I wrote two weeks ago that one of the features of LifeGroup is that it is a safe place. LifeGroup is where no one is afraid to ask the questions he or she really wants to ask. People ask because they know no one would look at them in a funny way or laugh at them. People hear the answers to the questions they really want to ask. And they grow.
Even though LifeGroup is a safe place and people ask the questions they really want to ask, this alone is not good enough. It is still not good enough that people feel safe, and ask the questions they really want to ask. People also need to feel safe whatever they share inside the LifeGroup will not be mentioned outside of the LifeGroup. Everything and anything that is shared within a LifeGroup stays in the LifeGroup. What was heard in a LifeGroup is not mentioned to a family member, a best friend, a classmate from high school, a colleague, anyone. There will be things that Billy should know because he is our pastor. But he does not need to know everything that goes on in your LifeGroup simply because he is not a part of your LifeGroup. Confidentiality, therefore, is another feature of LifeGroup. Do you know what happens when there is confidentiality in a LifeGroup? People let you into their hearts, and share. And they grow.
People need to feel safe in at least two ways. People need to know they can ask the questions they really want to ask. People need to know what they ask or say will not be mentioned outside the LifeGroup.