J.D. Greear Confirms Statement
Greear released a statement later the same day, confirming he gave Litton permission to use some of the content for his Romans series. “Whatever bullets of mine worked in his gun, to use them,” Greear said he told his friend. “My own take on these kinds of things is usually shaped by the input of many godly men and women. Ed and I have been friends for many years and we have talked often about these matters, and I was honored that he found my presentation helpful.”
Greear’s own message didn’t cite Paul David Tripp as the author of the story he used, and he addressed that, saying, “The story was inspired by a similar one I read from Paul Tripp, sharing his observations as he had visited a Temple in Northern India. But as a former missionary to SE Asia, I had had the same experience. In fact, almost every missionary I know has had this same moment of revelation.”
Greear scolded pastors who attempted “to trap me in my words” from things he said about homosexuality in his Romans 1 sermon two years ago. “We owe one another better in the body of Christ,” he said. “Failures in communication are always the fault of the communicator, a burden I and every pastor in America carry into the pulpit each weekend. And so, for any confusion that my clumsy wording may have caused, or for anyone who believes I muddled what the Bible makes clear, I do apologize!”
A Second and Third Video Accuses Litton of Plagiarism
Just a few days after the first video was released, a second and third video comparing different Romans sermons Greear previously gave shows Litton again using almost exact, and at times word-for-word, phrasing for his sermon at Redemption Church.
In the comparison videos, Litton uses the same prayer, sermon points, sub-points, and even analogies.
Justin Peters Finds Quote From This Past Sunday
Evangelist Justin Peters also released a video detailing something he found while listening to Litton’s sermon from this past Sunday. Peters said an analogy used by Litton is in a book written by Nancy Hicks. “Dear friends, plagiarism is serious,” Peters said. “It is theft. It is dishonoring to the people to whom you are preaching. It is ultimately dishonoring to God.”
Litton Removes Sermons From YouTube
In an article Newsweek published on Monday June 28, 2021, the publication said it discovered over 140 videos were either removed or hidden on Redemption Church’s YouTube channel.
Pastor Gabriel Hughes posted on Twitter, showing an image of multiple deleted sermons from Redemption Church’s YouTube channel and a quote from Litton’s statement: “Out of a commitment to full transparency, I have gone back through all the 46 sermons in this series…” Hughes said, “Redemption Church has now deleted, hidden, or privatized over 100 videos on YouTube, much of them sermons…That’s full transparency?”
Redemption Church Elders Remove Sermons
Baptist Press shared a statement released by the Redemption Church elders regarding why they removed sermons from the church website and YouTube channel.
Redemption Church’s elders stated that it is their “highest priority” to shepherd and care for the church. “By the action of the leadership at Redemption Church, we have taken down sermon series prior to 2020 because people were going through sermons in an attempt to discredit and malign our pastor,” the statement said.
Litton Jokes About Lying About Sermon Prep Time
Grace To You’s Executive Director Phil Johnson retweeted a clip posted by @ForGloryOrg with the caption “Yikes” of Litton laughing during a 2020 interview while he admitted he lied to others about his sermon prep time. “To be very honest, I used to lie,” Litton said. “I used to tell people 24 hours a sermon. [Laughing] you can spend too much time; you’re dorking around doing something else with your head…When you’re younger it’s going to take longer. The older you get [it’s easier]. It’s not that your pulling up old stuff. There is a resource of material and there’s connectivity there that will come…But I would say 8-10 hours average.”
