The Power of a Confessing Community

Last week, an elder of a different congregation called for some advice on a situation he was facing, and that conversation turned into a wonderful, broader conversation on the function of elders in church and the dynamic between elders and ministers. That discussion brought to mind something I had read in this book by Paul Tripp…

“A spiritually healthy leadership community is spiritually healthy when it is a safe place for struggling leaders to speak with candor and hope.”

Unfortunately, this is rare in churches.

So, Tripp also includes this reminder…

“A gospel-shaped leadership community will be a confessional community, where leader honesty is not only a constant protection but encourages a deeper and deeper dependency on God. Confessing communities tend to be humble communities. Confessing communities tend to be worshipping communities. Confessing communities tend to be praying communities. Leaders who confess tend to be tender and kind when people they are called to lead mess up and need to confess. The more a leader has the joy of being in a confessing community, the more he will come to see his need for grace, and because he does, he will tend to be a giver of that same grace. In a confessing leadership community, leaders’ pride shrinks and worship of God grows.”

Church leaders, is this the dynamic on your leadership team?

Spouses, is your marriage a safe place to confess wrongs?

Parents, are you offering your kids the kind of grace that helps them learn from their mistakes?

Managers, how can you help your team be more kind to each other?

Employees, what can you do to create a more humble environment in your organization?

We all want to be part of communities where it is safe to make a mistake, safe to confess an error, and safe to have a bad day – because we all make mistakes, we all err, and we all have bad days.

We all also want to be part of communities where “mess ups” are met with grace, where team members are kind to one another, and where leaders are humble.

We also all have the power to do our part in creating these kinds of communities.

So, what will you do today to make it happen?