{"id":21074,"date":"2000-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2000-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2000\/01\/01\/everything-i-preach-is-stolen\/"},"modified":"2000-01-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2000-01-01T00:00:00","slug":"everything-i-preach-is-stolen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/everything-i-preach-is-stolen\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything I Preach is Stolen"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/strong> am dreading the day when, in the middle of some anecdote, a visitor jumps up and yells, “Hey, I heard that sermon last year. My pastor preached it! “<\/p>\n\n

I just know that a lynch mob will be formed immediately; my elders and deacons will hold the rope, while one of our older ladies knits away, mumbling “guillotine” under her breath.<\/p>\n\n

The fact is, everything I preach is stolen. Some of it from other thieves. It occurs to me that I may not have had an original thought in years. Of course, that thought is not original either.<\/p>\n\n

Book after book, article after article, I read these incredibly brilliant ideas and find them a few weeks later creeping into my messages. At first, I didn’t really notice. I actually thought that I might be responsible for a few of the better thoughts expressed from the pulpit. Yet just as soon as I re-read a book I had not touched for years, I would come across that same, brilliant, original insight. Not mine.<\/p>\n\n

In the beginning, I tried to hide it. I would read the latest book and quickly preach the best ideas it contained before any of my elders or deacons had a chance to read it. That wasn’t good enough. I found myself subscribing to all the latest journals. I hid them in my desk. I locked them in my study and came in late at night and early in the morning when no one else was around, just to read them.<\/p>\n\n

But occasionally, one of my leaders would come to me praising an article he had just read, and I would lose three weeks of messages.<\/p>\n\n

Eventually I became desperate. I would comb the libraries, looking for the great preachers of the past. Surely no one would recognize the words of Spurgeon if I nipped here and tucked there and added an anecdote from Edwards.<\/p>\n\n

Finally, the fugitive lifestyle became too much. Exhausted, at the end of my resources, I confessed all to my congregation. It was, I was certain, the end of my ministry. My credibility would never be the same. Even my wife and children would disown me.<\/p>\n\n

To my amazement, they forgave me.<\/p>\n\n

Now, I am enrolled in “Preacher’s Anonymous,” doing the twelve steps and using only the Bible. At least, I was. Has anyone noticed those great sermons on the Internet?<\/p>\n\n

Robin Toupin<\/strong> is pastor of \nPort McNeill Full Gospel Church\nP. O. Box 377, \nPort NcNeill B.C., \nCanada V0N2R0<\/p>\n\n

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today\/Leadership<\/em> Journal.\nClick here<\/a> for reprint information on Leadership Journal.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am dreading the day when, in the middle of some anecdote, a visitor jumps up and yells, “Hey, I heard that sermon last year. My pastor preached it! “ I just know that a lynch mob will be formed immediately; my elders and deacons will hold the rope, while one of our older ladies Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[668,156,672],"tax_ctp_tags":[4193,4688],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-21074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_publications-2000-leadership-journal","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_publications-winter_2000-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-humor","tax_ctp_tags-preaching"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nEverything I Preach is Stolen - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I am dreading the day when, in the middle of some anecdote, a visitor jumps up and yells, "Hey, I heard that sermon last year. 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