Ten Things You Must Do When Confessing To Your Church

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
Matthew 7:3-5

"Churches are built from the planks in the eyes of their members. Unfortunately, they often do not remove them before construction begins."
Raymond Bechard

Why has the church become irrelevant to secular society? Quite simply, The Church, Christ's Body of Believers, continues to judge society and individuals by standards to which they themselves are not willing to abide.

And in order to maintain the look of cleanliness, to boost the egos of their leaders, to gain members and donations, they point their fingers outward - to the sins of society. They claim the problems rest outside the walls of the church and that all is well within. "We are not the problem," they shout. "The problems of the world fester in our society - far away from the confines of our innocence and righteousness." The congregations cheer in victory . . . and relief. The message is clear, "We don't have to change. We have to get others to change. If we get others to live as we do, our problems will be solved."

The problem is that society already is living as most churches and their leaders do: in sin and denial.

And now our culture is becoming acutely aware of the hypocrisy within the Church. We cannot deny it any longer. They know about pastor's cheating, stealing, abusing, hiding, and living secret lives.

This hypocrisy stains the entire church and the lost are turning away. The eternal salvation of those who do not know Jesus is the price paid by those who refuse to look past their pride and fear. They do not dare point inwards to the weakness within the walls of their church or their heart. They believe that to admit or openly share their own faults would put their ministries, their livelihoods, their reputations, and mostly, their egos at risk.

They hide the very sins they point out in others. They ignore the 'planks' in their own eyes while building careers on the 'specks' in others'.

But, when they fall, the Church itself comes tumbling down. Building their churches from the planks in their eyes is dangerous to the Kingdom of God. Because in time the sin permeating those planks leaks down into the very foundation of the church. They may remain out of sight for a time, but eventually they bring rot to the entire ministry. And no structure can stand if its foundation is eaten away by sin.

In fact, no organization - especially a church - can rise above the level of its leader's integrity. Every ministry will eventually reside in the darkest areas of the pastor's heart. That is why it is important to shed light - a VERY bright light - on every area of your heart. Let there be no darkness where destructive sin can hide.

If you are fearful that you will not be accepted in facing your demons and your confessions, consider these two questions:

1. Do you want to lead a church, or be a member of one, that cannot follow Biblical principles of forgiveness, healing, and redemption?
2. Do you want to face the added consequence of your darkness being exposed by someone else, while it is still your secret?

Here is what you must do to begin your journey, to clean out your basement, to protect your church, and to reach a new level of effectiveness as a leader and a follower of Jesus Christ:

1. Confess to God. Usually, someone who has a lot to hide tries to keep chaotically busy in order to drown out the voices of his sin. Have the courage to go somewhere quiet, get down on your knees, confess to God . . . and then wait in silence.
2. Don't do anything else alone. Your confession and contrition to Jesus is the only thing you will do alone in this process. Every other step should be taken with others by your side at all times.
3. Get a 'Soul Guard." You are about to embark on a journey into the unknown, a wilderness filled with pitfalls. More than a body guard, you must find and take a 'Soul Guard' with you. This is the one person you trust, preferably not a family member, who will be with you EVERY step of the way. They must know and accept everything. They must be your advocate. They must be on your side.
4. Build a 'Confessor Team." Confess to those who will understand, guide you, and stand with you. With your 'Soul Guard,' gather those around you who you trust the most; those who love Jesus; those whose lives have been broken and redeemed by the power of God; those who admit their faults and are compassionate to the struggles of others. There may only be a handful of them - maybe less - but these are the people you must tell first and foremost.
5. With your 'Confessor Team,' create a plan. After coming clean, make sure you have a plan that includes telling your board, telling your congregation, and telling your denominational leadership.
6. Tell your family. This will be more difficult than any other step. But, you must tell them with your 'Soul Guard' and your 'Confessor Team' already in place. You will need the strength of these others to help your family through their pain.
7. Tell the world. With those you trust by your side, you must confess to your congregation verbally and in writing. Along with your confession you will also tell them what led up to this moment including the formation of your 'Confession Team,' telling your family, and your plans going forward. Remember, this is an extraordinary opportunity to show the world how to fail correctly and stand tall once again through faith in Jesus Christ.
8. Go away. Don't think so much of yourself that your ministry cannot do without you for a while - or forever. Ultimately, and this will come as a shock to your ego, it's not about you. It's about the Kingdom of God and your ministry's role in building it. If you need to take time to heal, for counseling, for therapy, for rest - then do it. These plans should be discussed with your church and denominational leadership before your public confession.
9. Give it time. Only the Lord knows the outcome or how long this will take. Not knowing those two things is the reason you are afraid. If you've ever told anyone to put their trust in the Lord, now is the time to take your own teaching to heart. You will have to trust Him now more than ever before.
10. Finally, don't be afraid to step out into the light. This will be a difficult path to follow. The SONlight will hurt at first. But in time, you will come to realize that the pain you are feeling right now - the pain you feel from hiding and the fear of being exposed - is far worse than anything that you will experience in the days to come.

Yes, it hurts to fall. But in the end your legacy will be built on how you stand back up again.

The Highest Form of Worship

Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Hebrews 5:8-9

Do you know what the highest form of worship is? Praise? Music? Preaching? Yes, these things are essential to our lives followers of Jesus Christ, but there is one activity that reigns above all as supreme in our worship. Without this one thing, everything else has no meaning. Worse, without this one thing, we are all hypocrites.

The highest form of worship is obedience.

What’s that you say? “What about faith?” Let me say this very plainly: The greater the faith, the greater the obedience, the greater the obedience the greater the faith. It’s just that simple. You can’t have one without the other.

Why is obedience so important? Because, you can’t get near God without it. And He won’t come near you without it either. That’s why so much of your relationship with Jesus really depends on you. He can’t come near you if you’re not obedient to His will and His love.

Without obedience you are completely open to sin. And God doesn’t go near sin, nor does sin go near God. Can’t happen. Never has. Never will. So, with disobedience comes sin and there goes your open door to God’s Kingdom.

That’s why you need Jesus so badly. He doesn’t just wash that sin away, He makes it possible for you to stay away from it forever. But, you must remain obedient!

Look at it this way…disobedience is like a secret hatch that gives sin total access to your life. And that secret hatch will move itself around anywhere it wants. It will just keep moving and moving, until one day when – BANG – the sin starts flooding in!

The good news is that obedience slams that old secret hatch shut. Sin can’t get in if you’re obedient. And the best news is that’s when Jesus comes rushing into your life. He comes in and delivers you from the clutches of temptations and all the evils you face.

That’s right, obedience comes before deliverance. For God to deliver you, you must be obedient to God.

Yes, obedience is the highest form of worship…and the hardest. But, it also brings the most opportunity. When you live according to God’s will, He will deliver you to a place of extraordinary peace, life-changing wisdom, and eternal joy with His Son. That’s how it works. There’s just no way around it.

This week, remember that worship isn’t just on Sunday. It’s not just when you’re praying, or listening to Christian music. There is worship in every moment of your life – in every moment that you live in obedience to the Lord.

This Week’s Prayer

Dear Lord, I know my prayers come closer to You as I come closer to obeying Your will for me. Strengthen me to be more obedient so that I may enter Your presence and experience You more fully. I want to be closer to you every day of my life. Show me the way to obedience so that I find the path to Your Kingdom. Amen

This Old House

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

1 Peter 2:5

As the Autumn leaves come to their glorious annual collage of color and brilliance, many of us will take to our cars and travel throughout the smaller towns of New England. What a magnificent spectacle it is to pass through these historic villages where America began its journey, with the colorful backdrop of the hills beyond.

This year, as you take a day to witness the changing colors of the leaves, I want you to look for something in particular as you drive along the old roads of the Northeast. Just look carefully in and around our colonial towns.

There, you will always find empty old Victorian style houses with magnificent architecture near the green of every quaint New England village. Passing by these old houses, many now in disrepair or falling apart entirely, just imagine how beautiful they must have been when they were first built all those years ago.

Now after years of neglect, the paint is peeling, the wood is rotting, and the windows are broken. Many of the houses have been vandalized inside and out. As you look at them, it’s very hard to tell how much damage has actually been done. How much would it cost to restore an old house like these? Could any of them ever be saved?

Each has the potential to be so beautiful.

These dilapidated old structures, once filled with life and laughter, are like many of us. We enter the world beautifully created by God. Then someone hurts us; emotionally, physically or both. We shut down. Hide away. Lose interest, faith, and hope. Eventually we begin to deteriorate.

The beautiful spirits created by our Lord are often broken in life; sometimes even destroyed. In time, the home of our spirit sits empty and uncared for, and we wonder if our lives can ever be restored. What will it take to restore my life? What will it cost? Can I even be saved?

The answer is “yes.” If you allow Jesus into your heart, He can heal the wounds caused by sin and abuse. He is the Master Carpenter who can repair your broken spirit. And, unlike those old houses that will cost too much to restore, the cost of Jesus’ restoration is free. Don’t let one more minute of pain, regret, guilt, or fear bring your house down. Let Jesus in and fix up the old place....He’ll make you like new again!

Today’s Prayer

Father, thank You for being the Lord who restores us. Please let me feel Your healing touch today and every day. Let the work You do in my life be a testimony to You. And please let my restoration be for Your honor and glory. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

How Many Today?

“I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

Proverbs 8:12-13

“How many today, Lord?” That is the question I have asked myself every morning for the past few decades, “How many today, Lord?” How many souls can be saved? How many of God’s children need help? How many will come to know you? How many will find new life through your Grace? “How many today, Lord?” It is a beautiful question and an exciting way to start each new day.

At least, it used to be.

Over the past few years, I have been asking the question in a very different way as the sun dawns on across the waves I look at each morning. “Lord, how many today?” How many young people were shot last night? How many young girls sold themselves? How many overdoses were there? How many people had no place to sleep and nothing to eat? How many funerals are being planned this morning? “Lord, how many today?”

I'm sure your local morning news features the same daily reports I see. Young men killing each other, innocents caught in the crossfire, assaults, robberies, drug busts, police investigating, yellow tape stretched across the street in the darkness, blue and red lights flashing.

Before we become too numb to these same stories as we pour our morning coffee, it is time we do something. Because while the news tells us what is happening, it does not report why it is happening.

So, before it’s too late, I have this question for young people struggling to make their way in the world today. Perhaps you can ask this question to the kids you come across throughout your day: What do you do when your life comes to a dead end even before it really begins? What do you do when you have no hope? What do you do when you believe your only power is a gun? What do you do when your only escape is a drug that's got you enslaved? What do you do when you think your only option is a man who is promising you everything?

If you have the chance - and I pray you do - tell them they DO have options. Tell them they must make a choice. And the choice they make will determine the fate of their young soul.

I will never say that all this violence is happening because of society, or government, or oppression. Ultimately, it is happening because someone, an individual, makes the choice to pull the trigger, to take the drugs, to sell themselves . . . or to sell someone else.

That is why as adults, as leaders of families, businesses, and our communities; as parents who love our children, and as followers of Jesus, we must actively, energetically, and forcefully offer another choice to the kids who think there is no other way. We must get as close to them as possible and effectively demonstrate the love of Christ. We must creatively and courageously show them that His love for them as individuals is undeniable and offers the greatest care, value, and respect anyone can ever know.

Remember, you may be the only Jesus these young people will ever know. They may never again experience His love if not through you. That is why our Lord is depending on you so much. He needs you to ask yourself, “How many today, Lord?” How many more will die? How many more will live? How many more will put down their guns and pick up Your Cross?

Today’s prayer

Dear Lord, help me to show every young person I encounter that the way of your Son, Jesus, is the greatest hope and the best choice in life. Amen.

THE MAD MAN IN THE ATTIC

“For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Isaiah 56:7

My life changed entirely through prayer and I don't mind telling people about it. Whenever I share my prayer life and practices with others, I inevitably hear responses like: “I get distracted in my prayer." "I can’t concentrate or focus." "I try to sit and talk to God, but in just a few minutes I’m thinking about how I have to clean out my car or the argument I had with so-and-so yesterday." I understand their frustration. But, it's terribly important not to just give up on real prayer if your distractions grow to loud.
There is no reason for that to happen to you because your life can change through prayer . . . and you can access this divine opportunity anytime. So, here is how you can avoid the distractions and discover a new level in your prayer life.
There is an ancient story about a man riding an elephant through a village in India. As the man tried to guide the elephant along the narrow passageways between homes and shops, the great animal would constantly poke his trunk into every window and door; startling the villagers and causing general mayhem in ways that only an elephant can.
Finally one morning, a wise villager stepped out in front of the beast and help up a large branch from a fragrant tree. The elephant sniffed at it, liked it, and wrapped his trunk around the branch to carry for the rest of the day. With this simple distraction, the elephant’s days of poking his nose where it didn’t belong were over.
Similarly, I often see people walking their dogs with a toy or stick in their pet’s mouth. I know these are the people who understand animals. If you don’t want your dog stopping to sniff everything along the way, give him something else to do.
That’s right! If you want Spot distracted – give him a distraction!
I’m telling you these things because we all experience distractions in life – but especially during our time of prayer. Our days and minds are so filled with activities, worries, thoughts, chores, etc., that we can lose our way when communing with God.
Even if we find a quiet room with low light, the brain can be filled with activity, noise, and movement. Saint Teresa of Avila tells us this is like having a mad man in the attic. The secret is to give the ‘mad man’ something to do so we can have a few minutes of quiet in our ‘house of prayer.’
Like the elephant with the branch, your prayer life will be a much smoother journey to God if you find something to focus on while praying. Some people simply open their Bible and place their hands on the pages, others light candles to focus on the soft light of the flame, while others play gentle music. All of these methods are effective in settling our mind so that we can have a far closer fellowship with Jesus Christ.
It is important to remember that prayer is not just your words to God. It is also hearing Him speaking to You. And you won’t hear what the Lord is telling you if you have a mad man in your attic!
Never forget that real prayer is a vibrant, eternal, life-changing conversation with God. Yes, prayer is your lifeline; plugging your body, mind and soul directly into the power of the Holy Spirit! Very simply, Prayer is spending time with your best friend: Jesus.
And the more you pray, the more your life will change and become empowered by God Himself. So give that old elephant something to do and let your journey begin!

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

This Weeks Prayer
Dear Lord, I come before you now in prayer and worship. You are my Lord and Savior, my God and my All. Let nothing come between us. Let no thoughts, distractions, or troubles, keep me from hearing Your Still Small Voice. Guide me into focusing my full attention on You. Calm my body, my mind, and my spirit that I may journey forever deeper into Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.