Posting Sermons Online

[mike]

It's a long-standing policy for some churches to routinely post their sermons online.

What are the pros and cons of this? Should all teaching and preaching in local contexts be publicized for all the world to hear? Should this perhaps be judicious and selective rather than being a broad policy for all sermons?

[mike]

What benefits and drawbacks are there for recording sermons in the first place?

[Josh]

Benefits: you can sit at home listening to church and feel less guilty about not going.

You can listen in to a wedding or funeral across the country (and then have a ready-made excuse as to why you missed church that morning).

[GaryK]

We as a church have started a discussion on this and I think we are pretty much in agreement that not everything would get posted. I envision a committee being responsible for determining what is posted.

At the last Church Planters Forum, I was told by two people from Chambersburg Christian Fellowship, that posting sermons online was instrumental in bringing a number of people into their fellowship.

[MaxPC]

Pros: those who are home bound or a lockdown can receive encouragement remotely. One caveat though; I support the idea of a passcode to access the sermons. Whether one is in a hostile nation or simply a hostile culture, I feel it necessary to protect the pastor and congregation.

Cons: it can be misused. Nevertheless that individual will be personally answerable to God for that choice.

[cooper]

The biggest con is it takes work. I see a lot of church websites with several-year-old sermons and nothing new.

[Soloist]

Wife:
pros: as a mom (or people driving tractors, for example), it allows you to listen to something edifying while you’re doing your day to day work or have your children listen to something you deem important that you thought was expanded well in a sermon you heard before (like Christianity and politics ect). You also get to hear from other churches, because you can only go to one any given Sunday, and to share an inspiring, convicting or encouraging one with friends or seekers.

Cons: for some, it may replace physical church or people may be influenced by questionable theology.

Recording sermons isn’t a must, but I appreciate it.

[Sudsy]

Pro - As Gary posted -

posting sermons online was instrumental in bringing a number of people into their fellowship.

Con - the opposite of that pro is also true. (which I suppose could also be a pro in some cases)

[NedFlanders]

We as a church have started a discussion on this and I think we are pretty much in agreement that not everything would get posted. I envision a committee being responsible for determining what is posted.

At the last Church Planters Forum, I was told by two people from Chambersburg Christian Fellowship, that posting sermons online was instrumental in bringing a number of people into their fellowship.

A recent Chambersburg speaker said in a video online that he has been a part of 15 different churches in his life. I shut it off and probably won’t be interested in listening there anymore. As a NMB looking on the continual unstable moving around is not something we can follow easily or maybe even at all - nor would I recommend it.

[Praxis+Theodicy]

It's a long-standing policy for some churches to routinely post their sermons online.

What are the pros and cons of this? Should all teaching and preaching in local contexts be publicized for all the world to hear? Should this perhaps be judicious and selective rather than being a broad policy for all sermons?

"Sermons/preaching" in the New Testament church is almost always portrayed as an evangelistic endeavor; that is, the audience is those outside the church. The book of Acts contains most of the preaching portrayed in the NT. Other calls to preaching sermons are given to apostles or itinerant evangelists, like Timothy. The NT never describes the elders in the church as preachers. They serve as examples, leaders, and teachers. The church meetings are more akin to fellowship meals, communion, singing, sharing, and "prophesying" discussions.

The purpose of preaching in the NT is proclaiming the Good News to unbelievers.
So yes, posting sermons online is a good thing. Because the internet is the modern day Mars Hill, and Paul "posted" his sermon there. Sermons are not for the church meeting place. They are for the city square. And the internet is the new city square.