Preach My Sermon!
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From the Said at Southern blog:
(HT: Ray Van Neste)
James Merritt preached tonight at the Southern Baptist Pastor’s Conference. He began his sermon by mentioning his website PastorsEdge. He encouraged his listeners to download his free Father’s Day sermon - illustrations and PowerPoint included - and use it this Sunday with his blessings. He assured them it was not plagiarism and they had his full permission. (I will post the video as soon as it’s available - so check back soon.)Check out the Said at Southern post for a roundup of links regarding this sad and lazy practice of secondhand sermonizing.
The prices at Pastor’s Edge are very reasonable. For $30 you get a complete sermon series with all of the following:The complete sermon manuscript in Word ® and as a PDF. A complete PowerPoint® presentation that highlights each main point. A beautifully illustrated listening sheet that can be easily duplicated for your congregation. The only thing left for the pastor to do is prepare the message. All of the supporting files are ready to go!If you are on a tighter budget, you can get the single sermons for $8 with artwork or without for only $5.50.
(HT: Ray Van Neste)
posted by JT at Tuesday, June 12, 2007
17 Comments:
Finally! I've been looking for something like this for years! Now I can surf the web most of the day instead of studying! PRAISE THE LORD!!!
This is becoming more and more popular. CBD also makes available certain resources that lays out sermons for you and whole sermon series'. Here is a excerpt from an add on CBD:
"Learn from the masters! This time-saving resource features over 100 4-page sermon outlines from three of the best-known preachers of all time: Matthew Henry, George Whitefield, and Alexander Maclaren. Practical and ready to use, these timeless messages focus on the grace of God, the righteousness of Christ, and humankind's need for salvation. 450 pages, hardcover from Hendrickson."
Some how I don't think Whitefield expected this from his available sermon outlines.
its a sad commentary on today's professional pastor: you can focus on the "important" things like church growth, building your ministry team, branding your church and "changing the world."
especially since every church conference in that world is rooted in pastors' tendency to covet a larger church.
Is this akin to selling the Gospel?
Now, if only they could provide a stand in pastor to come in and preach it for me. Maybe $50 a sermon. $55 if you want him to preach with passion.
Is this akin to using published Sunday School or Bible study curriculum for teaching? e.g., Experiencing God, etc. What's the distinction? What's so wrong about this?
un...be...liev...
wait, never mind.
My memory could be failing, but in *On Christian Doctrine*, doesn't Augustine encourage less educated and skilled pastors to preach his sermons?
This appears to be an ancient (and accepted) practice.
-Mike
Devil's advocate here! Hi.
I agree with anonymous above, what exactly is wrong with this? Should the makers of Praise Charts be likewise crucified for providing music transcriptions for lazy worship leaders who don't know enough about music to do it themselves?
Why not string up DG that provides lazy small group leaders with the "Don't Waste Your Life" small group kit instead of putting their own study together?
Sheesh.
well wait a second, lets be careful to differentiate between worship leading/music playing versus prayer and ministry of the Word. and, to be completely honest, lets make the distinction between someone who is paid to minister versus someone who is not paid to minister. the apostles themselves said that their attention should be on, "prayer and ministry of the Word."
i have no problem with people using resources to "help" in the study of God's word. even curriculum is good when used as a "reference" and a help.
the problem that i see is pastors don't use these sermons as references or helps, they use them as their sermons so they don't have to study, they don't have to meditate on the Word, they don't have to prepare. and the main reason for this is because they have other responsibilites that trump these things.
when we make our pastors our ceo's, this is what we get. when our desire is for bigger buildings, and bigger budgets, "prayer and ministry of the Word" take a backseat to "pragmatism and mission."
"its a sad commentary on today's professional pastor..."
This is the bigger problem.
"Sad and lazy"? Why isn't this a matter of conscience for each pastor--intellectual honesty before the law and his peers, transparent practices before his people, responsible stewardship of his gifts and growing intimacy and maturity before the Lord?
KP
Justin,
I have been a read of your blog for some time now. It is very well done and informative. This more than generous offer by Dr. Merritt does smack of arrogance, but then maybe it just shows his keen awareness of the shoddiness demonstrated by many of our pastors and the fact that they need this kind of help. In any case, you have earned a place on our blog roll. Come check us out sometime at www.twoinstitutions.org
I see this as more of a temptation for the bi-vocational pastor than the "professional" one.
In moderation, I don't think this is totally a bad thing. I doubt anyone wants a pastor who never puts together his own sermons, but for a small church, a pastor can take a week of vacation and still preach on Sunday (saving them from paying a fill-in) using something like this.
I'd rather see them preach a classic sermon from Spurgeon or Augustine, but in moderation, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing.
I'm kinda dumb when it comes to this stuff, so I have a question...
What is a single sermon with or without artwork? (The $8 or $5.50 option or whatever at the end of the quote justin posted)
This sounds like comic book preacher's notes, but I can't be sure. Any help here?
My other comment is also on the dumb side...
But don't baptists as a rule generally laugh at, mock or otherwise belittle, mainline or RC priests for reading a message prepared by someone else?
If so, why is this practice different?
Paul said in 1 Cor 9:18, "What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel." I think we're skirting the line here. I think a message is so much more powerful when it is the pastor's message, when he has agonized over it, prayed over it, allowed the Spirit to direct his content, and wrestled with the personal application. I had a post about this very thing in my blog last year: http://tinylink.com/?88LNBm3Gem
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