Pastors, Sin, Confession, and the Catholics

This is an article I stumbled upon while playing around with Google. I thought it was very interesting (and I hope it is a bridge out of many to cross when it comes to interdenominational understanding).

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Pastors, Sin, Confession, and the Catholics
by Ron Forseth
General Manager, SermonCentral.com



Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
(James 5:16, NIV)


One of the defining moments of my spiritual life happened in the midst of great temptation. I had struggled with a sin for quite a while, dabbled in it here and there, toying with my own spiritual life and ministry. My love for Christ was giving way to the allure of sin’s pleasure. I felt myself slipping down a slope that was far more powerful than all the strength within me. I had the keen sense that absolutely everything was at risk at that moment, my job, my marriage, my family. The point of no return seemed immediately in front of me. It was then that God in his blessed grace whispered in my ear, “Make the call.” The face of a friend and brother in the Lord was in my mind’s eye. I respected him greatly—and he respected me. I didn’t want to be vulnerable to him, to confess my struggle. But it was either pick up the phone or fall off the cliff. Thank God I made the call. It was painfully humbling—and tremendously freeing. He was so Christlike, full of grace, strength, and humility. Something happened in me that day, something very deep and powerful. Somehow, I accessed the power of God through another person like I couldn’t have done in the solitude of my own soul. It seems that’s just how God has designed things to be. He’s configured our dependence on him to be intertwined with dependence on others.

Last week, 500 church leaders graciously gave us input about their own struggles with sin. The results are valuable for all in ministry to ponder and respond to. In light of my own experience and the survey results, I felt burdened to dedicate this article to addressing pastors in their struggle with sin. (Click here to view the full results.)

Here are the summary results:

35% of the church leader respondents identified lust as the sin they struggled with most.
36% of church leaders said lust was something they often or constantly struggled with.
68% either did not have anyone they felt they could confess to, or if they did they rarely or never confessed to them.
66% expressed that discussing their struggles with sin from the pulpit would put their ministry at risk or they were unsure if it would put their ministry at risk.

Considering that a mishandling of sin puts our ministries, families, and own spiritual state at risk, how we respond to these issues may be as important as any decision we face in the ministry. There is much we can say about this subject and subsequent articles by church leaders in this newsletter will say more. But here I want to focus on one critical observation: Pastors are at far greater risk because they either do not have an outlet for confession or they rarely utilize the outlets available to them.

In addressing the topic of sin I want to exercise the greatest carefulness. I don’t wish to imply that sin is just another subject to be tossed around in a recreational manner. Sin is as serious as anything we can imagine. It is a powerful, dark force that kills and destroys, threatening our very lives; it calls for the utmost sobriety and prayerful consideration. In all the universe I know of but one power for appropriately handling sin: That power is the blood of Jesus Christ. It is sufficient to break the power of sin—and without it there isn’t a trace of hope for spiritual victory. That having been said, taking hold of Christ’s power over sin hinges on a proper exercise of faith as revealed in Scripture. When we sin, God has provided a way of tapping Christ’s power, and that way is the way of confession.


In light of the 68% of church leaders that indicated they rarely or never confess their sins to another, we get a glimpse of the unique dilemma pastors face. Even as they must confess their sins, pastors don’t feel they can confess their sins because of the risks it brings to their ministries. So, the perceived catch is this: We can’t win.

·If we do confess, we may well lose it all.

· If we don’t confess, Scripture says it’s just a matter of time that our sins will be revealed. (1 Timothy 5:24; Luke 12:2)


The trap that says, “we can’t win either way,” stems from bad thinking. The “don’t confess” option must be eliminated from the list—it’s a path guaranteed to bring greater travesty. (Our dear brother Ted Haggard has paid a great price to demonstrate that to us.)

We are left with but one compelling choice: By all means, we must confess! So the question is no longer “if” we must confess, but “how.” Here are guidelines I’d offer for “effective confessing.”

We must stand in grace. I don’t mean to presume upon grace, to flippantly claim it as our own—but we may cast ourselves upon the mercy of God knowing that he invites us to boldly approach him, confident in his grace (Hebrews 4:16). Take up the sword of the Spirit in the middle of confession’s battle and realize that it is Jesus himself that is our defender to stand before the accusations of the devil. We can enter confession believing God when he says “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Connecting to our defender equips us to overcome the inevitable fears that arise in the process of confession.

We must confess to the appropriate circle. Never does the Bible say that we must confess all sins to all people. True, our struggles and failures may become broadly known. But we’re not commanded to broadcast them. In the pastorate, handling our own sin calls for a balance between authenticity and prudence. To give the impression that we are somehow above sin is to create a false understanding among those we lead. But to specifically reveal to our whole congregation the details of every sin we commit is also impractical and unwise. Who is the appropriate circle? Here is the irreducible minimum: Confess to ourselves, to God, and to another believer you trust. Beyond that, the circle is to be widened under the leadership of the Spirit and might necessarily include those we have sinned against. There is no formula here but only a commitment to obey God as he leads us in the process of confession.

It’s important that we not skirt past the first: Confessing to ourselves. If a besetting sin has a grip on us, the faster we can escape denial and admit we’ve got a problem the better.

As obvious as it may sound, it’s important that we not forget the second: We need to explicitly and consciously name our sins to God as he guides us by his Spirit and brings to mind those things he wishes us to be free of. It’s indeed a sweet thing to have these transactions with the Lord. That said, in confession we can’t stop there.

Finally, we must speak out our sins to another person, a human, preferably a believer who understands God’s requirements and provisions. God is specific about this:

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other...” (James 5:16)— it’s in sharing with another human being that we complete the circle of confession and escape the trap of denial. Frankly, Protestants can take a cue from their Roman Catholic compatriots. Catholics often demonstrate a greater understanding of the value of regularly confessing to another person. And while some might not agree with the institutional confessional form, they can certainly learn from the example of valuing confession. (I think some are jealous of the Catholics because they have such a ready outlet for confession!)

Besides ourselves, God, and another person we trust, confessing to anyone we’ve sinned against might also be a necessity for their need to overcome the wrong. Love may require it. Or love may require we NOT confess to the harmed person in the likelihood of greater harm. (On this point, I’d agree with those in the Recovery Movement: When confessing to someone will cause them greater harm, better to leave well enough alone. The challenge is to escape from our own excuses for not doing what should be done—an exercise in discernment and discipline.)

This brings us full circle to the 68% of those surveyed who rarely or never take the risk of confessing to another. Would you allow me to be so bold as to challenge you with something? Tenaciously determine to find that person or persons who you can regularly lay your heart before and confess your failings to. Pray confidently for this—because you know God wants you to have such a person or persons. Make sure you have regular, open contact with that person. For pastors who believe that person is not someone in their own congregation (at least presently), I advise them to look for another pastor to confess to. Who might you approach about this?

Why not pick up the phone and make the call right now? It could be one of the best decisions you ever made. It certainly was for me.