“If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven;

if you do not forgive them,

they are not forgiven.”

John 20:23

    Over the past couple years I have become increasingly convinced that, beyond corporate worship and edification, the primary function of “church” is that of being a healing community. Church as a healing community is a group where Christ’s Body is truly evident in varied spiritual gifts, emotional support, shared resources, prayer and confession. A church as a healing community is one of the places where the “loving others” of the great commandment is made manifest.

    Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the sacramental duty of confession in the Body. I also suspect that confession is not an issue of much importance to most evangelicals. My background is both a bit Lutheran and a bit Roman Catholic, and I can recall one of my sanctimonious Lutheran sunday school teachers saying, “We don’t confess our sins to a priest, but directly to God.”  The implication…