10 Tips for
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Plagiarism
by Ron
Forseth
Editor and
General Manager, SermonCentral.com
SermonCentral provides a
wide variety of resources to help you more efficiently prepare biblical sermons
for greater impact. In providing the
approximately half a million pages of free sermon content, we seek to enhance
your preaching ministry—and guard it from the dangers of abuse. As plagiarism in the pulpit is an issue that
can indeed hurt your ministry, I again address the topic as we have
before.
Plagiarism can be simply
defined as taking the content of another and presenting it as one’s own. It’s a pitfall that has cost some
preacher’s their jobs. However,
sermon preparation never has to involve plagiarism. Here are 10 tips for avoiding it:
1) Start
with the Bible as your primary source for sermon preparation.
It
may seem obvious to make such a statement but it’s worth emphasizing. God’s Word is our final authority in life
and conduct and any message we give that fails to build upon it frankly
shouldn’t be preached in the first place.
Paul told Timothy, “Preach the Word!”
We can’t preach the Word unless we’re in the Word and building our very
thoughts upon it. Some begin by holding
such a standard and then drift from it.
There’s no better day than today to return to the Bible as the core
source of your sermons.
2)
Determine to nourish your own spirit and soul
before you feed your flock.
God
has designed it to be this way. “The hardworking farmer should be the first to
receive a share of the crops” (2 Timothy 2:6). The preacher should be the first
to enjoy the spiritual benefits of preaching. When you yourself are filled up,
the temptation to plagiarize will hold little sway over you.
What
about the desert times of the soul?
They’ll certainly come but that shouldn’t undermine your own pursuit of
intimacy with the Lord through his word.
And when dry times do come, there are other helps for steering clear of
plagiarism.
3)
Regularly acknowledge your sources to your
listeners.
Let
them know you have gleaned input from others and let the acknowledgment be
proportional to the degree to which you use others’ materials.
A
singular quote succinctly delivered may call for no citation at all. Rick Warren is fine with you telling your
audience “It’s not about you,” even if you don’t cite him. And declaring that “Death, thou shalt die!”
may be just as well quoted without citing John Donne. If something is common knowledge in the news or in literature, it
may be even more powerful to NOT quote your source. This doesn’t mean you pretended to originate it.
But
there should be no pressure to suppress sources of your content. Great preachers have always drawn on the
works of others. But the great
preachers don’t need to secretly use the work of others without acknowledgement. If you use a seven point structure to
present a message on the atonement—and all seven of the points come from a John
Piper sermon—a clear acknowledgement of Piper’s contribution is in order. Your primary source should receive the main
citation.
But
don’t encumber your preaching with myriads of citations which go beyond the
expectation of any reasonable audience.
The question isn’t whether you are citing everything. The question is whether you are representing
yourself accurately or not.
4) Always
keep trust between you and your congregation in full view.
As
you guard trust, when and how to utilize material in your sermons will
naturally fall into place.
Your
concern ought not to be whether your sermon sources are discovered. It must be, “Are my sermons and the way I
present them strengthening trust between myself and my congregation?”
The
most eloquent sermons will be completely undermined in the absence of
trust. But less than ideal sermons can
still have great impact an environment of trust. It’s better to be authentic with your listeners. Try this one at the beginning of a sermon
which you’ve struggled to prepare: “I
haven’t prepared for this sermon as much as I would have liked, but will you
join me in asking God to speak to us today in spite of my own weakness?”
5)
Use multiple sources, not just one.
Some
might ask, “Can I use a sermon taken verbatim from a single source?” If your congregation is comfortable with a
statement like, “I’d like to mention that the sermon I am about to give is
taken verbatim from Pastor so and so,” then it’s probably within ethical bounds. However, I doubt that appeals to you as a
pastor, not because it would be embarrassing, but because it is not really the
path you want to be on. (If you’re
asking such a question, there is no doubt a deeper issue in your ministry that
needs to be addressed.)
Instead,
in your sermon preparation position yourself in the midst of multiple sources
rather than just one. This will guard
the doctrinal balance of your sermons and it will allow you to put your own
mark on the content as you synergize ideas from many sources.
6)
Develop an array of citation techniques.
Make them second nature and part of the flow of your
preaching. Use phrases like. Use phrases like:
·
Someone said…
·
According to…
·
I'd like to
acknowledge… . . .
·
I'd like to give
credit to . . .
·
Pastor so and so
says . . .
·
A model preacher
said it this way…
. . .
·
I once heard it
said… . . .
·
Someone more
experienced than I am tells me….
. .
·
So and so has
helped me get a grasp on this . . .
7)
Don’t seek to impress. Seek to edify.
Sure,
the “Wow” factor in preaching can have some utility in catching and keeping the
attention of your audience, but the goal is not originality or to demonstrate
your intellect. It’s edification. The goal is not to impress your listeners
with your great preaching or sermon preparation. It’s edification.
Acknowledge
that there is very little original content under the sun—maybe none! (See Ecclesiastes 1:9) What can be original is your arrangement and
presentation of the ideas you preach.
8)
Temper the drive for efficiency in sermon
preparation
with
the reality that efficiency has its limits and that labor in study must be
invested. Recognize you will never
escape the need for labor in preparing your sermons. Sales people need to make phone calls. Carpenters need to hammer nails.
Drivers need to cover miles. And
preachers need to prepare sermons. It
takes work and there is a glory—and sweat—in doing that work.
9)
Whenever
possible, avoid the Saturday night sprint.
The
greatest pressure to plagiarize comes at the last minute when you are desperate
for a word to share. If the Saturday
night sprint is a habit you find yourself struggling with, it’s time to step
back, admit it’s an issue, and pursue support, including accountability with
another pastor or friend. Other things
that can help include: dedicated sermon
preparation time earlier in the week,
a solid preaching calendar developed in collaboration with others, and possibly
even a change in preaching style that doesn’t require an inordinate amount of
sermon preparation.
10) Above all, whatever you preach, make it your
own.
You
may take a sermon by Lee Strobel provided with the very purpose that you use it
openly with your congregation. Of
course you’ll cite the source. But what
is really necessary is that you comb through the content and make it your
own. Challenge and modify the ideas as
you craft the final form. Insert
personal examples and thoughts.
Transform the message from being Lee Strobel’s to being your own. And work in other sources as well.
Refuse
to preach something for which you lack conviction. Does that mean you shouldn’t preach if you don’t have something
you have conviction to preach about?
Quite possibly. Our preaching
must leave space for the Holy Spirit to be actively engaged. Your lack of conviction may be an indicator
that God has something else in mind:
·
A change in topic or
passage. Is this what God has for your
congregation at this time?
·
A change in
preachers. Does God want to speak to
your congregation through someone else at this time?
·
A change in
heart. Does God want to do something in
you before you share this message?
As
someone once said, “A message from a mind will reach a mind. A message from a heart will reach a
heart.” Speak from the heart!
Make
what you preach your own conviction before God. As Peter admonishes, “If you speak, you should do so as one who
speaks the very words of God.”
Perhaps the greatest
authority today on the craft of preaching is Dr. Haddon Robinson. He addresses the issue of plagiarism:
"It's hard to footnote sermons.
There's no way to make people in the pews understand all of the sources
you are using, especially if they're highly academic sources. I don't think
anyone expects preachers to stand up there and quote all of their reference
books and commentaries by name."
That’s a nice word of
balance to close with. We don’t have to
be preoccupied with the small stuff. We
simply need to keep in mind the big picture:
As we preach, are we reasonably representing ourselves to our listeners?
