12 Steps for Progressive Christians
Steps 4 & 5
James 5:16
Step 4 We make a fearless inventory of ourselves.
Step 5 Confession to another person with complete honesty
In our series “Twelve Steps for Progressive Christians” we have looked at how the 12-Step model for recovery can be used as a model for healthy spiritual lives. The principles that assist those whose lives have been damaged by addiction are instructive to all of us who are on a journey toward wholeness. Tonight we come to consider steps 4 & 5.
Step four involves self-examination. Making a fearless inventory of ourselves frees us from those parts of our lives and pasts that have held us hostage. In recovery we are able to make this inventory because there is hope that liberation from repeating the mistakes of the past is possible. In the process of making this thorough search of our souls we have to overcome the temptation to “fudge” or to diminish the effect of our actions on others. As progressive Christians, this kind of fearless inventory is helpful to keep us honest in our faith. For legalistic Christians, religion is simple – a set of clear rules. For progressive Christians, there are principles instead of rules so the boundaries are less clear. It is easy in life to pretend that little problems or behaviors have no significance. Watching for patterns of thought or action that continue to have negative consequences can alert us to areas of our lives that need grace. It is in the realization that we need grace that we become more willing to receive grace. Step four is an internal and private process. When we are ready to move to step five, this process involves another person and so moves beyond the internal and private.
Step five is the discipline of confession. Confession is not simply admitting we are awful, rather it is a willingness to be honest about ourselves and to find the inner resources of God’s Spirit to change those parts of ourselves that need changing. Step five involves another person hearing the confession. The act of confession can in and of itself bring remarkable healing. We don’t always receive the response or the forgiveness that we might desire. However, we are no longer allowing pretension to be our basic mode of operation. In James 5:16 we are told “Confess your brokenness to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” The power of confession and prayer is not some magical spell that we place upon each other. It is simply the power of grace when one person who has known brokenness in his/her life cares about another person who is experiencing brokenness in his/her life. I have worked with lots of people in their Fifth Step in recovery. I have seen the devastation that chemicals or behaviors or choices have ravaged upon lives. Confession – both in the recovery sense and in the faith journey sense – is an acknowledgement that everything that went before is not the final verdict on one’s worth. We aren’t finished and God is not finished with us. Having the opportunity to be honest is an amazingly freeing experience.
Perhaps this is why confession is such an important part of our Holy Communion experience. Each time we gather around the table to receive the gifts of God’s grace in the form of the bread and cup, we spend some time in confession. Confession was never meant to be a barrier to prevent one from receiving grace. Confession is the access through which we are able to receive grace.
Sources:
http://alcoholism.about.com
http://www.willowcreek.org/twelvestep/twelve.asp