A Video Introduction to CAPS

class topics for spiritual disciplines class

Here are the topics for the upcoming class on spiritual disciplines:

October 20

• Introduction to the Spiritual Disciplines
• Journaling
• Bible Intake (Reading, Meditating, Memorizing)

November 3

• Prayer (Basics, Praying Scripture)
• Fasting

November 10

• Family Worship
• Personal Evangelism

November 17

• Class Testimonies
• Persevering in the Disciplines

For more information on the class, click here or contact us:

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Message

Upcoming Class: Spiritual Disciplines in Bristol, October 20

We plan to begin our new spiritual disciplines class at Fellowship Chapel in Bristol, Virginia, on October 20.

Class will meet from 7-9 pm and will have four total sessions on the following dates:

• Thursday, Oct 20
• Thursday, Nov 3
• Thursday, Nov 10
• Thursday, Nov 17

There is no tuition fee for the class, but there will be:

• a nominal fee to cover the cost for producing notebooks with all handouts ready to go ($10 or less; I will let you know once I get the cost)
• a textbook that you should obtain in advance of the class, if you do not already have it:  Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
• an ongoing journaling assignment.  To fully participate in this class, you will need to journal at least twice a week.  More instruction about journaling will be given in the first class, but I think you will find this a very helpful exercise if you have never done it before.  You may use any method you like for journaling:  a spiral notebook, a journaling notebook, loose-leaf notebook papers, computer, etc.

Here are the topics for the upcoming class on spiritual disciplines:

October 20

• Introduction to the Spiritual Disciplines
• Journaling
• Bible Intake (Reading, Meditating, Memorizing)

November 3

• Prayer (Basics, Praying Scripture)
• Fasting

November 10

• Family Worship
• Personal Evangelism

November 17

• Class Testimonies
• Persevering in the Disciplines

Please let me know if you are interested in this class and have not already been in touch with me.

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Message

Who’s Robbing Whom? Some Thoughts on Pulpit Plagiarism

by Doug Smith

Is it wrong to preach another pastor’s sermon? This issue is certainly not new, but there has been a good bit of discussion in the last few years concerning possible answers to this question, some of which is quite disturbing.

Some prominent pastors, such as James Merritt, openly encourage other pastors to take their sermons and preach them – even without giving proper credit. However, others disagree. On December 7, 2006, the Albert Mohler Program featured a radio interview between Dr. Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS), and Hershael York, a pastor as well as a professor of preaching at SBTS. They are in agreement about this issue, and the title of the program reveals their perspective: ”Plagiarism in the Pulpit: Stealing the Material We Preach.” *  They believe a pastor should actually take the time to study and prepare messages suited for his own congregation instead of using something prepackaged and pre-processed. Shocking, isn’t it?

For years, in addition to working another job during the week, I regularly preached in a supply capacity, filling in for pastors or serving churches that do not have a pastor.  I am now serving a church as pastor and preach each week.  Study time is a premium amidst family and work responsibilities. It could become a temptation to steal others’ sermons.

However, I believe Mohler and York are exactly right concerning this issue. I have been thinking about pulpit plagiarism a fair amount of time lately, and would like to share the following thoughts on the subject.My thoughts are in general terms. I realize there are variations on pulpit plagiarism, ranging from preaching another’s sermon verbatim to extensively modifying it. One problem is that credit is often not given where credit is due. Another problem is that people are cheated by this thievery that is being promoted today. And the interesting thing is that the people who suffer the most are not the people whose material is being used, but the people who are stealing it and the people who are having it fed to them.Pulpit plagiarism robs pastors and congregations in at least five ways.

1. Pulpit plagiarism robs pastors and congregations of spiritual nourishment they can only get from someone who lives among them and labors in the text of Scripture.

The pastor who is content to steal others’ sermons robs himself of the valuable discipline of study and its benefits for himself. He has less reason to devote hours throughout the week to the Word than he would if he were preparing the sermon himself. The plagiarizer deprives himself of a great blessing that God would freely give to him and the congregation if he would devote himself to the Word.

The congregation also gets the short end of the stick. Just as the milk from a mother’s breast contains nutrients suited for a child that even the best formula cannot replace, a pastor who studies the Word and knows his congregation will be able to feed Christ’s sheep with a diet suited to their needs better than any prepackaged sermon can. Phillips Brooks said that a true preacher is one who utters “truth through his own personality,” and this is what every congregation needs. There are particular applications of the text that may be irrelevant to a congregation if taken from a canned sermon, and there are particular applications they need that cannot be gained except from their own pastor’s labors in the Word. This is especially true in foreign countries where the people may have no clue as to the point of illustrations in America and have certain needs that preachers from other cultures might not touch upon.

2. Pulpit plagiarism robs pastors and congregations by discouraging consecutive exposition.

A pastor said to me that the best way to feed Christ’s sheep is through expounding the Scripture book by book. I believe this is so because it enables you to preach passages with the big picture of its context in mind. When done correctly, expositional preaching lets God set the agenda and makes His Word the authority, rather than the preacher. There are variations on this method.Some, like John MacArthur, have preached dozens of sermons from one Bible book; others, like Mark Dever, preach overview sermons (covering an entire book in one sermon) in addition to covering smaller units of Scripture. Faithful expositors, no matter how large a preaching unit they use, agree with what Dever has said: ”An expositional sermon is one in which the point of the passage is the point of the message.” And the best way to ensure that you are preaching the point of the passage in each message is to preach consecutively through a book of the Bible.

A plagiarizing pastor may preach expositionally if he steals material from Dever, MacArthur, John Piper or someone else who preaches through books. But I would imagine the tendency for many would be to preach whatever sermon strikes them for the week or whatever the latest topical offering is from the mailing list they are on or the magazine to which they subscribe.

3. Pulpit plagiarism robs pastors and congregations by encouraging laziness.

A pastor is called to be diligent (2 Timothy 2:15). He is called to take time to think in order to gain understanding: ”Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7). He must get the knowledge he needs and take time to process that knowledge through meditation and research and study. He must pray and labor. Preaching another man’s sermon requires none of this. One could certainly modify it, but the temptation to carry over as much as possible to prevent as much work as possible will be there.

4. Pulpit plagiarism robs pastors and congregations of a safeguard against false teaching.

If a pastor is too lazy to study for his own sermons, he will probably be too lazy to check out the exegesis and application of another’s sermon to make sure that it is legitimate. He may begin teaching all sorts of false doctrine without even realizing that he is promoting unbiblical ideas. How can he guard the flock if he only takes for granted that he is feeding them healthy food?

5. Pulpit plagiarism robs pastors and congregations by rendering thieving preachers obsolete.

If a pastor simply preaches a sermon from another preacher, why couldn’t someone else from the congregation preach? Why not simply have the person with the most pleasant voice preach? Why not have the person majoring in drama preach a stolen sermon? Better yet, why not show a video every week of a favorite celebrity preacher?

If a pastor simply steals sermons from someone else, why go through all the trouble? Why not fire the pastor or free him up to do the other things he needs to do and let someone else preach a canned sermon or show a video?

On page 226 of his book, Walking with the Giants, Warren Wiersbe gives a relevant warning (emphasis mine):

Two dangers we must avoid as we read the sermonic literature of the past: imitation and plagiarism.Imitation robs me of my individuality, and plagiarism robs me of my character; both are insidious. One young preacher was so taken with the sermons in a certain book that he decided to preach them as a series. What he did not know was that one of his members owned the same book and had read it. As the member left the service one Sunday, he said to his pastor, “That was a fine sermon this morning!” Then he added with a smile, “Next week’s is good, too!” The problem, of course, lies not with the character of the printed sermon but with the character of the preacher reading it. Blackwood was rather blunt in his counsel: ”If one is tempted to steal the fruits of other men’s labors, one ought to let such books severely alone. . . “

Francis Bacon, in one of his essays, compared students to spiders, ants, and bees, and we may justly apply the illustration to preachers. Some preachers never study but, like the spider, spin everything out from within, beautiful webs that never last. Some are like ants that steal whatever they find, store it away, and use it later. But the bee sets the example for us all: he takes from many flowers, but he makes his own honey.

So, let us neither spin sermons without study, nor be thieves like the ant. Let us be like the bee. As we benefit from a multitude of sources, we must make the final product our own. We need to be, as one professor has said, those who milk many cows but make our own butter. Let’s learn from many sources; let’s assimilate what we have learned and produce our own sermons. If we fail to churn our own butter and merely lift our messages from other men, we do not merely rob them (even if they say it is okay), but we rob ourselves and the people of God of a rich spiritual feast.

* Audio of this radio program is available at www.albertmohler.com

This article was originally published at http://sharperiron.org/2007/06/25/whos-robbing-whom and has been slightly updated here.

Praying for Eight Things Pastors Need from the Holy Spirit

In C. H. Spurgeon’s book on pastoral ministry, Lectures to My Students, he talks about eight ways pastors need the help of the Holy Spirit. Several of these apply specially to preaching, but there is much application for ministry in general as well. After reading this list, I am reminded that we are utterly helpless if we do not have the help of the Holy Spirit, and any ministry will be powerless if not empowered by Him. I have summarized and adapted these below as an encouragement to believers in Christ to pray these things for your pastor, or if you are a pastor, for yourself and fellow ministers of the Word. Pray for the Holy Spirit to grant:

1. knowledge – that God would illuminate his study of the Word, particularly showing him the things of Christ.

2. wisdom – particularly, how to use knowledge rightly and communicate it appropriately to various types of people.

3. freedom of utterance – a boldness of speech that clearly and appropriately communicates the truth in the choice of words and emotional expression, and is also free from that which would distort, dishonor, or distract from the message.

4. an anointing on the entire delivery during his preaching– so that not only in his speaking, but in his body language, eye contact, demeanor, and consciousness, the Spirit would specially rest upon him and use him.

5. the actual effect of the gospel – that the Holy Spirit would work in the lives of hearers, producing the lasting change that comes from the work of God in hearts, instead of apathy to the message or manufactured or manipulated responses that are not genuine.

6. a spirit of supplications – that the pastor would continually rely on God in prayer, daily, as well as in the midst of his ministering, including while preaching.

7. a spirit of holiness – that the pastor will be set apart from the world, kept clean from that which is impure and defiling, and living a life in public and private that is worthy of the gospel.

8. a spirit of discernment – that God would help the pastor to know how to deal with a variety of people, including those who are difficult, and that he would make the best choices in using his time, being able to see, value, and choose what is best for a given situation.

From volume 2 of Lectures to My Students, “The Holy Spirit in Connection with Our Ministry” (free eBook from Google; this chapter begins on page 15)

Update: Clintwood Hermeneutics Class Scheduled to Begin June 30

We are planning to kick off a new CAPS Hermeneutics (Bible study methods) class on Thursday, June 30 at Clintwood Baptist Church in Clintwood, Virginia.  The tentative time is presently 7 p.m., and we will update this if it changes prior to June 30.  I will be teaching and overseeing the class along with Pastor Bryant Owens of Clintwood Baptist.

This class is intended as a prelude to a subsequent course, homiletics (preaching), and will involve an in-depth study of Philippians as an application of the principles of Bible study we learn (the later preaching class focuses on preaching Philippians).

There is no educational prerequisite or tuition charge for the class; the only cost will be for books ($4 each for a single textbook) and the notebook (about $10 to cover cost of materials).  We plan to meet for about six weeks (on Thursdays), starting Thursday, June 30.

If you would like to join this class or learn more about it, please contact us as soon as possible so we can touch base with you and make sure we have enough class materials.

Please click here to contact us if you are interested or know someone who may be interested.  We will then be in touch with you about more specifics, including a brief application that we would like to receive from students prior to the class.

For the first class, students need to bring the following materials to class, as they will be helpful to begin a historical background study of Philippians:

• at least one Bible
• one or two study tools from the following list:
• Study Bible
• Concordance
• Bible dictionary
• Bible encyclopedia
• Book on manners and customs
• Book on Bible or New Testament history
• Secular history book that covers the Roman empire and Philippi
• Exegetical/technical commentary on Philippians

Here is a link to the class resource page.

Doug Smith

Summer Hermeneutics Class in Clintwood, Virginia

We are looking at the possibility of offering a class in how to study the Bible in conjunction with Clintwood Baptist Church in Clintwood, Virginia, this summer.  If we have about 10 men committed to the class, we can offer it (we have two committed so far).  This class is intended as a prelude to a subsequent course, homiletics (preaching), and will involve an in-depth study of Philippians as an application of the principles of Bible study we learn (the later preaching class focuses on preaching Philippians).

There is no educational prerequisite or tuition charge for the class; the only cost will be for books ($4 each for a single textbook) and the notebook (about $10 to cover cost of materials).  We plan to meet for about six weeks (on Thursdays), starting Thursday, June 30.

We need to hear from you by June 15 if you are interested, so we can plan accordingly.

Please click here to contact us if you are interested or know someone who may be interested.  We will then be in touch with you about more specifics, including a brief application that we would like to receive from students prior to the class.

Book Review: Biographical Preaching by R. Larry Overstreet

R. Larry Overstreet, Biographical Preaching: Bringing Bible Characters to Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2001) [Christianbook.com   Google Books]

Reviewed by Doug Smith

One of the turning points in my life occurred when I first began sitting under expository preaching.  Another happened when I began to learn what expository preaching was, and how to do it.  It’s not that God uses only expository preaching; He certainly uses other approaches.  However, there is nothing like taking a text of Scripture and explaining its content and urging its implications on a congregation.  Furthermore, it seems to be a logical implication of texts like 2 Timothy 3:14-4:4 and even the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).

There are many helpful books available on the general subject of expository preaching.  Many authors helpful break down the steps of studying a book or passage of Scripture, analyzing it, and preparing a sermon that faithfully communicates the text.

Preaching consecutive textual units (through a book or portion of a book) is probably the most frequently promoted way to preach expository messages, but it is not the only way.  Dr. Larry Overstreet, an experienced pastor and seminary professor, has written a persuasive volume advocating Biographical Preaching as another approach for the preacher.  His book is clear, concise, practical, and of a rare breed.  While not the only book on the subject, it is one of few readily available, and it treats the matter with more depth than any subsection the present author has reviewed in other books on preaching (although the brief treatment by Irvin Busenitz in MacArthur’s edited book, Preaching, previously entitled Rediscovering Expository Preaching, is worth a look.  Its appearance in The Master’s Seminary Journal is here in pdf form:  “Must Expository Preaching Always Be Book Studies? Some Alternatives”).

Summary

The meat of the book is comprised of seven chapters.  In order, they deal with the definition, philosophy, value, method, mechanics, model, and variety in biographical preaching.  In addition, there are two appendices containing example sermons.

Overstreet views good biographical preaching as a subset of expository preaching.  He defines it as “the method of preaching that expounds a Bible character, based on careful exegesis, to deduce the principles that regulated his or her life and to apply the principles to the modern listener” (13).  He distinguishes between historical biographical sermons, which emphasize “the development of the person in history,” and character biographical sermons, which focus on “the inner nature of the person” in all areas: “spiritual, mental, moral, emotional, social, and even physical” (15-17).

One key issue in biographical preaching is the nature of the narrative portions of Scripture.  Most biographical material in the Bible is drawn from the narratives of Scripture, which do not directly relate commands to readers.  The issue at hand is whether narratives are intended to be prescriptive (telling us how to live) or merely descriptive (relating what happened in the storyline of God’s activity).

After setting forth the role of the Holy Spirit in inspiring the Bible (an act that guarantees its accuracy) and in empowering the preacher, Overstreet considers the purposeful intent set forth in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which teaches that “‘All Scripture’ is purposeful for (1) teaching, and/or (2) rebuking, and/or (3) correcting, and/or (4) training in righteousness, and (5) for an overall purpose stated in 3:17” (28).  In addition, he cites Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11 to demonstrate that Christian believers can look to the Old Testament for instruction and hope (29).  He concludes:  “The biographical preacher, then, can approach the Word of God with confidence that the principles gleaned from the lives of the people included therein are pertinent and relevant to lives today” (31).

Although the author sees practical relevance in the narratives of the Bible, he does not lose sight of their theological significance.  Since the narrative portions of Scripture highlight “the working of God in and through the lives and actions of people,” the preacher must remember that “God is always the ultimate focus of a biblical narrative” (32).  Furthermore, each narrative can be viewed at three levels:  the ground level of the individual(s) in the story, the middle level of how the story figures into the bigger story of the people of God, and the top level of how the narrative functions in the overarching plan of God (33).  Proper exegesis is necessary to analyzing and applying the text appropriately and avoiding reckless spiritualizing or allegorizing (32).

Overstreet argues for the value of biographical preaching because of its popular appeal, practical nature, powerful ability to impact lives, and profitability in making the Bible come alive for people (chapter 3).  He then lays out a method for this approach:  examining the relevant texts, studying the background, analyzing the person, using imagination, and focusing the sermon (chapter 4).  He provides helpful lists of questions to ask to gather key data concerning the person’s life, character, and practical application (82-84).

Chapters five and six give further strategies and examples to promote thorough preparation, while chapter seven advocates the use of dramatic monologues in biographical preaching — assuming the perspective of the character (possibly including props and costumes).  Appendix one gives a sermon example, while appendix two shows how a monologue may be presented.

Evaluation

Overstreet lays a great homiletical foundation and reviews essential elements of sermon preparation.  His theology and view of Scripture are clearly articulated and underlie his views on preaching.  His focus on application and contemporary relevance appropriately shape his approach to biographical preaching (the sermon is not a lecture, but something to teach us about the life that pleases God).  Furthermore, I found the book convincing on the usefulness and propriety of biographical preaching.

The book is realistic and helpful for one seeking to preach a biographical sermon.  The author is honest about the hard work involved, but does not leave the preacher to guess how hard it will be.  Practical helps are given, such as the lists of questions to ask (an invaluable inclusion) and examples of sermons.  Overstreet walks the preacher through essential elements in preparing, such as outlining, transitions, titles, introductions, conclusions, and illustrations.  He leaves no doubt as to what is involved in preparing a biographical sermon.

I found the author irenic concerning other views.  He respectfully interacts with Sidney Greidanus (192, note 1; Overstreet refers to Greidanus’s Preaching magazine article, “The Necessity of Preaching Christ from the Old Testament”; cf. related article, “Biographical Preaching Revisited”, a response to “Salvaging the Old Testament Biographical Sermon” by Timothy Peck, an article endorsed by Overstreet), who does not see a legitimacy to biographical preaching.  He also disagrees with Warren Wiersbe in Preaching and Teaching with Imagination (where Wiersbe suggests that monologues should only be done by those with adequate training and talent; see 199-200, note 5).

My only caveat — and at this point it is a personal one — is the advocacy of dramatic monologue for a sermon presentation (chapter 7).  I understand that my opinion may be the minority in many circles today, but – with all due respect to those who disagree – I have not yet become convinced that drama has a place in the public worship meeting of the church.  I understand that some of the concerns overlap with much preaching:  using imagination to fill in some blanks; dramatic use of the voice, etc.  I am also aware that God sometimes commanded people, especially the Old Testament prophets, to do dramatic things (in those cases, as an illustration of a spiritual truth for the nation Israel or as an analogy for something God was going to bring to pass).  However, what I continue to come back to is that drama was not unknown in the Greek culture of the ancient world.  It was perfectly accessible in the apostolic age.  Yet, nowhere in Scripture is it commanded or modeled as a strategy of communicating truth to the church.  My fears are that it could contribute to an entertainment mindset (even if that is not the intention), and, perhaps even more significantly, inadvertently undermine its content because of the nature of its medium (truth being presented by someone who is pretending to be someone else).  Perhaps I am carrying things too far here.  Intelligent hearers will know that the preacher is not really the individual he is portraying.  Nevertheless, I daresay that those who are convinced that dramatic monologue has a place in the preacher’s toolbox will find in this book some very practical helps for preparation, even if I am not convinced of its propriety.

Conclusion

I heartily recommend Biographical Preaching as a valuable resource.  It is an enjoyable and clearly written resource that persuasively shows the value and propriety of biographical preaching and gives a clear strategy to walk one through the steps of preparing such messages.  For those of us committed to preaching through books of the Bible, utilizing resources such as this to give a little more variety to our preaching may help breath new freshness into our preaching, as we show people of today what we can learn from the individual lives recorded in the Bible.