Lord has need of these paper plates, just as the disciples told the donkey's owner before
taking it, 'The Lord has need of it," not realizing how flawed the comparison is.
5 Thomas Long, “Stolen Goods,” Christian Century 124, no. 8 (April 2007), 18.
6 Jennifer Gerhardt, “Plagiarism in the Pulpit: Why Citation Matters,” Gospel Advocate 152, no. 4 (April
2010), 39. Gerhardt makes the point that college students get flunked for what some preachers do each Sunday. By
actively plagiarizing sermons, ministers set an extremely poor example for everyone else who is held accountable
for their plagiarism in their respective fields of study.
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scripture and the exegesis of his congregation–the church community to which he is a part.

Preaching should never be done without careful attentiveness to the needs of the listening

community. Ideas devoid of connection to the particular audience are meaningless because they

fail to embrace a minister’s call to minister to his own church. For this reason, it is essential for

preaching to be personal. The preacher, himself, has been called to his church so it must be his

thoughts and his words that edify the church.7

Finally, plagiarism is a widespread problem because of the pressure to perform combined

with the increased availability of sermon material on the internet. Many preachers, particularly in

smaller churches, have unrealistic job expectations. Not only are they required to spend countless

hours in house visitation, hospital visitation, personal counseling, and other administrative

duties, they are expected to preach twice a week and teach class at least once a week. On top of

this, the congregation demands well developed, polished lessons or they become restless and

begin to question why they have a preacher if they are not going to get quality sermons. With the

advent of the internet, plagiarism has never been easier for preachers. On Saturday night of an

exceptionally busy week, it can become extremely difficult for a preacher to resist the temptation

of a quick, simple Google search for the next morning’s sermon. For plagiarism in the pulpit to

cease, it is going to take a joint effort of preachers and their church. Preachers must resist the

temptation of taking the occasional shortcut by judiciously giving credit for borrowed material.8

However, the effort of ministers must be matched by those who judge his sermons. The

unrealistic expectations that burden preachers should be lifted by decreasing his non-preaching

tasks and/or reducing the number of sermons he is required to deliver.

7 Joseph Jeter, “Posturing in Borrowed Plumes,” Encounter 66 (2005), 293.

8 Mike Graves, "Attribution and contribution” Encounter. 66.4 (Aut 2005), 323-330.
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Bibliography

Buchanan, John. “Repeat Performance.” Christian Century 124, no. 8 (April 2007): 3.

Carter, Shelley. “Stolen Words: A Brief History and Analysis of Preaching and Plagiarism.”
Encounter 66 (2005): 301-16.

Gerhardt, Jennifer. “Plagiarism in the Pulpit: Why Citation Matters.” Gospel Advocate 152, no. 4
(April 2010): 38-39.

Graves, Mike. "Attribution and contribution: two ways to avoid plagiarism in preaching."
Encounter. 66.4 (Aut 2005): 323-330.

Gibson, Scott M. Should We Use Someone Else's Sermon?: Preaching in a Cut-and-Paste World.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Jeter, Joseph. “Posturing in Borrowed Plumes: An Introduction to Preaching and Plagiarism.”

Encounter 66 (2005): 293-300.

Long, Thomas. “Stolen Goods: Tempted to Plagiarize.” Christian Century 124, no. 8 (April
2007): 18-21.