The Christian Century

Tim Goeglein, a key liaison between the White House and conservative Christians for seven years, resigned February 29 after plagiarism charges surfaced against him.

A student in one of my preaching courses was struggling terribly. The sermons he preached in class were plodding, disorganized and weakly supported exegetically and theologically. He was aware that he was not meeting expectations, and was frustrated and embarrassed. But then, in his final opportunity to redeem himself in the course, he surprised us all by preaching a stunning sermon, profound and lyrical. It was good—too good.

Tom Long, one of the preachers I’m tempted to steal from, points out in this issue that stealing sermons is an old phenomenon but easier to do today given the thousands of sermons on the Internet.

A pastor in Keene, New Hampshire, has resigned after preaching sermons found on the Internet and consequently confessing to plagiarism. Robert C. Hamm stepped down in April from his post as senior pastor of Keene United Church of Christ.