You are probably well aware of the plagiarism scandal that former Southern Baptist president, Ed Litton was caught up in during his one-year tenure in the SBC. Litton was exposed shortly after his election in June but dates as far back as 2013, has admitted that he sometimes does not study to prepare his own sermons at all but just preaches what his “preaching team” prepares.
But now, another megachurch pastor seems to have been caught up in another plagiarism scandal. This time, it is Lakepointe Church pastor, Josh Howerton who is allegedly plagiarizing notorious heretic, Andy Stanley, Steven Furtick, Mark Driscoll, and Rick Warren.
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It’s unclear if Howerton’s church is technically affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention as it once appeared on the SBC church search finder. However, the SBC has stated that the church search finder is not always accurate and sometimes lists churches that are like-minded but not officially SBC. It should also be noted that Howerton is heavily involved with the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board (NAMB) and has hosted podcasts for the entity in the past.
Last year, Howerton hosted Beth Moore to preach a Sunday morning service.
In a recent podcast by Shelia Gregoire, it appears that Howerton is lifting statements, phrases, and entire passages from Stanley’s books and sermons and repeating them during his own sermon without attribution. Gregoire and her guest, play four clips where Howerton appears to be lifting these phrases. The following timestamps were provided by Gregoire:
- 4:20 Josh Howerton seems to plagiarize Andy Stanley
- 9:20 Josh Howerton seems to plagiarize Steven Furtick
- 10:46 Josh Howerton seems to plagiarize Mark Driscoll
- 12:20 Josh Howerton seems to plagiarize Rick Warren
