Whatever else we have learned from the kerfuffle about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his impassioned sermons at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, it is clear that once a video is on the Internet, it is entirely out of the control of the person who is pictured.

We’ve been talking about podcasting (voice only) my sermons on our website, and I think that’s a good idea.  But I will confess to some worry about people who will misuse my words and misrepresent my theology based on "sound bites" taken out of context. 

Of course, I already have no control over my words once they are spoken.  When someone tells me they really appreciate what I said in the pulpit, I have learned to ask what it was that they heard me say.  Sometimes they report what I meant to say; sometimes they don’t.

But the Internet multiplies that effect hugely — and I will never get the opportunity to check on whether I have been understood or misunderstood.