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Thirteen Corporate Habits
#1: Confession

    Posted by Klaus Issler on September 18, 2008

Confession is not just what we do with ourselves. We confess one to another. The "other" to whom we confess is to fellow believers and to God.

Two particular paths might be taken here.

• One involves a measure of solidarity with all believers, as well as national citizens, in which we confess our corporate sins when the church is gathered. As with the annual Day of Atonement in Israel, the National Day of Prayer may be a time to set us aside from work, to gather and confess the sins of the Church and the nation. Examples are provided in 1 Samuel 7:3-6, Nehemiah 9:16-38.
• Another avenue is to nurture confidentiality among small groups of believers in which members feel free to confess their sins openly to the group, as regular part of group meetings (Jas 5:16). A group in which such trust has been developed offers support and accountability for believers.

Try this corporate practice on for size. How might it figure into the manner in which you gather and why? Are there particular relational or social conditions that make confession more conducive to a corporate gathering? What sort of theology must be active and present for confession to make sense? We welcome your comments about this corporate habit and how it might be experienced in an enriching sort of way.