Peacemaking: Article #7 2021
August 11, 2021
August 13, 2021
Seven A’s of a Biblical Confession.
God helps us to see our sins and leads us to resolution using the 4 “G’s”. As God opens your eyes to see how you have sinned against others, he simultaneously offers you a way to find freedom from your past wrongs. It is called confession. Many people have never experienced this freedom because they have never learned how to confess their wrongs honestly and unconditionally.
Instead, they use words like these: “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” “Let’s just forget the past.” “I suppose I could have done a better job.” “I guess it’s not all your fault.” These token statements rarely trigger genuine forgiveness and reconciliation. If you really want to make peace, ask God to help you breathe grace by humbly and thoroughly admitting your wrongs. The way to do this is to use the Seven A’s of a Biblical Confession.
1 John 1:8-9 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
- A ddress everyone involved (All those whom you affected)
- A void if, but, and maybe (Do not try to excuse your wrongs)
- A dmit specifically (Both attitudes and actions)
- A cknowledge the hurt (Express sorrow for hurting someone)
- A ccept the consequences (Such as making restitution)
- A lter your behavior (Change your attitudes and actions)
- A sk for forgiveness
- Address everyone involved. Real confession begins by admitting your sin to everyone directly impacted by it. Since every wrongdoing offends God, start your confession with him. Whether or not you admit a sin to other people depends on whether it was a ‘heart sin’ or a ‘social sin.” A heart sin takes place only in your thoughts and doesn’t directly affect others, so it only needs to be confessed to God. A social sin involves other people. Confess those wrongs to anyone affected—a single individual or a group, and people you hurt or who just witnessed your wrongdoing. The general rule? Your confession should reach as far as your offense. Suppose you were really angry with your spouse, and your kids were in the car and heard your angry outburst. You need to confess to your spouse, but you also need to talk to the kids.
- Avoid “if,” “but,” and “maybe.” It’s really difficult to find a confession that doesn’t use ‘if,” “but,” or “maybe.” It’s so hard to give an unqualified apology. The quickest way to wreck a confession is by using words that shift the blame to others or minimize or excuse your guilt. The classic bad confession is, “I’m sorry if I’ve done something to make you mad.” The word “if” ruins the confession, because it implies that you don’t know whether you did something wrong. It sounds like you just want someone off your back. Notice how the following so-called confessions are diluted by the words in italics. “Perhaps I was wrong.” “ Maybe I could have tried harder.” “ I guess I was wrong when I said those critical things about you. I shouldn’t have lost my temper, but I was tired.” Each of these statements would have value if the italicized words were left out. These words neutralize the rest of the confession. They don’t convey sincere repentance and won’t soften the heart of someone who has been offended. The word “but” is especially harmful, because it has the strange ability to cancel all the words that precede it: “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, but you really upset me.” “I should have kept my mouth closed, but she asked for it.” “I know I was wrong, but so were you!” In those statements, most people sense that the speaker believes the words following the “but” more than those that precede it. Thus, a confession containing “but” rarely leads to reconciliation.
- Admit specifically . The more detail you provide when you confess, the more likely you are to get a positive reaction. Specific admissions help convince others that you are honestly facing up to what you have done, a signal that makes it far easier to forgive you. Not only that, but being specific helps you identify the actions, words, or attitudes you need to change. For example, instead of saying, “I blew it as a friend,” you could say, “I know I hurt you when I talked behind your back.” Or instead of saying, “I know I’m not much of an employee,” you might say, “I know I’ve had a very negative attitude the last few months. I’ve been critical of others and disrupted the operation of this office. It was especially wrong of me to criticize your work in front of others yesterday.” As you strive to be specific in your confessions, make it a point to deal with your attitudes as well as actions.
- Acknowledge the hurt . If you want someone to respond positively to your confession, make it a point to acknowledge to him/her the hurt you caused. Aim to show that you understand how the other person felt as a result of our words or actions. “You must have felt really embarrassed when I said those things in front of everyone. I’m so sorry I did that to you.” If you aren’t sure how the other person felt, then ask. It can be dangerous to assume you know how or how much you hurt someone. You can say, “Have I understood how I’ve hurt you?”
- Accept the consequences . Accepting any penalty your actions deserve is another way to demonstrate genuine repentance. You might have to correct a piece of gossip you passed on. Or you might have to work extra to pay for damages you caused to someone’s property. The harder you work to make restitution and repair any harm you have caused, the easier it is for others to trust your confession.
- Alter your behavior . You don’t really mean that you are sorry if you don’t commit to not repeating the sin. Sincere repentance includes explaining to the person you offended how you plan to change in the future by God’s grace—what you will say, how you will act, or the attitude you will convey. Be specific. Find someone to hold you accountable. Explain that you are relying on God’s help. Sometimes it helps to put your plan in writing. It shows you take the matter seriously and are willing to spend time planning how to change. Listing specific goals and objectives helps you remember your commitment. It provides a standard by which your progress can be measured. And your ongoing effort will continue to demonstrate your confession was genuine.
- Ask for forgiveness If you talk through each of those steps with someone you have offended, many will be willing to forgive you and move on. If the person you have confessed to doesn’t express forgiveness, however, you can ask, “Will you please forgive me?” Your question signals that you are now awaiting their move. Don’t be surprised if some people need time to forgive you. Reconciliation doesn’t always happen right away, and pressure from you won’t help. If someone isn’t ready to forgive you, make sure you have confessed thoroughly. If you sense that the person to whom you confessed is simply not ready to forgive you, it may be helpful to say something like this: “I know I hurt you, and I can understand why it might be hard to forgive me. I want us to be okay with each other, so I hope you can forgive me. In the meantime, I will pray for you and do my best to repair the damage I caused. With the Holy Spirit’s help, I will work to overcome my problem. If there’s anything else I can do, please let me know.”
An eighth “A” could be added to this list: Allow time. When you’ve deeply disappointed, hurt or wronged someone else, they may need some time to process their emotions and come to a point of forgiveness.
Biblical Models of Governance by Tom Petter Our Final Appeal for Governance: Jesus Christ and His Word Church governance can be a complicated matter. Many churches over the centuries have split over matters of governance. As we celebrate Reformation Day (October 31), Martin Luther famously broke away from the idea of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. King Henry VIII, perhaps for less noble reasons, also severed ties from Rome to form the Church of England. Protestants have myriads of sub-groups who differ over minor points but also at times major points of doctrine. Within our congregational tradition harking back to the Puritan era (1600s), our final appeal is the authority of Jesus Christ, as revealed in His Word. Defining Board, Deacons and Ministers at TCC TCC is blessed to have a strong foundation for leadership stability with the current by-laws drafted in 2010. We are a board-led church who is composed of members elected by the congregation for a term of 3 years (renewable after one year off). The board consists of men and women (with no particular ratio of representation) who display evident characteristics of spiritual wisdom and managerial gifts. The Senior Minister is a member of the board. Per by-laws, "the Senior Minister shall lead the Church to accomplish its mission and shall be the spiritual and administrative leader of the Church, reporting to the Board." Deacons comprise an even number of men and women with no less 10 members. Our ordained pastoral staff are "ministers." Where do these categories fit within the testimony of Scripture? Elders and Overseers The New Testament has particular designations for church leaders: "overseers" (episkopos in Greek) and "elders" (presbyteros) are used interchangeably in Scripture (1 Timothy 3:1; Titus 1:5-7). In the two lists of 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9, elders/overseers are to be spiritually wise leaders, hospitable, well versed in matters of doctrine and of impeccable character. Specifically, they are to be family men faithful to their wife. Paul essentially shuts the door to the Old Testament (illicit) practice of polygamy and harks back to Genesis 2:24 where the ideal of marriage is defined as union of man and one woman (see Ephesians 5:31). Paul confirms Jesus's teaching on sexual ethics, which itself upholds the Old Testament teachings on sexual practices (Matthew 19:1-12). An elder (and his wife, see Proverbs 1:8) must make every effort to raise obedient children in the Lord (Titus 1:6). Many denominations take these guidelines and apply them to what constitute qualifications to be elders in a church: only men can be elders, though governing church structures do not restrict the role to married men with children. At TCC the qualifications for board membership are derived from the lists of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. We also draw from other characteristics of spiritual leadership and gifting listed elsewhere in the Scripture. This comprehensive approach to scriptural qualifications allows for the inclusion of both men and women on our board (see next sections). Ministers, Deacons and Servants Ministers, deacons, and servants are variably translated from one word, diakonos: In Colossians 1:25, Paul is a "diakonos/minister." In 1 Timothy 3:8, Paul speaks of the office of "diakonos/deacon." Phoebe is a diakonos/servant in Romans 16:1. Jesus's mission is to "diakoneo/serve" in Mark 10:45, which directly connects to the substitutionary sacrifice of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. In the same context, He calls His followers not to lord over others like the Gentiles do but to be diakonos/servants (10:42-43). In 1 Timothy 3, the deacons must exhibit the same characteristics as elders/overseers. Finally, to be a "servant/minister" is a title every Christ-follower holds since we follow in the footsteps of the Lord every day of our lives (Mark 8:34). Pastors, Shepherds, Teachers and Apostles In Ephesians, Paul takes another angle and characterizes church leadership around the five spiritual gifts sovereignly distributed to certain "men" in the sense of gender inclusive "humankind/anthropos" rather than male-specific "man/andros" (Ephesians 4:7-8). As such, the list of "apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds and teachers" are all in the masculine in Greek which can also be taken as a generic masculine. This approach seems to be confirmed with Priscilla who is clearly a teacher of the Gospel (along with her husband Aquilla; Romans 16:3; Acts 18:25-26). Phillip has "four unmarried daughters who prophesied" (Acts 21:9). Less certain is "Junia...well known to the apostles" (ESV of Romans 16:7). The NIV leaves the door open to the interpretation that she belonged to the guild ("outstanding among the apostles"). In Ephesians 4:8, "pastors and teachers" are linked together in Paul's list, but he doesn't seem to single out the office of pastor above the other spiritual gifts. In the modern church, we have elevated the role of "pastor" as the leader of the flock from the perspective of a spiritual "shepherd." The metaphorical imagery from the Scriptures is rich ("the Lord is my shepherd," "I am the good shepherd"). The leadership of Israel are called shepherds, for better or, more often than not, for worse (see Ezekiel 34). So it's perfectly fine to call church leaders “pastors” as long as we understand that any sense of authority (in the way Jesus defines authority as serving others) never comes from ourselves but from the Word of God and the spiritual gifts God has given us. All of us have spiritual gifts (see the lists in Romans 12:3-8; also 1 Corinthians 12-14) and we should never view one gift as superior to the other, as Paul corrects the foolish Corinthians who were so enamored with their celebrity preachers and quite taken by their own veneer of spirituality (1 Corinthians 1-3). On the contrary, our ultimate authority (and boasting!) rests upon the Word of God and Jesus Christ (John 1:1-2). The Church is built upon both the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets (those with the authority to write down the Scripture, 2 Timothy 3:16) and the "cornerstone," Jesus Christ, upon whom all authority has been given (Ephesians 2:20). In sum, the big picture of the available biblical models of governance allow for some variables in how these specific texts are applied to our church leadership structure. In our elected and appointed board and deacons, we have men married with children, we have women who are gifted leaders, teachers, managers (Romans 12:8), we have single men and women, from various backgrounds and cultures. On the pastoral team, we have "ministers"who are set apart for service to the Lord in full time or part time roles. The common qualifications are people who are above reproach, humble and broken by their weakness but strong in the grace of God, with a servant heart, knowledge of the Lord and the Word (they go together, always!), and wisdom to apply truth in love with one another (see Ephesians 4 for a masterful description of the "truth and love" principle). At the membership level and regular attendants at TCC and in every areas of our community life, we have people with the gift of compassion and mercy in serving others in practical ways, intercession, evangelism, and so on. What brings us together is that we are all servants of the Lord and ministers of the Gospel. Final Thought: Do We Have Apostles and Prophets Today? Apostolic authority lies with those who saw Christ (so the 12 and Matthias in Acts 1). It also includes, crucially, Paul himself, to whom Christ revealed Himself (1 Corinthians 15; Galatians 1; Acts 9, 22, 24). Paul had to defend his apostolic authority fiercely in Galatians and also in 2 Corinthians. The foundation of the apostles and prophets in Ephesians 2:20 has now been closed since the Scripture has been written and no new texts can be added since the end of the first Century AD. We do not have apostles who can write the Scripture after this first generation who saw Christ. In fact, anyone who claim that mantle are false teachers and prophets in Scripture (2 Peter and Jude). There are, however, prophets in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 12 and 14; Agabus in Acts 11:17-20) who are still able to see events in the future, but not to the extent that their revelations become Scripture. This is why Paul says if someone prophesies today, we are to test these prophecies (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). False prophets would be Joseph Smith and his "book of Mormon," and in the early Medieval period, Mohammed who claimed to have received the final revelation of God in the Quran. Modern day equivalents include those who claim to know when Christ will return, a knowledge that Christ didn't even possess while on earth in His incarnation! In our next Pastor's note, we will discuss the matter of women in ministry and ordination. Stay tuned....
GUIDING PRINCIPLES 2025-2026 and Vision Casting 2026-2036 Resilient Witness: Spreading the Gospel in the Power of the Holy Spirit Key verse: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The spread of the Gospel from Acts 2 to Acts 28 takes about 30 years (ca. AD 33 to ca. AD 65). It takes time for these events to unfold but in the narrative, things happen very fast, one after another. We will use Acts as our "resilient witness" theme for the year. In spite (or perhaps because) of opposition, the Word of the Gospel spreads throughout the Roman empire and to "the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). In Acts we see the fruit, but this fruit is against the backdrop of three decades and a lot of hardships and opposition. The goal is that TCC would grab hold of the call of God and the commission that is upon all of us. We are all ministers of the Gospel as members of the Body; that we would be emboldened to bear witness by the power of the Holy Spirit here in Metrowest ("Jerusalem"), in our country ("Judea and Samaria") and throughout the world ("the ends of the earth"). The hope is that we too will be able to testify that "the Word of God grew and multiplied" (Acts 12:24) in and through us this coming year. VISION CASTING: BUILDING UP THE BODY (2026-2036) Looking beyond next year One of the themes in the book of Acts is community. How did the early Church interact with one another and with the world? What can we apply and learn from them? How can we fulfill our mission to “Be and Make Disciples of Jesus Christ” in the years to come? Building up the Body Through Growth Groups: Being Disciples, Becoming Disciplers This year and in the years to come, we are building upon the foundations of last year's launch of our program for discipleship and outreach. Growth Groups focus on transformation, intentional community and outreach in line with the church's mission "to be and make disciples of Jesus Christ." By God's grace, Growth Groups will accomplish several things this coming year: To welcome new believers into the faith in close community semester by semester. This fall we have six growth groups scheduled. To strengthen our walk with the Lord for those of us who are already established in the faith. The curriculum for fall 2025 will be Mateus de Campos's lessons in discipleship from the Gospel of Mark. To pursue outreach initiatives in our community with the goal of conversion and discipleship. The Book of Acts exemplifies what outreach to the community is: bold proclamation of the Gospel to others. It is simply not enough to provide community services to our neighbors if the Gospel is not at the center of the outreach. Community is also grounded in our unity in Christ, in caring for one another and in growing in love for one another as fellow believers. In the early Church unto this day, this love and unity becomes a powerful witness to the world around us (and conversely, factions and divisions projects a poor witness, as in the case at Corinth! See 1 Corinthians 1-4). Building Up the Body: Pastor-Planting (2026-) The Book of Acts commissions all of us to be missionaries (the word in Acts is "witnesses") to our neighbors, and to the world. Some of us have and will physically relocate because of the leading of the Holy Spirit, while most of us will stay here in the Wayland area and continue to bear witness in our daily lives and various callings. Whether sent out locally or regionally or internationally, TCC is a sending church empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19-20). This coming year, we are excited to build upon the successful pilot residency program that launched Aaron Verbosky into a senior minister role at South Peabody Congregational Church in 2024. This past year, we have had an internal candidate for the Residency program in the person of Jen Calverley to prepare her for the role of Minister of Community Life. In 2026, the goal is to launch a new initiative to form and send out pastors who will fill pulpits in our region. By partnering with Made to Flourish Pastoral Residency Program, TCC will bring in one pastoral resident in the fall of 2026 for a duration of two years. During this residency period (much like a medical residency), the candidate will learn and grow in the skills needed for a successful and long-term tenure as a senior minister in a local church. The short-term goal is to launch the program next fall. The long-term goal is to send out pastors in New England to fill the many vacant pulpits to bear witness to the Gospel in this post-Christian generation. Instead of church planting, this is a pastor planting vision to train future pastors in preaching, leadership and pastoral care in existing churches in our area. Other churches nation-wide have joined in this movement (about 80 of them) and we are excited to be able to partner with Made to Flourish in this coming year. God willing, Made to Flourish will provide some of the funding for the next five years to help us launch this program to compensate our residents. Building up the Body: Long-term Maintenance of Our Facilities (2026-36) TCC has inherited a wonderful physical space for the worship of the Lord. Thanks to the "Higher Ground" initiative of the 2000's, we have first-rate facilities for our many ministries (completed in 2009). One area that remains in need of 'higher ground' is the sanctuary which has not been updated since the early 1970's. In a rapidly changing world, the technology in the sanctuary needs updating and the space needs a refresh to a more energy efficient space. In addition, the long-term upkeep of our buildings requires setting monies aside for future expenses such as the roof and the AC systems in the main building (installed in 2009). For the next 10-12 years, we will need to spend considerable amounts of money to upgrade these systems. In 2026, the goal is to implement a plan of action that prepares us to address these long-term needs so that we can 'hand off' our facilities in better shape than we found them to the next generation of worshipers at TCC. The space we have inherited was designed to be poised for numerical growth. The Book of Acts teaches us that it is God who "adds to the numbers" of His people (Acts 2:47). For our mission at TCC, the number of 'people in the pews' can never be confused with spiritual growth. One can fill large sanctuaries with large crowds, but are they disciples in the way the Book of Acts describes? The models of church ministry of the past such as stadium outreach in the 1950's-80's or "seeker" sensitive church services of the 90's-2010's simply cannot be re-applied to our post-Christian and post-modern context today. Numerical growth at TCC will not come by clever marketing schemes or programs or buildings or personalities. God is the One who will bring the growth as Scripture tells us (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). Our responsibility is to grow in Christ and bear witness to this growth with our public display of the fruit of the Spirit. In these spiritual realities, we are trusting in the Lord for 'Route 20 Revival' which means we need to prepare ourselves and our physical space for the next wave of Awakening in New England (after the First Awakening in the 18th century, the Second Awakening in the 19th century, and the Third Awakening in the mid-20th Century in our area). God has done it before, and He can do it again! We need our physical space to be ready for what the Lord is doing. By-Laws Boundaries and Accountability Principles The Board, committees, Senior Minister, Pastoral and support staff, and the congregation as a whole come under the accountability structures established in the TCC By-Laws of 2010. We are all accountable to the Lordship of Christ and His Word. In Christ, the Judgment of the Last Day has already come to us as “righteous” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Also, we will all have to give an account on that Day as to what we did in the body in our justified state (2 Corinthians 5:10), whether we were zealous for good works or not (Titus 2:11-14).
Trinitarian Congregational Church Guiding Principles for the Ministry Year 2024-2025 Ministry Theme: Return and Rest Theme Song: "Another In The Fire" by Hillsong UNITED (video below) Key verse: “Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15 This ministry year we embark on a journey into the depths of the Gospel according to the Book of Isaiah. Some people have called Isaiah “the fifth gospel” because of its profound impact on the gospels (“the suffering servant” of Isaiah 53) and the rest of the New Testament. Isaiah’s call to rest in the Lord in the challenges of life, whether existential, physical or emotional (or all of the above) rings so true today! In an election year and a world in turmoil, the prophet, empowered by the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11; 2 Peter 1:21) asks us: Who do you trust? Your “chariots and horses” (Isaiah-speak for our own resourcefulness), “Egypt” (=political parties, elected officials, ideologies)? To know who you trust will inevitably be tested in these troubling times but here is the promise: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior (Isaiah 43:1-2). The goal and the prayer for TCC this year is that Isaiah’s call (“Here I am! Send me.”) will spark our own call to “dream big” (“they shall declare my glory to the nations” 66:19). World evangelization and preaching the gospel to our neighbors are impossible tasks, but we serve a God that is far greater than we can ever imagine, for whom nothing is impossible. As to the how this can be done, Isaiah is convinced that the power of God’s Word draws people in, not marketing strategies or fancy programming (is this what the American church trusts today? Isaiah would be sure to ask us!). Instead, it’s the Word alone that serves as the attractional pull and He (the Word is Jesus Himself) never returns empty (Isaiah 2:1-4; 40:8; 55:1). This year we commit ourselves to returning and resting in Him and His Word. In an age where the proclamation and application of Scripture is increasingly deemed irrelevant, if not viewed downright offensive, we instead put the Spirit and the Word at the center of everything we do. Such a commitment to the sufficiency of the Word of God will inevitably demand we cut back on certain things and add others. We are committing ourselves to resetting priorities to bring the good news to our neighbors (“for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” 11:9). We are the hands and feet of Jesus; so these “boots [or feet] are made for walkin'…” (“How beautiful are the feet of him/her who brings good news…who declares ‘our God reigns” 55:7)! Growth Groups This year we are launching a brand-new program of discipleship and outreach. To fulfill our mission for intentional biblical witness and discipleship at TCC, we are implementing a semester-based small-group format that runs in the fall and spring (with option for groups during the summer as well). Groups focus on transformation, intentional community and outreach which create a social space where we learn God’s character and live in openness and brokenness with one another. In the fall, Growth Groups will all read and discuss the book Empowering Missional Disciples. In the spring, one of the options will be integration of Isaiah’s themes such as repentance, the fear of the Lord, how to hear God’s voice, intercessory prayer, biblical meditation will be the topics of weekly discussion. Facilitators with the support of the pastoral staff will choose topics and themes. An integral dimension of our Growth Groups is outreach: together we will participate in outreach events such as sharing our faith with others in our communities and works of service. For TCC to fulfill her destiny in this generation and for her to lay firm foundations for the next generation, we need to recover, in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer what “religionless Christianity” is all about (as opposed to rote church attendance as a religious ritual without any noticeable transformation in our lives); we need to recapture the vision for community and “life together;” we need to reconsider what the true “cost of discipleship” means as followers of Jesus Christ in the 21st Century. Sanctuary Renovations “I will beautify my beautiful house” (Isaiah 60:7). Our beautiful facilities at TCC are instruments for worship. Once in a while, we must tune them and make sure they function properly. Funded from bequest funds, we are thankful for this provision though we do anticipate the inevitable additional costs (included in the proposed budget for 2025 as part of our stewardship campaign). Scheduled for February of March 2025 (if everything goes well), the much-needed sanctuary renovations will include a newly reconfigured stage, lighting, sound, along with other aesthetic and structural improvements. The project timeline is two or three months during which time our worship service will take place in the Gym.
