It was in 2018 that a good friend and I decided to start confessing our sins to one another each week. We followed the model set by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He called it a Band Meeting. At the bottom, I’ve provided some links to books and videos that may be helpful if you want to explore this. In the video, I do my best to describe exactly what my Band Meeting looks like.
Is Confession biblical?
In the very first confession (Genesis 3), the LORD confronts Adam and Eve about their sin and pulls a confession out of them. Because the LORD is no longer walking in the garden with us, what do we do?
In Leviticus, we are taught about the sin offering. If you had committed a sin, you are to bring an offering to the priest who would sacrifice it for you. If the sin was against another person, the person was also required to make it right with the person wronged. The priest would likely be the main person you would turn to if you wanted to know how to make it right. The pattern in Leviticus seems to support the Catholic version of confession.
We also see the pattern of just bringing your sins straight to God (1 John 1:9). In the Psalms, it also seems like the David is often confessing his sins to the LORD. While David made many sacrifices, I don’t recall him ever bringing a sin offering to the priest. I don’t see much evidence of David trying to make it write with the person he wronged. In Psalm 51, David is confessing to having an affair with a married woman and killing her husband, but he says this, “Against you, and you only have I sinned.” The pattern of David supports the protestant view of confessing directly to the LORD.
Some form of confession is biblical, but do you confess to the LORD in prayer or to a priest?
Why do some Methodists confess to a group?
The verse that seems to support the practice of group confession is James 5:16 – “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Two verses before this, we are instructed to call on the elders of the church if you are sick so that they can pray over and anoint with oil the sick person. If we are to confess our sins to a priest or pastor, why didn’t the verse say “confess your sins to an elder so they can pray for you?” Likewise, if we are only to confess to the LORD in prayer, why are we instructed to confess to one another?
For the Methodist, by confessing to a small group, you are still confessing to a priest as well as to the LORD. As a Christian, you are part of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5-9). God is also in you (numerous verses including Romans 8:9).
Personally, I still often confess my sins directly to the LORD. I try to do this soon after I become aware of the sin. For the group (Band Meeting), I will confess what I remember which is usually those sins that caused me the most grief or that I think were the worst.
Never too old to start
I started this practice of group confession at the age of 39. I have had friends start in their 60’s and 70’s. The most common response I here is some form of “Why didn’t I know about this earlier?” They feel a burden being lifted from them. Many of them had struggled with a persistent sin that they are now experiencing victory against. And even if victory doesn’t come immediately, there is comfort and relief in knowing that you are not alone in the battle.
Useful Links
- The Band Meeting by K Watson & S Kisker: https://www.amazon.com/Band-Meeting-Kevin-Watson/dp/162824495X
- Band Meeting Video (Watson): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k-xPXH6B2E
- Band Meeting Video (Watson & Kisker): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaNJiYX2Gig
- My Band Meeting Guide: https://jctaccounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Bands.docx
I commend you on your spiritual journey. From my experiences in the UM church I attend as a retired clergy, I beginning to believe that confession is no longer an aspect of our worship life. I haven’t read a prayer of confession in Sunday worship in fourteen years. Now, communion services no longer includes a prayer of confession. I guess the 1 John 1:9 has been removed from the Bible.
Thank you, Jack. You would think that confession would make you feel worse, but it’s often the opposite.
My church plant uses the prayer of confession every week as part of the Eucharistic liturgy. I’ll never forget the first week we did it and a parishioner told me “I really feel like my soul needed that.” People want to confess, even if it is only in the context of corporate confession.
I see sin as missing the mark.
I think you are 100% correct. I have heard that it is an archery term in the original Greek and Hebrew about missing the target.
Thanks for sharing your experience regarding this lifechanging practice.