Sermon Ghostwriters Now? There Really Is a Better Way.
“How do you write your sermons?”
The young man, new to my congregation, had been to church several times and asked for the meeting.
After the initial pleasantries, I expected questions about the congregation, the people its history, or how he might find a place to serve.
I didn’t expect a question about my sermon prep process.
Unsure why he’d be asking, my ego came to the rescue.
In nanoseconds, I told myself he was asking me because he wanted to know how I came to such brilliance week after week!
So I explained a bit. He asked more questions. I explained a little more. He asked more questions.
Finally, his interest about the details of my process was so odd it broke through my ego.
Clearly there was more underneath his curiosity than my “homiletical genius.”
“Why are you asking?”
He replied:
“Because the preacher where I’d been attending was caught preaching internet sermons for the last several years without telling us.
“We thought his sermons were his.
“I want to make sure your sermons are yours.”
His probing questions were about trust: Were the words of my mouth really the result of the meditations of my heart—or someone else’s?
Preaching another’s words without informing the congregation is not a new ethical question among preachers.
But a variation on that theme is new to me: sermon ghostwriters.
Religion News posted this article on April 28th: “Why some preachers rely on holy ghostwriters and other pulpit helps.”
The author reports that some preachers hire researchers to conduct their exegesis for them, including providing the hermeneutics to provide the meaning of their research.
Some preachers hire it forward by paying a ghostwriter to craft their sermons for them.
According to the article, preachers turn to this option because they feel immense pressure to produce “out of the park” sermons every week—in the midst of their overly busy schedules attending to pastoral and administrative responsibilities.
This pressure has only increased with the easy access listeners have to “celebrity preachers” on the internet.
Local church pastors and preachers field criticism that their sermons don’t reach the same heights of glory as those they hear from “the big leagues.”
Thus, local preachers feel pressured to act the word of God as a performance art in order to dazzle, charm, and spiritually enflame the hearts and minds of the audience, ironically enough, with the truth of God
What’s wrong with this picture?
Even if you’re like me and didn’t know sermon ghostwriters existed (and therefore have not been tempted to employ one), the manifestation of ghostwriters points to fundamental problems that most preachers contend with, including me.
Let’s explore some of the misbeliefs at the root of this trend:
False Belief #1: Preachers are supposed to make listeners feel dazzled by the Spirit
True Belief: Preachers offer a gift of God’s Word
At Backstory Preaching we emphasize that preaching is a gift that we offer after receiving a new gift of God’s Word.
And like any true gift, it is offered in love, and the recipient is free to do with it as they wish and feel about it as they will.
That’s why BsP anchors sermon prep in Lectio Divina, so that holy reading and contemplative pondering guide our sermon crafting.
False Belief #2: Favorable results are the Spirit’s way of saying that outsourcing at will is OK
True Belief: If you’re afraid of what is hidden coming to light, that’s probably the Spirit raising the red flag
The history of reading a sermon in church that’s written by someone other than the preacher is an old and honorable tradition—when it’s made clear the sermon is authored by another! Credit must be given where credit is due.
Preaching someone else’s words as our own manipulates people into believing we are someone else.
We aren’t representing who God made us to be. We’re representing the preacher we imagine the listeners want and prefer to us.
Preaching ethically is one of the core values we practice at BsP, which means we preach as and who we are, and we don’t pretend otherwise.
Because we’re made in the image of God, we’re good enough.
If our preaching, or any other skill needed for parish ministry needs to grow, there’s no shame in asking for investment and support to develop it.
False Belief #3: It’s shameful for preachers to be human
True Belief: It’s a blessing when preachers embrace their humanity
Not only is it tragic when preachers believe they aren’t good enough to stand in the pulpit, it’s tragic when we buy into and support the myth that we can be all things to all people all the time: pastor, preacher, teacher, leader, bulletin producer, copy machine repair expert, video producer, stewardship and fundraising champion, nonprofit tax lawyer, youth pied piper, outreach savior, and chief cook and bottle washer.
If we’ve lived that myth and worn that super hero cape so long it’s gotten holes in it, it’s time to retire it.
It’s time to untie our capes, fold them carefully, and place them on the altar—and trust that our parishioners are emotionally resilient enough to manage their disappointment when we don’t put them back on again.
But still, it’s hard to disappoint.
It’s hard to be authentic and say no in a congregation that asks for more than we can give.
From my story with the young man, you can see my ego was only too ready to be further inflated, and I’m still subject to temptation.
What can we do?
Pray
Sit with God. Just sit.
Remember what’s it’s like to be loved for doing nothing.
Get curious
What’s the source of those expectations? Are parishioners really asking for more all the time, or is that the story you’re telling yourself?
Invite parishioners into the secret: excellent preaching requires lots of time. Which do they want more? Lots of pastoral care or lots of great preaching? They can’t have both in one person. Choices are painful—but they can take it.
Preach the basics—repeatedly
If you can sincerely preach “God loves you,” then say that ten times in a row and sit down, week after week if necessary. That’s still better than giving the false impression that the words from your mouth and the meditations of your heart are not your own.
Would you like guidance to improve your craft so you have confidence to preach your words in your way?
Wouldn’t it be a relief if you had someone to talk to about your context? Your temptations? Your struggles?
That’s why we created the Mentorship: to provide 1:1 support and mentorship in developing your craft for the work God has called you to.
Whatever your goals for your preaching and ministry, the Mentorship can help you define and achieve them in a way that feels authentic, life-giving, and freeing.
“Why some preachers rely on holy ghostwriters and other pulpit helps.” Bob Smietana, ReligionNews.com.