Unless you live under a rock, your Lent is probably turning out somewhat . . . differently than imagined.
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are sheltering-in-place. Last night, I took a walk downtown (we’re still allowed out for exercise). For all the traffic and pedestrians out, it might as well have been 2am.
I am acutely aware that COVID-19 is also throwing churches into turmoil. Last week, I wrote an article on digital ministry. And I’ll continue to write articles on apocalypse-related topics.
But I’m also keeping up with the confession series. Corporate confession might have a negative connotation for you, especially if you’ve experienced it surrounded by guilt and shame. Even if it doesn’t hold those associations for you, it probably does for some of your congregation.
Yet confession, done well, takes away the guilt and shame we carry. It represents a central tenet of the Christian faith–that our mistakes are wiped away by Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, leaving us with a clean slate.
Done well, confession doesn’t shame us for being human. It brings light to our darkest places and reminds us that we are forgiven. For my generation, struggling with the pressures of social media and mental health, this process is especially important.
Now, let’s get down to some practicals.
There are two main forms confession takes, depending on your theology/denomination: corporate or individual. This week, I’ll focus on the more common form among mainline Protestants: corporate.
Here are six key pieces that can help your corporate confession meet the spiritual needs of our time and place.
1. Change your attitude around corporate confession.
How do you feel about corporate confession? If it’s just in the service for tradition’s sake, and/or if you’re not very enthusiastic about it, it will show.
Your congregation is looking to you to set the tone. They won’t take confession seriously unless you approach it reverently and enthusiastically.
This change in attitude might have some practical implications. Maybe you have confession more frequently. Perhaps you move it to a more crucial point in the service. Maybe you preach a sermon on its importance.
Either way, hopefully, you are feeling convicted about the transformative potential confession can hold. Let your congregation know.
2. Make the language work for you.
What’s your theology around confession? Maybe there are certain precepts your denomination holds. Perhaps your notion of salvation lies in Jesus’ birth. Or perhaps in his life and mission. Maybe your church focuses on his death and/or resurrection.
This is your chance to make the theological language exactly how you want it. If you or your congregants have been wounded by guilt-and-shame language, or “angry God” language, this is your chance to exorcise it completely.
Make the absolution really work for you, too. I might suggest leaning heavily on the forgiveness-and-mercy part of the equation and focusing on reassurance.
In the end, create a confession and absolution that you feel really good about. Create one that makes you feel unburdened, like you’ve breathed a sigh of relief after it’s over. Then, talk about your theological and liturgical choices with your congregation, so they can share that experience with you.
3. Make it personal.
Have you ever rattled off a corporate confession, without really thinking about it? I have. Often, the confession seems way too vague, mentioning generic sins that often don’t feel like they apply.
That’s why it’s important that corporate confession be personal, especially important if you aren’t offering individual confessions. If your corporate confession talks about generic sins in a vague manner, it’s more likely that congregants won’t let it sink in.
Try thinking back to a confession that really touched you. When has confession unburdened you and inspired you to be a better follower of God in the coming week?
Perhaps there was some silence. Maybe you were asked to think about one or two things you were really sorry for during the last week.
Or, maybe it simply included language about specific groups of sins (eg. “thought, word, and deed”). Or invited you to reflect on specific groups of people that you might have sinned against.
Create a confession that touches people and stirs them to repentance in the context of their lives.
4. Normalize confession.
If you’ve ever told someone an embarrassing secret or confessed a mistake to a loved one, you know that confessing is a deeply vulnerable thing. And we know that people usually won’t do vulnerable things. Unless, that is, it’s part of their communal culture.
That’s why it’s so important that you normalize sinning, confession, forgiveness, and grace.
So, at some point during the confession or absolution, try including language that reminds people that sinning is normal. Confession and absolution are deeply tied to the Church’s central story of crucifixion and resurrection.
Remind your congregation that they are not the first nor the last people to have messed up in the specific way that they did. Connect them to our Biblical heritage–basically one long story of individuals and communities sinning and then reconciling with God.
Emphasize that confession is both a crucial and a normal part of being in relationship with God, particularly in the Christian tradition. This will help to eradicate shame and encourage confession as a normal part of church life.
5. Make the absolution count.
Maybe, in your tradition, the clergy actually forgives on God’s behalf. Maybe they simply reassure the congregation that forgiveness has happened. It doesn’t matter.
Word your absolution in such a way—and in such an enthusiastic tone—that they understand the enormity of what they have received. Again, think back to that time that confession really worked for you. Hopefully, it made you feel as though a weight was lifted off of your shoulders.
Give your congregation the gift of a similar experience every week.
Maybe this is expressed through a short joyful refrain. Maybe it’s all words. Maybe there are certain physical signs (eg. sign of the cross) that help reinforce this concept.
But use the absolution to help people breathe a sigh of relief—their sins are forgiven, they are a child of God, and they are called to go out and make a difference in the world.
6. Let it be known that there is help.
This doesn’t need to be done during confession time (although it can be). But practical opportunities for growth are a necessary extension of true confession.
Publicize how to meet with the pastor. Put up posters for spiritual directors or therapists in the community. Have small groups for people with addiction, parenting, or simply ordinary groups for people trying to be good Christians.
Talk about all of these things as though they are a part of church culture, that this is something most people do on their walk with God. You could even ask church members and leaders to talk to the congregation about the time that they met with the pastor, saw a therapist, or went through a 12-step program.
Again, normalizing things takes away shame, encourages participation, and facilitates actual reform.
A Case Study
As a final note, I wanted to offer a case study of a corporate confession that exemplifies everything above.
House for All Sinners and Saints uses a unique style of confession that is both corporate and extremely personal, while providing space for necessary anonymity. I want to share it with you in case it makes sense for your congregation or inspires you to create something similar.
Here’s how it works: after the sermon, there are ten minutes of quiet. During this time, congregants get up from their seats and wander around. There’s an iPad where they can donate money. There’s a healing prayer station. Sometimes, there’s a piece of artwork to reflect on. Or they can just stay in their seats.
There’s also a petition station. People can grab a pencil and paper, kneel down, and write their prayers.
Often, these prayers become a confession. The Sunday that I was there, someone prayed about their addiction, asking that they would make it through their first week sober. Others asked God for forgiveness after they spoke harshly to a partner or child.
The worship leaders then put these prayers in a basket and read the prayers allowed, anonymously. This method allowed for deeply personal things to be confessed in a corporate setting.
It also allowed the pastor to direct people toward specific resources. At the end of the service, the priest stood up and asked everyone in the congregation who had overcome an addiction to raise their hand. His went up, also. He told whoever had written that prayer that they could talk to any of these people.
People at House for All Sinners and Saints confessed their sins in this method regularly. For them, it was normal to share these intimate concerns.
My interviews showed that it was working. People told me that this method of corporate confession truly removed shame and turned the focus to grace, encouraging them to truly reform their behavior.
House for All Sinners and Saints practices only one of many possible versions of healthy, effective corporate confession. What are you envisioning? Comment below and let me know!
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