A charismatic church once asked me to review their liturgy. Oh, they didn’t use the word “liturgy,” because they claimed they had no liturgy, they just “followed the leading of the Lord.” (But let me tell you, while they may have hated the word “liturgy,” they loved their traditions.)
The church asked me for a fresh perspective on their service, as though I were a newcomer walking in for the first time, from the signs on the streets, to the greeters in the coffee bar, to the worship and sermon, and the chairs, lighting, and TV screens behind the stage.
During multiple visits, I witnessed community worship, personal sharings, various forms of welcome, benedictions, and I saw baptisms, communion, and installation of new members.
But I never once saw a Confession of Sin or Assurance of Pardon.
I asked the leadership team how often they have a Confession of Sin. An elder said it had been twenty years or more. I was flabbergasted. While I tried not to show my shock, I asked them, “Why not?” And the same elder replied,
“We stopped confessions years ago, because we don’t want people to feel bad.”
What Are We Thinking?
My father’s churches were low on the liturgical spectrum: we didn’t have acolytes or candles, we didn’t talk about Advent or Lent much; we even called our liturgy an “Order of Worship.” Yet at every single service (even at the Wednesday prayer meeting) we would read a confession, privately confess sins, and then listen to an Assurance of Forgiveness, like,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
I just typed that verse from memory because I heard it a thousand times growing up. When I was a kid, every single church I visited had a regular Confession of Sin, from high church to low church. Including my grandfather’s Pentecostal church.
I visit lots of churches now, because of retreats and vacations; and nowadays none of them has a communal Confession of Sin or Assurance of Forgiveness. Even the number of Catholics participating in that minimally required, annual Sacrament of Confession has dwindled from 80% a year to less than 40%. (I was pleased and amazed to discover my new church does practice confession, though it ruined a perfect streak.)
Perhaps the dwindling or absence of Confessions these days is because:
People are more loving, more generous, less critical, less narcissistic, more sexually pure, and more devoted to Scripture and prayer.
We are holier than any past society in the sordid history of humanity.
Maybe Not
Six months later, that “we-don’t-want-people-to-feel-bad” elder called me. They had decided to experiment and try community confessions once a month. The elder and his wife brought a depressed neighbor woman to church for the first time, and it happened to be one of those confession Sundays. The Assurance of Pardon that they read was,
As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our sins from us. (Ps. 103:12)
(This one is also engraved in my brain from my childhood, and I typed it from memory.)
When the church read that Assurance, the neighbor woman burst into tears, and she sobbed the rest of the service. My elder friend thought, “This is exactly why I hate confessions.”
After the service, he apologized to his neighbor, but she interrupted him saying he completely misunderstood her reaction. She wasn’t feeling bad, she was feeling wonderful.
Years ago, she had done something seriously wrong, and for decades she couldn’t shake the feelings of guilt and shame. But when she heard Scripture say that it was removed “as far as the east is from the west,” she immediately believed. And she felt free, grateful, and joyful.
What’s Our Real Problem?
We think our deepest problems are due to past traumas, an unloving spouse, or a nasty boss. While those situations can be almost unbearably painful, Scripture says our single biggest problem is our sin, not someone else’s sin; not even when their sin is horrible. Our sin.
But there is a cure. We can have a joyful life of inner flourishing. Confession is God’s invitation to an inner rest for our souls.
Even (maybe especially) when we feel bad.
Sam
The Corrupting of The Christian Shepherd
Thank you for this, Sam. We attend an Anglican church where there is confession of sin and the proclamation of God’s forgiveness every week. I experience this as humbling, freeing, and the best preparation for receiving Communion – also shared weekly. I am grateful that God has directed us to a church where the Gospel – ALL of it – is preached and modeled without reservation.
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us….If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
The call to repentance begins with confession. When Jesus speaks to the 7 churches in Revelation, 5 of the 7 he calls to repent. I feel the church of this age is like the church of Laodicia, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” Rev 3:17
The church that confesses is a church that is living in reality.
If we do not need to confess, why would we need the cross?
As Christians we are aware that we are all sinners. We also have a personal relationship with God. Penitential prayer is the answer. So why do we need a minister present? Or, we can use an open prayer meeting to confess. Of course if you are heavily burdened you can always seek a private audience with your minister or elder.