As a non-Catholic, going to confession is not within my religious framework. Richard Foster reminds us that confession has spiritual and cathartic value. This weekend I stumbled on a confession note that just didn’t seem right. Instead of commenting on the note, I did the most ecumenical thing possible: I shared the note with the monks of Unvirtuous Abbey. The results were… well, expected:
“Pastor Appreciation Month” is October and there is something you need to know about your pastoral leader.
There is a clearly defined point in every pastor’s ministry that they find themselves in a deep hole. It is a deep hole that is created in the soul which comes from emptying yourself. You serve, preach, visit, do the hard work of transformation, night meetings, early breakfasts with church members, care for others, care for your family, and you usually have nothing left for yourself.
Enter the void.
Megachurch Pastor Pete Wilson of Crosspoint Church in Nashville, TN announced that he was leaving the church he founded. After 14 years and 7,000 people attending each weekend, Wilson shocked his congregation with his departure. As many pastors struggle to attendance and attraction, what would lead a successful pastor to step aside? He said:
Unless you have been sleeping under a rock, our government is at a budget impasse and everyone is mad as hell. Senate Chaplain Rev. Barry Black, a retired Navy rear admiral, gave a Senate prayer that the New York Times reported as “scolding”:
The disapproval comes from angry constituents, baffled party elders and colleagues on the other side of the Capitol. But nowhere have senators found criticism more personal or immediate than right inside their own chamber every morning when the chaplain delivers the opening prayer.
The New York Times entitled the article, “Give Us This Day, Our Daily Senate Scolding” – written by Jeremy W. Peters – highlighted Rev. Black’s prayer as some sort of religious finger shaking. When you read and watch the prayer, one immediately can connect to the honesty of the situation:
Would you ever tweet, blog, or Facebook your sins? Is social media the place for confession and atonement?
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement for Jews, occurred last week. Yom Kippur is the day of repentance for past sins, to seek forgiveness, and to make amends. NPR featured a fascinating twist on this holy day. A synagogue in Miramar, Florida invited congregants to use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to share their wrongs. Cantor Debbi Ballard explains how social media can connect her congregation to confession and restoration:
…let’s use the technology and have it enhance our atonement today by tweeting or texting our sins away, and looking at those sins on a big movie screen. And then letting them roll past us so that we can let them go, so that we can live a more powerful life this year. I think that’s what Yom Kippur and atonement is about.
It may seem odd for some to share their “sins” on social media. Who wants to leave their confession in a world that caches and stores your information for the world to see? Ballard explains the value of interactive and communal confession: Continue Reading…
After years of doping allegations, Lance Armstrong finally came clean… or mostly.
After denying that he cheated, the famed cyclist admitted to using blood transfusions and a cocktail of drugs to cheat. Armstrong admitted to lying as millions tuned in to watch Oprah asked all the questions we wanted to ask. For months, shock and anger have been the reaction of choice to the man who founded an organization to “Live Strong” but cheated. In the end, Armstrong paid a price by losing endorsement deals, stepping down from his charity, and facing humiliation.
Coming clean with a confession is no easy task. Especially when you are a celebrity and you do it on national television. Or, is it?
Armstrong told Oprah things like:
I didn’t invent the culture, but I didn’t try to stop the culture.
I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologize to people.
I lied.
With critics saying that this interview was not enough, how does one really confess wrong doing? With news media asking if Armstrong is the “biggest liar”, how does one go about sharing the truth?
In a world where CEOs who wrongly milked millions out of companies only to retire comfortable while workers lose their 401k’s, the public’s strong reaction against people like Armstrong is reasonable. Celebrities, politicians, and the wealthy seem to get a break that most of us don’t receive.
When most people confess, it is hard and ugly. They have to face the people who they have wronged. When Lance Armstrong wants to confess, he goes on Oprah. He doesn’t face his fans, teammates, or those who he lied to. Instead, he gets a mega celebrity who wants to ride on the notoriety.
Is that a real confession?
I serve in a Christian tradition where there isn’t a standard of private confession to a priest. However, wrong doers must face the people that they have wronged and there must be an effort for reconciliation by both parties (James 5:16). If we want to be forgiven of any wrong we have done, then we must forgive others (John 20:23). Forgiveness is a two way street.
Confession of wrong doing isn’t only about coming clean. It is about restoration. It looks something like this:
Wrong doing -> Confessing of wrong doing -> Forgiveness -> Restoration of relationship -> Healing
Let’s be real about this. This process doesn’t happen in an instant. It may take days, weeks, months, and maybe years. God forgives easily but humans take longer.
For most of us, we can’t go on television and confess. We can’t have a one sided conversation of confession. We face the ugly and messy task of owning up to our mistakes and facing those who we have wrong. That’s not easy but it is the right thing to do.
The ever-growing bridge between technology and religion is expanding every day. No longer will digital Bibles apps be the only religious tool that populates Blackberrys, iPhone, and other electronic devices. A newly released iPhone app allows users to connect to a “confession” community to admit personal transgressions. The app description explain
The fundamental manner in which Penance differs from other confession apps is that it is structured to create a self-sustaining community rather than be a simple whiteboard for posting confessions (that can at best be rated by those who view them).
Apparently, download users must be over the age of 17 in order to download the app. This suggests that users can face some racy confessions. It appears there is a gimmick to the app because like 4square users can earn destinations based on use:
Continue Reading…
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