LEADERSHIP | ETHICS
Ethically Sourced Sermons Borrowing ideas without compromising integrity By JOY E.A.QUALLS
O
ur church’s lead pastor recently asked me midweek to preach the next Sunday service. I was happy to help, but as I dug into the Scriptures for that week, I felt lost. How could I adequately address these important passages with so little preparation time? I turned to several popular expository resources, hoping to find a ready-made outline. After all, these writers were theologians and respected voices in the
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Church. Perhaps I could borrow their anointing this once. But a check in my conscience kept me from it. I knew I needed to slow down, do the work, and trust the Spirit with the results. We live in an age of unprecedented access to information. With a few clicks, preachers can find online commentaries, sermon illustrations, graphics, and even complete sermons. The challenge is knowing what belongs to whom — and how to use it ethically. When ministries post content online in an open
