Don't miss Craig Groeschel's blog post "Try Not to Step Across the Line"

This is a great blog post by Craig Groeschel (Pastor of LifeChurch.tv). His blog is one that I follow very closely. This one was especially true and I think this is a good word for all of us who are teaching/preaching ...

Craig Groeschel says, "Everything you say must be true. But everything that is true doesn’t need to be said." Then he lists several examples (go to his blog post to read all of them)

Here's one example: "If you’re going to tell a story about someone in the church, get their permission first." I think that is true even if you are saying something good about that person. I added the following comment on his blog...

This is a great follow up to your “Take Some Risks” post. I’ve been chewing on that and asking the Lord how I can do that more. As far as this post, I’ve been amazed at how much it raises the tension in the congregation if I cross this line of sharing a personal story about a church member - even if it’s positive. I don’t think it is a good / helpful tension. I’m also amazed at how the tension is relieved if I begin with the statement “I asked Joe if I could tell you about a conversation we had.” I also agree with other commenters about using our children in illustrations. We have an agreement that I have to pay them a certain amount of money if I ever use their name in a sermon without permission. I have the same agreement with my wife, but it involves much more money. This agreement really serves to make me think about the implications of sharing without permission, but I have had to “pay up” several times.

This post "Try Not to Step Across the Line" was a follow up to another one you shouldn't miss called "Take Some Risks" where Craig Groeschel says, "To demystify your pastoral role, you’ll have to take some self-revealing risks." He then offers a few suggestions when revealing personal flaws.