Category: 2023 – Foster’s Celebration of Discipline

In Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, he introduces the Discipline of Confession as the first Corporate Discipline.  You may ask, “How is it that confession is listed under the Corporate Disciplines? I thought this was a private matter between the individual and God.”

Frankly, the answer is not “either/or,” but “both/and.”

Biblical teaching—underscored in the Reformation—pointed out what Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:5, “There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  In addition, James 5:16 says to “confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another…”  This teaching seems newly appreciated in our day.  Both of these teachings are from Scripture, and neither need exclude the other.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote, “Our brother…has been given to us to help us. He hears the confession of our sins in Christ’s stead and he forgives our sins in Christ’s name. He keeps the secret of our confession as God keeps it. When I go to my brother to confess, I am going to God.”

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As the cross is the sign of submission, so the towel is the sign of service.

Luke tells us that “An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest” (Chapter 9, Verse 46).

Whenever there is trouble over who is the greatest, there is trouble over who is the least. That is the crux of the matter for us, isn’t it? Most of us know we will never be the greatest; just don’t let us be the least.

Gathered at the Passover feast, the disciples were keenly aware that someone needed to wash the others’ feet. The problem was that the only people who washed feet were the least. So there they sat, feet caked with dirt. It was such a sore point that they were not even going to talk about it. No one wanted to be considered the least.

Then Jesus took a towel and a basin and redefined greatness.

Click here to learn more about the Discipline of Service from Richard Foster