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A unique perspective to bring to the table on Ed Litton’s scandal of ripping off JD Greear’s sermons is a local pastor who does the hard work week in and week out. Pastor Troy Skinner, a pastor of a local church in Maryland, joins the Evangelical Dark Web to discuss sermongate which was a launching pad for a larger discussion on industrialized sermons and the nature of preaching.
Article by Ray Fava from NOQ Report.
Disqualifying?
Though the instance in reference is Ed Litton, the answer to this question applies to all instances. Pastor Troy wanted to make clear that just because a pastor sins does not make them disqualified for ministry. Being brought to repentance can make them a better pastor. The other issue with the term plagiarism is that it is largely an academic categorization of sin. With these actions one could be stealing someone else’s work and then passing it off as their own (false witness). Another issue of concern is what if the sermon was bought and then finished by the pastor. This is an entire industry whereby pastors can purchase sermons. Pastor Troy cautions us about being too dogmatic in drawing conclusions.
But a key concern that would lead to disqualification is the inability to teach. If someone is consistently making it a habit to not go through Scripture to write there own sermons it calls in to question their ability to preach as well as their own daily commitment to studying God’s Word.
Dangers of Industrialized Sermons
While Ed Litton clearly ripped off of JD Greear, JD Greear appears to also not write his own sermons. An obvious danger that was addressed in the discussion is the centralization of sermons, meaning that pastors outsourcing their sermon prep leads to more uniformity in the messages on Sunday morning. So if the industries providing this material are corrupt, then the information they are distributing will likely be compromised.
The Work of a Pastor
One can easily underestimate the work that goes into a sermon, as a sermon is supposed to be done. Careful study of the text, research of the history, commentaries, and then providing a useful tie-in to the audience and the church, and above all connecting the text with the metanarrative of Scripture (the gospel).
This leads to a discussion of whether to pursue topical or expository preaching. Topical being a sermon about a topic, and expository being a sermon about a text. Pastor Troy has done both but primarily practices expository preaching. Expository preaching has it’s advantages in being able to go deeper into understanding a text whereas topical preaching can address a specific moment of great importance to the congregation, an extreme example being the Sunday after September 11th. But Troy stated that expository preaching took longer to prepare, from his experience.
Final Thoughts
Ed Litton represents a small cog in a large industrial machine. Though because he is now president of the Southern Baptist Convention, this issue has been brought to light. This is all the reason to make sure you have a good pastor serving you and to appreciate their efforts.
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New Conservative Network Seeks Crowdfunding Help
They say we have to go big or go home. We’re trying to go big and bring the patriotic truth the the nation, but we need help.
Readers may or may not realize that over the past year, we’ve been bringing more conservative news and opinion outlets under our wing. Don’t take our expansion as a sign of riches; all of the “acquisitions” have been through sweat and promises of greater things to come for all involved. As a result, we’ve been able to bring together several independent media sites under a unified vision of preventing America from succumbing to the progressive, “woke,” Neo-Marxist ideologies that are spreading like wildfire across America.
The slow and steady reopening of America is revealing there was a lot more economic hardship brought about from the Covd-19 lockdowns than most realize. While we continue to hope advertising dollars on the sites go up, it’s simply not enough to do things the right way. We are currently experiencing a gap between revenue and expenses that cannot be overcome by click-ads and MyPillow promos alone (promo code “NOQ” by the way).
To overcome our revenue gap and keep these sites running, our needs fluctuate between $3000-$7000 per month. In other words, we’re in the red and hemorrhaging.
The best way you can help us grow and continue to bring the truth to the people is by donating. We appreciate everything, whether a dollar or $10,000. Anything brings us closer to a point of stability when we can hire writers, editors, and support staff to make the America First message louder. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report and the other sites in the network going.
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JD Rucker
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Yes, We Need Your Help
I hate being “that guy” who asks people to donate because I think our conservative news network is so crucial, but here I am…
When I left my cushy corporate job in 2017, I did so knowing that my family would have to make sacrifices. But I couldn’t continue to watch the nation slip into oblivion and was inspired by President Trump’s willingness to fight the good fight even at his own personal expense. What I didn’t realize then is that conservative media would be so heavily attacked, canceled, and defunded that the sacrifices would be extreme.
Many in this nation are struggling right now even though we weren’t struggling just a few years ago. I’m not alone. But I wake up every morning and operate the sites we’ve been able to build because there’s really no other choice. I refuse to be beholden to Big Tech like so many other conservative news outlets, which is why you won’t see Google ads here. With that said, it’s often challenging to pay the bills and it’s even harder to expand so we can get the America First message out to a wider audience.
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