Reliable Sources
January 1, 2003
Michael had a rough weekâhospital visits, a deacons' retreat, and a chronically needy church member with another day-eating crisis had gobbled up his sermon preparation time. The sermon would be another Saturday night special. The book Michael had been reading lately came to mind. There was a great story about a dog whose leash got caught in his owner's car door, and the high stepping trip the beagle took at speeds up to thirty-miles-per-hour to keep up with the car. The author of the book indicated the story came from a newspaper a couple of years ago. Michael reread the whole chapter of the book attached to the story. The author, a pastor, wrote great books, and Michael suspected that some of those chapters had first been sermons. This chapter was very good, and Michael decided to use it as the basis for his sermon. In the pulpit Michael told the story about the dog's three-block sprint, and people laughed in all the right places. He told them the report had appeared in a newspaper. He used the author's main points, most of his treatment of the biblical text, and a key phrase that he repeated several times. Michael added a couple of his own illustrations, and he was careful not to tell any of the author's personal stories as his own experience. That would be unethical. The author's name and book were never mentioned. At the door people raved. "It's so practical," one woman said. "And I loved the story of the dog. Where do you get those stories?" The man standing behind her muttered a name, the author's name. He'd bought the book a week earlier. Question: Did Michael do anything wrong? David Handley: James Denning said, "No preacher can convince his congregation at the same time that he is clever and Christ is wonderful." We all ...
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