Original sin?

So, there was an interesting conversation on some blogs recently about the ethics of writing sermons. The bulk of the debate seemed to revolve around whether or not it is appropriate to borrow/use/steal/buy material from other pastors/preachers/teachers/leaders. Specifically, is a website like http://www.pastors.com a good idea or a bad idea? Do pastors need to develop all their sermons completely from scratch? Or is it ok to buy material pre-packaged?

The issue came up when I read the following blog:
"Pastoral Plagiarism" (thanks to Justin Taylor for the link)

Before reading any more of this blog entry, go read the one on "pastoral plagiarism" (and the article that sparked the debate) and let me know what you think.

I am not a pastor, nor am I a pastor-in-training. So, I am not under the weekly pressure to produce a sermon, nor will I ever be. So, from that point of view I don't think I'm in a good position to comment either way. Clearly there are a lot of bloggers who feel very strongly that using pre-packaged sermon material is absolutely wrong. But conversely there are many pastors and churches who appreciate this service.

I think that clearly anyone who steals sermon material and then passes it off as their own is in the wrong. No question there. But, is there a real sin committed by buying a sermon outline, fleshing it out yourself, and then preaching it on Sunday? What if you've had a rough week and haven't had time to fully prepare? What if your family is in the middle of a crisis and you can't spend 20 hours doing sermon preparation?

Although I agree that it would be preferable for all pastors to work out their own sermons under the inspiration of God, I think I understand that this won't be possible in all situations. And although I don't like the idea of pastors buying their sermons online, I'm hesitant to broadly condemn anyone and everyone who does this.

As for the "effectiveness" issue - sure, it sounds shallow on many levels. But at the same time, if you come up with a good illustration, or rhetorical technique, or historical fact, or exegetical insight, why not share that with someone else? Why not use whatever resources are available to you? If Rick Warren preaches an awesome sermon, about some issue I was hoping to address to my (hypothetical) congregation, then would it not make some sense to buy that sermon and pass it on to my church?

Those who are most angered by resources such as pastors.com seem to ignore the fact that pastors and teachers use all sorts of ancilliary material in preparing their sermons; countless commentaries, grammars, encyclopedias, dictionaries, academic articles, footnotes, translation notes, conversations with other people, devotional material, Christian books, systematic theologies, TV shows, movies, radio programs, Christian music etc. etc. There is no such thing as a perfectly divinely-inspired, unadulterated, straight-from-God-to-me sermon.

Rather than there being a clear dividing line between these kinds of secondary resources and those at pastors.com, it seems to me, in my naivete, that we are looking at something that more closely resembles a sliding scale of available helps. Different pastors are going to be all over the map according to the needs of their congregation and the resources available to them. Some will go the easy way and buy a package deal. Others will slog it out by themselves and try to create something original and unique to them and their church.

Ultimately I think that is is within God's ability to work in the hearts and minds of everyone involved, regardless of the where the sermon originally came from. At least, that's my take on this issue. As I say, I'm not a pastor, and it' clear that folks seem to be coming down strongly on either side of this debate.