| No matter what recipe preachers use, the food is from God  by Kevin Smalls Some of you may have been following the story about the Rev. Alvin O. Jackson, pastor of National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C., plagiarizing his sermons. One of the church members looked up one of Jacksons sermons on the Internet and discovered that the identical sermon had been preached elsewhere. That member was distraught and eventually left the church in pain and disappointment. Jacksons reputation as an excellent preacher travels throughout the country. In fact, he is one of my role models. I dont know him personally, but I look up to him as a fellow pastor. He is an eloquent spokesperson for his denomination and also for the church universal. His faith is obvious as is his passion to bring the Word of God to those who would hear. As I was making plans for my August vacation, I placed National City Church on my calendar as a church to visit. The first Sunday I went he was not there. The second Sunday I went, he apologized to his congregation for his conduct in a way that was sincere and genuine. It was his faith that led him to be honest with himself and with his congregation. The members affirmed his faith, which made him whole and sent him on his way to continue to preach. This matter has opened up an entire debate among clergy and laity alike on the subject of plagiarizing sermons. Yet, I wonder if anyone has ever considered what preaching is in the first place. Preaching is not giving a report, essay or speech. Preaching is a spiritual task. It is the urgent act of sharing the Word with hungry people. Sometimes, when the people are hungry, they are hungry for a certain type of food. Some want it spicy, some want it mild; some want it frozen, some want it fresh, some want it slow cooked while others want it through a fast food window. All are hungry, but all have preferences. The sole, individual preacher struggles with this reality every week. At times, the preachers own humanity is stretched from one end of the spectrum to the other as she makes every effort to feed those many, many people who have their own tall orders. So, from time to time, preachers may use recipes from other cooks. However, the food always comes from God. This is why preaching is different. One cannot preach without faith. I could never preach a sermon from the perspective of a woman whos been abused, raped or mistreated. I just cant. I can preach, however, a sermon on coming through a storm, because I have. However, I am not called to preach out of my experience alone. It is my responsibility to expand my realm of experience to be an effective preacher. Yet, my faith gives substance to the final product. Sermons are not products of mere labor, sweat and reading. Sermons are products of faith. Ive only been preaching for 10 years and I still dont have the hang of it entirely. I think Ive preached great sermons and Ive preached really bad ones, too. Yet, the best ones were always those born out of my sense of faith and challenge. I do the responsible work of preaching: I read sermons, commentaries, theological articles and whatever else I can find. All of my sermons are a compilation of stories Ive heard, pictures Ive seen, books Ive read and lessons Ive learned. Interestingly enough, my life is composed of the same thing. Yet, what makes these things sermonic is the journey Im on to grow in faith, just as a child grows into clothes a bit too big. All in all, Jackson may have used someone elses work, but he could never use anyone elses faith. It is his faith that Ive seen in him and it is his faith that I appreciate. Faith is at its best when we are at our worst. After all, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. And before I get in trouble, I did borrow that statement from the author of Hebrews in the New Testament. The Rev. Kevin Smalls is the pastor of Hughes Memorial UMC in Washington, D.C. This commentary is an edited version of a text he sent to his congregation Sept. 30. | 
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