Postscript: To Post a Sermon Online, or Just Move On?
To make a sermon manuscript public, or not, that is the question. I’ve had this blog for about two years now, and I’m still of two minds when posting my sermon manuscripts. For one, my sermons are so contextual that it feels weird to post them on the internets where they roam free without context or explanation. By posting them, it almost feels like I’m inviting a kind of voyeurism. These manuscripts are not written for the whole world, but for one particular community in a certain time with certain concerns in mind. A north Florida congregation would not understand the point of an Ole and Lena reference (to use an example from my most recent sermon), but such a joke in a northwestern Minnesota congregation might serve quite well. So, when I post, I always want to fill in the context, to type parenthetical notes — that line is for ______, I looked at so and so during this part.
But, then, I’m not naive (or faithless) enough to think the Holy Spirit does not take my preached words and do much more with them than I could ever do on my own. And I’m certainly not going to limit the Spirit’s movement to corporate worship. If I can post a sermon to WordPress, I bet God has WordPress scoped out pretty well. Also, several people just yesterday told me that they couldn’t attend last week’s service and enjoyed reading the sermon online. And a few students and relatives connected to the congregation can stay more connected still by reading posted sermons.
Since FPC Hallock doesn’t have a website as of now, my blog seems as appropriate a place as any to post them. (Though I’m never thrilled when they muck up my facebook page since I have wordpress and facebook connected.)
Posting sermons also brings both an intellectual honesty, and opens the door to intellectual dishonesty. By posting, I’m fully aware that any pastor joe blow anywhere preaching on the same texts can google a sermon and steal it — change it a bit, or not, and preach it in his congregation. Sadly, since there are too many instances of this going on even before google, one can only assume such intellectual and theological sinfulness is even more rampant today. On the other hand, posting sermons holds me to public account beyond our congregation. If I use an unattributed story, or preach less than my best, the account is out there for all to see. I also enjoy reading friends’ sermons and wrestlings with the texts I’ve worked with, so it’s only nice to return the favor.
So there’s that stated publicly now. I’m not sure I’ll feel any better before posting next week, but at least I’ve given a bit of a disclaimer. It was written for this context alone; please use it for study purposes only.
Connect Online
Adam, I hope you will (and actually saw that you did).
I think you already mentioned one good reason: members of your own congregation who miss a Sunday can then access it.
But to that I would add: I appreciated reading your sermon, not just because it was a good sermon (which it was), but because your posting helps, in a small way, work to correct one of the persistent struggles in our denomination.
One of my deepest convictions since our last General Assembly has been to say to folks on the left and the right, “These are not your enemies, nor are they heretics/apostate/etc… these are brothers and sisters in Christ (with whom you certainly may disagree).”
Seeing how one another engages scripture and interacts with the life of a congregation grounds our knowledge of each other in a much more realistic and day-to-day reality. And that is helpful!
On a practical note, I decided to create an identical-looking, but separate blog just for the sermons (and include audio)… just so folks who wanted to subscribe to one or the other (blog or sermons) could do so. Both have links to each other… see here and here:
sermon blog
pastor blog
In God’s grace,
Robert
Thanks, Robert. That’s a good point that I hadn’t thought about, but is so true. Also, good idea re the sermon blog and pastor blog. Peace and thanks.
I was posting my sermons for a while. I quit because I wasn’t all that fond of my sermons and I also just got lazy. I like reading other’s sermons. I like to see how they handled a text differently from me. I read sermons to prep for my own. Occassionally I find a good one and quote it at length (I always credit the preacher when I do). If the sermon is posted on a site like Day1, I assume it’s the same as published in a book and I don’t ask if I may quote it. If it’s a personal or church website, then I ask. It seems to me it’s like using a Craddock story or something from a book.
I don’t think my sermons are ever good enough for someone to steal (you’d have to be really desperate), but I don’t see how “stealing” (using without attribution an entire sermon) hurts me. It hurts the thief and his/her congregation. If someone finds my words so useful that they want to share them with his/her congregation, I think I’m honored.
The other thing about sermons is that they are a window into the preacher’s soul. They expose more about us than we ever know. And so, I see privacy as a reason not to post.
Our congregation is moving to reviving our website. I’ll probably post there when we do. At this point, my blog is not known among my congregation.
I’m wondering if it might be effective to remove sermon posts after a couple weeks, figuring that congregants will have had a chance to read them? That way when someone does a search, on a specific text a few years down the road, your sermons don’t pop up.
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while, and I appreciate the chance to read a few sermons (of others) on my day off. There’s something energizing about reading blogs and sermons of those preparing for the pastorate, and of those who have been preaching for 50 years. Both tend to find different things in the text, and put things together in a different way. It’s refreshing in so many ways.
I especially like the blog of a semi-retired Methodist pastor who isn’t one bit afraid to say it like he sees it. He’s only posted six sermons so far this year, with the last one being at Pentecost. But he is so different than me, that I find fresh air in what he writes and how he goes about things. http://questingparson.typepad.com/questing_parson/
I don’t post my sermons, which are also quite contextual, so I certainly wouldn’t find fault if you didn’t post them online. I am seriously contemplating the posting of the audio though (currently not recorded). Without the text, search engines won’t come up with the words and references. And those who are really serious will still be able to listen.
I’ll admit that I prefer to read sermons, as a person can read a sermon much faster than it is generally spoken. I generally don’t read other sermons on the same topics/texts as preparation or ideas. I just read a few sermons for my own heart and mind (either on Sunday evening or Monday).
I like to follow a few seminarians, as it keeps me in touch with what is being taught and how they are navigating through the challenges. No offense intended, but I’ll probably remove your blog from my reader fairly soon. It’s been good to read a few of your sermons, and to get a sense that you are settling down into this first call in a reasonably good place and fashion.