When I say "confession," I'm not talking about sin, at least not specifically (though this is a part of making any genuine confession of faith). I'm actually talking about confessing one's acceptance of faith in the risen Christ. Confessing that one is a believer in, and follower of, Jesus.
I confess: I haven't thought about this much before now.
But as a new senior pastor at a church, I'm starting to think through what it is I say, and why. I'm thinking about it because I'm asking others to repeat after me and I want to be above reproach in the statements of affirmation that I'm asking those before me to make. That's resulted in me feeling a little uneasy about what comes most naturally to me. Those "institutional" words that roll off the tongue - my tongue - like butter are as follows: