Starnes is a vocal proponent of the Conservative Baptist Network, which claims the SBC has become “woke” and liberal. “And when a man of God stands up and stutters and waffles and wavers on this, he is giving indirect permission for people to enter a lifestyle that is degrading and destructive,” he told conservative talk show host Todd Starnes. Earlier this week, Dallas Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress condemned the remarks by Litton and Greear. Sproul, who warned his students, “I find that it is always dangerous to shout where God has whispered.”Ĭritics like Florida Baptist pastor Tom Ascol, president of Founders Ministries, have accused Greear of distorting the Bible’s teaching about sexuality. That line is a reference to a comment from evangelical Bible teacher Jen Wilkin as well as to a statement from famed theologian R.C. “The Bible appears more to whisper on sexual sin compared to its shouts about materialism and religious pride,” he said. During the sermon, Greear said the Bible speaks more about sins like pride and greed than sexual sin. Greear’s 2019 sermon has created controversy in the past. “The whole idea of taking someone else’s sermon destroys what sermon-making is supposed to be,” he told Religion News Service earlier this year.

Instead, it should flow out of a pastor’s encounter with God in the Bible and be written for a specific congregation. McKnight believes a sermon isn’t just a speech. That can be a form of cheating, argues theologian Scot McKnight, a professor at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. Some preachers also use research assistants or “sermon helps” to find illustrations that help them convey the meaning of the biblical text to their audience. In 2017, for example, a book of devotions by Hillary Clinton’s pastor was pulled by the publisher after news reports alleged that the book contained plagiarized material from other pastors.

When it goes too far, that can lead to plagiarism. “Ed and I have been friends for many years and we have talked often about these matters, and I was honored that he found my presentation helpful.”īorrowing from other preachers is a common practice among pastors. “My own take on these kinds of things is usually shaped by the input of many godly men and women,” he said in the statement. He used a phrase often used by other preachers, saying, “I told him that whatever bullets of mine worked in his gun, to use them. He said he’d spoken with Litton and given him permission to use his material. Greear addressed the matter in a statement of his own. I should have given him credit as I shared these insights.” “But I am sorry for not mentioning J.D.’s generosity and ownership of these points. “As any pastor who preaches regularly knows, we often rely on scholars and fellow pastors to help us think and communicate more clearly with the goal of faithfully preaching the truths of Scripture to our congregations,” he said in the statement. “With his permission, I borrowed some of his insights and those three closing points.”Īt no point in the sermon did Litton give credit to Greear. Greear’s message on Romans 1 was insightful, particularly his three points of application,” he said in the statement. In a statement Saturday, Litton said that while doing research and sermon prep for the passage, he had seen Greear’s sermon and found it helpful. Greear’s sermon is posted on the website of The Summit Church in North Carolina, where he is pastor. Litton’s sermon has been removed from the website of Redemption Church in Mobile, Alabama, where he is pastor. Greear also says in his sermon that the “Gospel message is not ‘let the gay become straight.’ The Gospel message is ‘let the dead become alive.’”Ī line from Litton’s sermon is nearly identical: “The Gospel message is not ‘let the gay get straight.’ The Gospel message is ‘let the dead come to life.’” How do I know that? Because heterosexuality doesn’t send people to heaven.” Litton says the same thing: “Homosexuality does not send people to hell. “You know how I know that? Because heterosexuality does not send you to heaven.”

“Homosexuality does not send you to hell,” says Greear. The two pastors also say very similar things about homosexuality, which both believe is sinful.īut they each say Christians have erred by treating sexual sin as if it is worse than other sins - and singling out LGBT people as the worst of sinners. And I want you to say, I know this sermon is going to be really tough for you,” he says. “I want you to turn to your neighbor right now.

Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “I Didn’t Survive: Emerging Whole After Deception, Persecution, and Hidden Abuse” by Naghmeh Abedini Panahi.

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