The pastor of a growing Virginia megachurch that’s part of the scandal-plagued Association of Related Churches (ARC) has been accused of plagiarizing dozens of sermons over the years, recycling passages without credit.
Josh Whitlow, pastor of Heights Church in Glen Allen, Virginia, allegedly plagiarized messages or sermon portions from evangelical pastors Andy Stanley, Robert Morgan and Chris Hodges.
But according to a Dec. 27 investigative report in the Richmond, Virginia, Times-Dispatch newspaper, Whitlow’s church is fine with that.
Hodges, who is described as a mentor to Whitlow, was founding pastor of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama, one of the largest churches in America and the ARC flagship church. Over the past several years, numerous ARC churches have been embroiled in scandals involving sex and financial misconduct.
Whitlow, the newspaper said in a front-page piece, would sometimes repeat Hodges’s illustrations almost verbatim, with slight alterations to personalize the story.
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In one notable example, Whitlow recounted a trip to the school principal’s office as an eight-grade student, where he received corporal punishment.
“The recollection was nearly identical to a story told by another prominent pastor, Chris Hodges, six years earlier,” investigative reporter Luca Powell wrote. “The similarities run throughout Whitlow’s sermon, from the description of the paddle down to the theatrical and exaggerated punch line of bending over.”
The newspaper report also documented extremely similar illustrations used by Whitlow after originally being preached by Hodges, sometimes within months of Hodges’ message.
Brandon Whiting, Heights Church executive director, told the Times-Dispatch in a statement that Whitlow’s borrowing from Hodges was sanctioned.
“Pastor Chris (Hodges), who is a mentor and friend of Pastor Josh Whitlow, has encouraged him and many others to use his content when it is helpful. Pastor Josh and the team here diligently pray about message themes, series, and content that would benefit our congregation, and sometimes that may include content researched and written by other pastors,” Whiting told the newspaper via email.
Isy Goodman, communication director of Church of the Highlands, which Hodges founded, confirmed to the Times-Dispatch that Hodges approved such reuse.
“Pastor Chris Hodges has always made his teaching content available to pastors and churches to help resource and support the broader body of Christ,” Goodman said. The newspaper said Goodman didn’t respond to the question of whether those borrowing Hodges’ material needed to credit the Alabama cleric.
A former member of Whitlow’s Heights Church alerted the Richmond newspaper to the instances of sermon-stealing. There is also a YouTube channel, “Stealing Sundays,” that shows 32 videos of Whitlow using nearly identical verbiage from Hodges.
The unacknowledged use of sermon material by pulpiteers has been a recurring problem in recent years. Southern Baptist Convention president Ed Litton was dogged by plagiarism charges shortly after his election to head the denomination in 2021. Those claims were reportedly part of the reason Litton only served one term leading the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
In 2013, Mark Driscoll, then-pastor of Mars Hills Church in Seattle, was criticized for alleged plagiarism in a 2009 sermon series and study guide. The claims led to the study guide being removed from circulation.
Carlton P. Byrd, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Southwest Region Conference, apologized in October after he was accused of plagiarizing a 2020 sermon by Baptist preacher Tolan Morgan.
The Roys Report (TRR) has contacted Heights Church and Church of the Highlands for comment but has not heard back from either one.
Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the New York Post and was for three years the Faith & Family Reporter for The Washington Times. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.
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30 Responses
Pastors borrowing sermons from each other doesn’t seem that big a deal to me, especially in circumstances like this where you are using a sermon by permission from a mentor. But why oh why do they feel the need to copy the anecdotal personal stories and pass them off as their own. That seems misleading to outright lying. Or at least manipulation since you know it has a stronger effect. Just throw in a line that this happened to your mentor. Be honest. It can still be a funny or relatable.
When I was a child missionaries would come to our church and speak, likely as fundraising trips. They would often tell these fantastic and often supernatural stories I was impressed by. I grew up and went to a Christian college and spent years in many churches and after awhile I started to hear and recognize some of those same stories. Some I read about and they were from decades before I was born, long before the missionaries were in the field. They were borrowing those stories. Why? Because real missionary work is often boring and not something that would inspire donations? Either way looking back I feel lied to. That realization also really hurt my faith. All this miraculous works of God that only seem to happen on the mission field, wasn’t even happening then. At least not to these people. Which makes me think the original stories are just as likely to be exaggerated or outright fabricated.
How many times did I hear the missionary to Africa/Asia/Other-Remote-Place tell about learning from a convert, who used to be a robber, that prior to his conversion the robber had refrained from robbing the missionary because the robber had seen a dozen men with swords/machetes/guns surrounding the traveling missionary. Then come to find out (1) the missionary always travelled by himself, and (2) at the time and on the day the robber left him alone, a dozen men in California/Texas/USA had gathered to pray for the missionary. Goose bumps!! Praise the Lord and pass the offering plate!!
What about using books of sermon outlines such as Zondervan’s Pastor’s Annual? Is that plagiarism? There are several like that, and I have used them over the years. Aren’t they meant to be used that way?
Outlines are one thing. Giving personal illustrations and claiming those are your own (When they are not) is deceptive.
Sounds to me like Hodges was creating an informal sermon curriculum for his understudies in the ministry. If he didn’t stipulate any need for acknowledgement then it is irrelevant. A pastor who trained me for pulpit ministry once quipped that 95% of what I say will not be original.
If a pastor can’t develop his own messages from the Biblical text and use his own illustrations, but borrows (or steals) from others, then he shouldn’t be in the pulpit. Personally, I don’t care if he has permission. He’s not getting paid to regurgitate what others have taught simply so he can look good in the pulpit.
How can it be OK to completely appropriate a childhood story that didn’t even happen to you? That’s not plagerism, that’s a LIE. From the pulpit. How do these guys sleep at night?
So the pastor being copied doesn’t take issue…just the RR and a former member? You guys kind of beat the “embroiled” in scandal line to death.
You don’t like ARC, we get it. Move on.
Plagiarism is an issue, whether pastors and organizations like ARC recognize it or not. It was enough of an issue for the secular press to run a story on it, which seems to indicate the secular media has higher standards than some pastors and churches.
Well, you know, maybe it’s just an homage to Soloman’s “nothing new under the sun” thing.🙄
That’s some darn lazy plagiarism right there.
Some pastors have been doing this for years-DECADES- nothing new here.
There was a standing joke with one friend at a church very long ago who used to tell me what the sermon was going to be almost verbatim. When I asked how she new she said the new Keith Green newsletter had just come out and he preached out of various newsletters as they came out from various preachers.
First time it happened, I laughed out loud and had to go out for a bit. She looked at me as I left and nodded “Told you so”
I worked in Sunday school after that.
He started to demand that all Sunday school teachers start attending his sermons and listen to them. I resisted the urge to say I already read the newsletter of that week. Aren’t you proud of me? 😉
It wasn’t too many months before God called me to move on.
Apparently you can BUY Andy Stanley’s sermons at this website. What happened to a pastor hearing from God himself and using the Bible to teach from? Not right in my opinion, but some need his heretical help. I’m not endorsing this kind of behavior. I never knew it existed until your article and the Podcast by The Messed Up Church. See below paragraph I pasted in from the internet, if the Roys Report allows my comments…
You can buy Andy Stanley’s sermon resources, often as digital kits (Basic/Premium), study guides, or older physical media (DVDs/CDs), directly from the Irresistible Church Network store, ChurchSource, Amazon, FaithGateway, eBay, and midwestyouthchampionships.com. Many sermon kits (like “This Is Living” or “Too Good to Miss”) offer resources for churches to use or preach, with some content even available free.
Where to Find Them:
Irresistible Church Network: store.irresistible.church (Direct source for sermon kits & downloads).
Oh no! If this trend continues who will stand? There are only about ten or twelve people writing sermons in America…the rest are cutting and pasting.
What is the evidence God called him to preach if he has nothing to preach? If a preacher doesn’t have his own life in God to have something for the congregants, why is he a pastor?
Can you imagine Jesus stealing somebody else’s story for one of His sermons?
The pastors who offer other preachers their sermons aren’t much more ethical or spiritual than the preachers who defraud their own congregants.
Any leader who has such low standards and is so spiritually bankrupt he has nothing to say, then misleads the people paying him for original content, you have to ask what else is he doing.
Bob Scott said in 1976 Mike Bickle preached an entire sermon he stole. One of his first big lies, one of many big lies he told for many years.
A lot of preachers leave the ministry. When you’ve got nothing better to say than repeat another preacher’s message and personal experience and pass it off as your own, so little fear of God, it’s time to leave.
Using other sermons as resource material is not different than using a commentary.
HOWEVER, If you tell a first person story that is not your own that LYING.
Why can’t you say, ” I read a story by _______ and he/she said __________.”
Life is not that complicated.
The other option is “Sermons I Wished I Preached” give credit and get on with the Sunday service:)
I agree. It’s hard to say anything truly novel about Biblical texts. They haven’t changed in a long time. By all means, if you read something really insightful in a commentary, give the author credit. My pastor will hold the old book up.
However, retelling personal anecdotes as if they happened to you is just trashy. Also, if the congregation is paying any attention, they are likely to realize that the story the preacher is repeating is dated, which means it was probably fake all along.
The root issue is that you have a charismatic pastor’s son who has mastered how to execute the atmosphere, culture, and presentation—but lacks theological training and genuine personal spiritual depth. He has a powerful formula and knows exactly how to execute the scripted playbook.
The overarching disappointment is not merely borrowing message outlines, but whole-cloth mimicry—complete with the ethical lapse of hijacking other pastors’ anecdotes as if they were his own personal experiences.
Chris Hodges famously said, “You can use my bullet if it fits your gun.” This has been a great help to church planters and those in bi-vocational ministry. But, I don’t think he ever expected pastors to steal the gun as well.
For some, this knowledge will not matter; the culture and aesthetic created is very powerful. Yet for others, this is a Wizard of Oz–like moment when the mechanistic gears behind the show are revealed.
In such times, it’s good to be reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul: “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill…The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice” Philippians 1:15-18
Sadly, if they preached the Word of God, they would not have to depend on some one else’s study notes.
No big deal? Plagiarism, not giving appropriate credit, is stealing and lying. In the corporate world, one can get fired. In the academic world, one can be denied a degree. In the church, the foundation and pillar of the truth, it’s no big deal?
Further, according to Scott M. Gibson, plagiarism is never found in isolation. A church may not be so thrilled when the underlying reason(s) come to light – they will likely regret overlooking this symptom of an even greater problem.
Amen. I graduated (a post-graduate degree) in journalism years ago before I was saved and plagiarism is SUCH a taboo in journalism.
And in the world of publishing.
It’s grounds for dismissal in any publication.
An example is Ryan Broderick, fired from BuzzFeed in 2020. It doesn’t look like anyone has hired him since…
When the secular world has higher standards than the professing “Christian” world, then you know there are serious problems.
Plagiarism is lying and deception. Period.
Jesus would say: “You are following (imitating/obeying) your father” [i.e the father of lies, Satan – John 8:44]
SO WHAT 😄 I also suppose most mega churches could be sued by ARC for copying their ‘COOKED’ version of a church building model. It’s so disingenuous when mega church pastors start blaming each other for trying to corner the Piety market.
I guess these megachurch pastors are too busy running a business than spending some time thoughtfully preparing a sermon/message.
My own impression is that Christianity makes a basic promise to all people everywhere that if they confess and profess Christ, then the Holy Spirit will enter them and inspire their thoughts and words. But the thing is, that only seems to happen in full to a rather small minority. The rest are left slack-jawed and find themselves without true inspiration.
So they copy.
At first hoping to fake it until they make it.
Then just faking it.
Much of the Christian experience is like this.
The Holy Spirit blesses only a few.
The rest move their lips in vain.
That comports with Matthew 7:14 and Matthew 22:14.
To quote an old song: “Everybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t goin’ there…”
There’s a lot of people that are sure that they’re a Christian, but in actuality, are not.
We’re told in scripture to examine ourselves to see if we’re truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5, 2 Peter 1:10-11).
I think it might behoove us all to do so…
It crushes my soul having the sure knowledge that MANY are going to hear the words “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
Last I’d heard; forever is a long time…
It’s not uncommon for younger pastors to use key points and content. But it crosses a line of integrity to take someone else’s life story and use it as if it were your own. That’s just a lie. That is not common and completely lacks integrity.
Preachers have been using each other’s sermons for about 200 years now. All those “Collected Sermons” from this & that pastor weren’t just founts of wisdom, they were used as Sunday morning material. (Maybe you’ve never seen those books in estate sales?) My issue is when pastors just quit in place, hire out others for all the face2face labor (the sick, the lost, the broken), buy entire media/msg pkgs w/o congregational knowledge, & take a pay rise bc “we’re gonna to be the biggest thing in town, God gave us a Word…”
Nope.
Deception & big money are just a long, cushy ride to a horrific crash that takes out half the body.
“We got this! Doing good, brother. How you doing? Ride on, brother…” …BOOM
To Rich Roger’s point- this was a Seinfeld episode in which J. Peterman bought Kramer’s life stories and passed them off as his own!
To the point about plagiarism as a shape-shifting line in the sand, beginning in the 2000s, all big box churches and curriculum concerns like Orange sold start to finish youth group online packages with games, lessons, object lessons, and life stories. Perhaps some of these folks started in YM and have have never “grown up” with proper ministerial and exegetical training, and this keep doing what they’ve always done.
FRESH OIL only: Psalm 92:10 – that is our Messiah Yahshua, Who daily manifests in our lives with Signs and Wonders – Godliness with Power – for HE has been given all Authority, and we are to follow only Him. We are to tell others what HE has done as we go forth In HIs Name, healing the sick; casting out demons; cleansing the leper; raising the dead. Yahshua never lies or deceives or manipulates. He heals and saves and sets us free from sin and ourselves and then tells us to go and do likewise.
“Because of the Anointing, the yoke is destroyed.” Isaiah 10:27
Pay your tithe in photocopied bills, problem solved!
it’s not a big deal other than the fact that he doesn’t put in the work and study….The big question is what is he doing with his time? Just showing a lack of work ethic…Pastors are some lazy indiviuals if their is no accountablilty