As a teacher I use a curriculum to help guide me. I teach the concepts that I am given in the curriculum but do not always use their methods. I add and subtract things based on several things like the needs of my students or materials available. For example, a few years ago I realized that my third graders were not doing well on their science tests because they didn't know how to study for them as they had never taken science tests before. So I created for every chapter a review sheet with questions that would help them prepare for the test.
When Ron and I taught in the youth ministry at our church we never used a curriculum. We tried to a couple of times but always found them to be lacking something. So every week we would sit down, usually together, and think about what the group as whole needed to hear. We knew them all personally. When we decided what we wanted the topic to be, we sat down with the Bible and began to see what God had to say.
So I wonder...do pastors use other sermons to help them prepare for their services? Do pastors always create their own sermons or do they borrow from other pastors? And when a pastor uses another pastor's sermon is that okay? Is there some curriculum or big book of sermons that pastors can go to if they get stuck? I would think that if a pastor gets paid a certain amount of money to preach that he would preach his own sermons. If not, is this a form of plagirism? And if they do use another pastor's sermon then who is the pastor of the church?
One would think that since I spent time working in a church office I would know how a pastor spends his time. But honestly, during my work in the church office I never paid attention to the process of sermon writing.
Any thoughts?
2 comments:
good question, I can't speak for all pastors, but I have known of some that borrow heavily from other sermons. For me I'd rather address people personally and tell them what they need to hear and see what God teaches me from Scripture and form a message, and only then listen to other sermons and read other commentaries to check myself and see if there is anything that might enhance the message. I do feel that if you use someones' thoughts, words, etc that you should not pass them off as your own and need to give them credit. I'm like you, not a big fan of curriculum.
Most of Pastor Mark's sermons to this point are ones that he himself has done in the past (I know this from working on the sermon outlines that have dates on them from years ago). He listens to a lot of commentary (2 to 4 different people who have spoken on his chosen topic) but he doesn't ever just stand up and spout out what someone else has said. Tim, on the other hand, comes up with 100% original stuff, much like what you described you and Ron doing. When ever I teach, it is very, very specialized (like at a drama conference, acting workshop, or creative Bible study) and I make up my own course but draw from lots of sources, which I freely quote but provide a "list of resources" which can help others on their path to learning. But that is what I love to do... come up with original content. I imagine that there is a lot of consensus within the preaching world so that there aren't a ton of completely orignal and opposing viewpoints, so at some point what you may hear on a Sunday morning is something that someone else somewhere else may have already said.
I am curious to know what prompted you to ask about this?
Jason looks so Professional Pastor in that photo!
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