Obviously, from previous posts, I got to spend some time last week with Rick Warren (this is not the surprise from the previous post…that comes later).
I talked to Rick about his influence on 100′s of thousands of pastor of my generation. We talked about his famous quote "If my bullet fits your gun, fire it". In other words, he is giving permission to pastors to use his material, carte blanche.
I told him that if I use his stuff I will usually say, "Some of what you hear today I got from Rick Warren…the really good stuff is mine" 
His response? "You don’t ever have to give me credit…it’s all kingdom stuff"
And I think he really meant it.
That may be one of the keys to his longevity of influence. He is about winning people to Christ, helping pastors, building the kingdom…and he doesn’t care who gets credit. I think someday he will stand before God and share credit with many who came to Christ whom he didn’t even know…because their pastor used one of his messages one Sunday.
Contrast that with this…a pastor friend of mine, who is relatively new in ministry, got a call one day from a well known mega-church pastor informing him that he knew that my friend had used one of his messages as the basis (and probably a large part) of his sermon that weekend. He was not happy, and it became an uncomfortable situation for all involved. Forget the fact that people learned more about God…forget the fact that people may have encountered life change…the important thing for this guy is that he didn’t get the credit.
Something is not right with that picture. Those who live by the law would yell plagiarism…I’m not sure God views it that way all the time.
A guy came up to me at a conference I recently spoke at…shyly thrust his hand in my direction…and told me that, although we have never met, he listens to our services on the Internet regularly…and has preached my sermons from time to time (no doubt filtered through Rick or Bill or John or whoever else inspired me that week).
Can I tell you how I felt? Really good. I hope he knocked it out of the park…I hope a hundred peoples lives were changed…I hope he sold a million tapes and CD’s (being that it was a small church somewhere in Texas, I doubt he sold quite that many).
I hope I get some of the credit where it counts…because most of the rewards aren’t passed out down here…at least not the really good ones.
Let’s face it…we all have different gifts. Some of us are really good at insight, study, creativity and such. Others of us are really good at implementation, strategy, follow through…Some are innovators… Some are early adapters…Some are…you get the drill.
What if we all worked together and let God sort out the credit?
I’ll just bet that many of us learned how to speak and communicate by emulating the best available model. The longer you do it, the more you find your own voice. Over time you develop your own unique style.
I just get irritated when someone gets crushed in the process…
Way to go Rick…you’re still my hero!
I have met Rick a few times at various meetings for pastors of large churches and had essentially the same conversation! I told him the same thing. Over the past few years I have had a number of people take a number of my original concepts and put them in their books without crediting me in the least. I was blessed that the idea got out to a wider audience frankly. I felt like the grace that was extended to me by Rick has been contageous – that nothing new is under the sun as Soloman wrote. Dr. Cho once said in a conference a few years ago that he used Billy Graham messages week after week until his church was close to 200,000 until he gave his first original message! I find that encouraging and hopeful! God bless the creative borrowers for they shall be blessed and filled and people will fill thier auditoriums!
Comment by Steve Sjogren — November 19, 2005 @ 1:41 pm
Pastor Greg;
I was told as a young pastor in training to preach your heart, preach your style.
I have been influenced by many “great and popular” speakers in the past. I have used thoughts, illastraions, and points from messages that have convicted me, to share my passion on to ohters to be blessed by. We are all tools and instruments of God’s Kingdom, and to use a phrase, some key points or a messsage that has impacted you is better than just getting up and preaching a message with no heart, no preperation, or just to have a sermon for the week.
Preach passion, Preach the Word!
Comment by Randon Riegsecker — November 19, 2005 @ 3:52 pm
VERY good post Greg. That is exactly how we need to think about reaching people for Christ. We all need to have Rick’s Kingdom perspective.
Comment by Chris Surratt — November 19, 2005 @ 5:22 pm
On borrowing from Greg…well I do it every so often, and I’m not a pastor. I am however in Toastmasters…while I’d not be allowed to “borrow” from Greg in a contest level speech [Toastmasters rule], I can borrow from him any other time. And I do.
Thanks for being a great communicator Greg.
“Rog”
Roger A. Redford
Comment by Roger Alen Redford — November 19, 2005 @ 9:56 pm
Rick has a very generous spirit, indeed. I agree with you. We all should be about working for the kingdom. This is why I am so glad to see Greg and staff post and archive the Sunday messages free on the Internet.
On the other hand, I think people need to be careful about assuming others are as generous as Rick or Greg and his staff. It is one thing to use Rick or Greg’s material because they have granted permission, but to use other people’s material without their permission doesn’t seem right to me.
This discussion reminds me of Shawn Wood’s sermon this past summer, “It’s not stealing if…Wait, yes it is.”
Comment by Elle — November 20, 2005 @ 5:52 am
“it is amazing what gets done when no one cares who gets the credit.”
somebody said that – i don’t remember who, but chances are, they don’t care about getting credit for saying it.
i love this verse (ecclesiastes 9:15):“Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.”
Comment by dan ohlerking — November 20, 2005 @ 9:23 am
Great post, Greg! This needed to be brought out into the light to give credit to those who don’t look for credit but to also acknowledge again that all good gifts and especially the seeds of His life giivng word come from God above and sending them out re-mixed with another person’s passion and delivery is just another way to throw the seed! Greg has sent messages directly to me when I have given him the subject I was working on to teach and they always came out of my gun the way God has wired me with my own experiences and insight. Thanks for releasing people to grab the bullets God has given to use in guns God has wired to reach people God loves unconditionaly!
Comment by Ron Hamilton — November 21, 2005 @ 12:08 pm
Greg,
Great stuff! This is the stuff that makes Rick “America’s Pastor!”
Great insights. I love your blog…
Comment by bob Franquiz — November 21, 2005 @ 5:37 pm
“If my bullet fits your gun, fire it” just brought home the lyrics a chaplain inspired after 7 December 1941 when he said “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.”
q.v.
http://my.execpc.com/~dschaaf/praise.html
Comment by Don Fort — November 21, 2005 @ 9:51 pm
I am glad you wrote this post and it is great that Rick reacted this way. Like one of the commentors said, there is truly nothing new under the sun. As pastors, of which I am not currently but have been and will be in some way or another, we are in the same “business” and it is great that there are people who care about the kingdom more than the “bottom line”.
Comment by Tony — November 21, 2005 @ 10:29 pm