Abstract
Scripture speaks of confessing our sins to God and to one another (e.g. Psa. 32:5; Jas. 5:16; 1 Jn. 1:9). For a tradition that has been strong on sin and the Bible, how do evangelicals deal with confession? In this article, I explore practices of confession in UK charismatic networks based on interviews with five national leaders using a critical conversation methodology. These networks largely adopted an informal and spontaneous ‘liturgy’ since they began in the 1970s, so this is also a case study of what shape practices take when traditional Christian practices have been put aside. As a semi-indigenous researcher, I offer an account of the ‘what’ of charismatic confession practice from a leader’s perspective: as a network, in public worship, small groups and individually. I conclude that these confession practices can be characterised as relational, DIY and ‘as and when’. I then proceed to offer some ‘whys’ for these practices including pendulum swings of recent tradition, the relation of confession to charismatic sung worship, and both emic and etic deformations. Finally I ask ‘Whither charismatic confession?’ and answer this through posing three questions for reflection around the Bible and confession, retrieval of practices and the formative power of practices. This leads into a response to the special issue question of how is God’s own action is disclosed through these conversations about confession with charismatics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Religions |
| Publication status | Submitted - 20 Jan 2025 |
Keywords
- charismatic
- evangelical
- network
- confession
- practices
- sin
- third wave
- apostolic
- restorationist
- God's action