Taped Sermons?

Peter J. Leithart, September 27, 2003

I don't have my sermons taped, and have been asked why. Here's a couple of reasons:

1) Jeff Meyers pointed out a number of years ago that taping sermons tempts a pastor to preach to a group OTHER THAN the church in front of him. Instead of addressing the specific local concerns, he will be tempted to be a "prophet to the nation." Some preachers are called to that; most aren't. I'm not.

2) As I've mulled over this more recently, I've decided that I want the permanent record of my sermons to be found in the congregation I preach to, rather than on a CD, audio tape, or in a book. As Paul said to the Corinthians, THEY are my letter, the permanent record of the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of my preaching.