The Case of the Fibbing Preacher
A question for an ethics response paper this week brought up some great discussions and ethical quandaries regarding sermon preparation, citations, and delivery. Here’s the case. My response will go up in a few hours.
The Case of the Fibbing Preacher
Your friend Sarah is the solo pastor of a 100-member church. It’s Saturday night and after a very busy and difficult week, she’s trying to wrap up her sermon. She calls you at 11:00 p.m. to talk through a dilemma she’s facing. She tells you that a mutual friend (now living in another state) has told her a great story about something that happened to him that would fit perfectly into her sermon. She wants to use the story in the sermon, but for various reasons (including a bit of a punch-line that only works in the first person), the story only works if she tells it as if it happened to her. She asks your advice about what to do.
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One of the saddest times I have had was to find a favorite story by a great preacher (told in the first person) is probably not true. It’s one I’ve used and credited to the great preacher. I wondered about how to square integrity against a good story told in the first person.
Jesus spoke in parables, but He never said it happened to him.
We are bearers of truth and authenticity. If we lie in the pulpit, how can we bear the Truth?
My advice to the fictitious Pastor Sarah: find another anecdote, or preach a slightly shorter sermon.
It’s better to preach a mediocre sermon than to preach a false one. The mediocre sermon will be forgotten by the next week. Trust me. Even the good ones don’t stick around as long as you’d like.
Thanks Joan and David. Both offer good advice. My longer response is coming up at the top of the hour.