Another suggestion was made in reference to Monday’s post.  Let me quote John’s suggestion in full:

‘Appropriate re-use’ of others’ ideas. Of course the question is what ‘appropriate re-use’ might mean, but if I’ve heard a sermon on a passage that was very effective and faithful to the text, or I’ve read a commentary that powerfully and faithfully expressed the message of the text, certainly there must be ways to build on this work with integrity rather than having to ‘start from scratch.’ Any thoughts?

Many thoughts, but what to say?  I agree that it seems unwise to re-invent the wheel, but at the same time there is a danger inherent in trafficking in unlearned truth. I think that it is vital to have time lag in preparation, which is exactly what is missing when people are most tempting to plagiarize.  If a message is particularly striking and well done, then why not take notes, evaluate what made it effective, wrestle with the text in light of that preacher’s chosen approach.  But then there needs to be time in order to work through the sermon for yourself.  You need to submit your life to the text, and allow the message to become your own, even if a particularly well-turned phrase, or effective and faithful sermon structure reflects the work of another.

Then there is the matter of attributing sources. We need to think through the side effects of citing sources when we preach – people may feel turned off by names of folks they don’t know, or by people they do know of and disagree with.  People may feel you are showing off, or that your access to “scholars” puts you in a different league to them and thereby demotivate them from studying the Word for themselves.  If something needs to be attributed to someone else, it is possible to do that without citing names and details.  “One preacher I heard put it this way. . . ” can be all it takes to move you from plagiarism to personal integrity.  (People can always ask for specific citations after the sermon.)

Check your motives.  You can go to all sorts of lengths to hide another preacher’s work in your sermon.  But if you are going “to lengths” then something isn’t right.  The question is not what can you get away with, but what is right as you preach as one who will give an answer to the Lord? Your motives will usually be most compromised when you feel most desperate for a breakthrough before a looming deadline.

I acknowledge that others will influence our preaching, and they should.  But it should be a “they” and not just one person.  It should still be us that preaches, and not a poor clone of another.  We should be above reproach, but equally we should be open to learn from others who are perhaps better students of the Word or preachers than ourselves.  So much more to say, but that’s enough from me for now . . . feel free to comment.