Confession is good for the soul....

... or so I've heard!

Before coming and working in Latvia I spent more than 4 years working for the Anglican Church in the office that tries to link all the various provinces of the church together. At the time I was working in their accounts department and I take a lot of happy memories (as well as many unpleasant and depressing ones) away with me.

Having been brought up in TSA those years were my education into of the formal liturgical side of church. For that alone it is something that I value greatly.

One thing in particular that I have never really understood since this time is why we do not put more empathsis in our services on repentance. Ask me a few years ago and I would have been quite pro-sacramental in my outlook and part of this has shaped my thinking about this subject. In every eucharistic service before the sacraments are distributed there is an act of corporate repentance that is supposed to bring everyone in that service into a place where they can receive from God.

However, in the Army meetings I have been involved I can remember only a handful of times when we have been called to repent corporately. In fact, when I think about it, it is pretty uncommon in my experience for us to be challenged to repent individually within a meeting. How then can we be right with God if we are not willing to accept our own sin.

Is it pride? Is it lack of understanding?

I'm happy to admit that there are many dangers in the sin/repentance cycle. The most obvious being that we are in danger of falling for into the trap of sinning and then confessing without any real conviction of our sin. But I'm convinced that for many Salvationists they come to the Army on a Sunday and never even think about the need to repent of the sins they may have committed duing the week, and by not doing so are not opening themselves to the blessing of God in their lives.