Ed Litton: ‘I Had Permission, Which I Think Means It’s Not Plagiarism’

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Southern Baptist Convention [SBC] president Ed Litton recently came under fire at the end of June 2021 after a series of videos were released accusing him of plagiarizing other pastors’ sermons.

One particular video focused on a Romans sermon series given by former SBC president J.D. Greear. The video showed clips of Greear preaching his sermon series in 2019, then Litton preaching his sermon series in 2020. As the clips alternate back and forth, the similarity of Litton’s words, phrases, illustrations, and outlines to Greear’s are evident.

Litton ‘Clears The Air’

Pastors Jared Cornutt, J. Allen Murray, and Matt Henslee had Litton on their “The Potluck Podcast” this past Monday to discuss some of the controversy surrounding him the past couple of months.

Litton was asked to share his heart regarding the leaders within the SBC who are calling for his resignation, not only as the 63rd president of the SBC but also as the senior pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama.

In an attempt to “clear the air,” Litton said he understands why people have concerns and alluded to what has been publicized as contributing to those feelings.

Related article: Ed Litton Plagiarism? New SBC President’s Church Deletes Over 100 Sermons After Accusations

“Most of it centers around a Romans series that we did last year,” Litton explained. “When we were outlining the series, as a responsible part of pastoring a preaching is if you’re going to preach through something, you want to outline what you’re going to cover for each week.” The senior pastor shared that during the process of doing so, he remembered that Greear had preached on Romans. Litton called Greear and asked if he could see how Greear had outlined the series. “In that process [my friend Greear] not only gave me permission to [view his outline], he said that if any material at all [can be used], you’re welcome to it.”

Saying he was grateful that Greear had offered all his Romans’ sermon material for use, Litton said, “I had no intention doing anything with it except I enjoy listening to him and I enjoy how he handles certain things in teaching.”

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Jesse T. Jackson
Jesse is the Senior Content Editor for ChurchLeaders and Site Manager for ChristianNewsNow. An undeserving husband to a beautiful wife, and a father to 4 beautiful children. He serves as the chairman of the deacons, a growth group leader, and is a member of University Baptist Church in Beavercreek, Ohio. Follow him on twitter here (https://twitter.com/jessetjackson). Accredited member of the Evangelical Press Association.

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