Are These Stories Able to be Shared?

An answer to a commonly asked question...

Hey all! Thank you for joining me on this Sermontelling journey this year. I can’t believe we’re a little more than a month out from the end of Narrative Lectionary Year 3! A couple people have asked me about my Summer plans and what I’ve decided to do is post one story a week with notes between Pentecost and the start of Year 4. These stories won’t be tied to any particular section, they will just be good stories that I think should be in every preacher’s repertoire. So I hope you enjoy. The other day, I got an email from a subscriber that asked a question that I’ve been asked a couple times before. I asked permission to reprint his question with my answer, in hopes that it will be helpful to others. My answer alludes to stories that appeared in my last newsletter. So here goes…

I enjoy reading your stories each week. Are the stories able to be shared and, if so, how is the best way to give you credit?

Thank you for reading! Yes, these stories are absolutely meant to be shared. It is my hope that they help in the formation of your sermons. Whether you use them verbatim or simply use them to inspire your own similar takes is up to you. If you’re going to use it verbatim, then I would suggest saying something like, "I found this in a newsletter I receive.” But if you’re going to take it and make it your own, then you might simply attribute it to its original provenance. For instance, if it’s an old folktale and you are recounting it in your own words or putting your own spin on it, no need to give credit to me. Or if, as in the case of The Blind Women of Cambodia, it’s a true story and you are retelling it in your words, just report it as a true story. I try as best as I can to tell each story’s provenance so that you can best attribute it. If it says ‘my own parable’ or ‘original parable’ that means I wrote it in which case I’m cool with you saying something like, “Danny Nettleton tells the following parable…” or the like.

Often, I will tell a classic parable in my own words, with my own twist. When I do this, I will label it as my telling of… If you then tell it in your own words and put your own spin on it, then it would be your telling of… in which case I wouldn’t need to be credited at all, you could simply allude to this original provenance. “There’s this old Jewish midrash that says…” or something like that. If however, you use my words verbatim, you would introduce it (or conclude it) as Danny Nettleton’s telling of a Swiss parable or whatever…

Often, I will come across a story which I cannot imagine improving on, and I will simply present it as the original author did. In that case, I will let you know who the original author is so you can credit them (I need no credit for simply telling you about it).

To be honest, I send these stories into the world hoping they will be useful, and I don’t worry too much about attribution. My dream is to sit down in a Church somewhere and hear one of my parables from the pulpit. Then I would know that I had made it. The only thing that would really bother me is if someone were quoting my story word-for-word and passing it off as their own. But if you, for instance, liked the Superman example I used, but you totally made it your own and went your own direction with it, I wouldn’t expect to be attributed. When I preach, I don’t footnote every single thought and I don’t expect anyone else to either. But if I lift whole passages, word-for-word, or tell a story whose origin I know, I tell my congregation where they came from.

Hope that helps.

-Danny Nettleton