We are a group of men and women who share in the effects of sin, as well as the goodness of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Along with our struggles and pain, triumphs, and victories, many of us suffer from a deep sense of shame, believing that we need to keep our problems and sins hidden from those around us. As a result of this shame, we may have learned 3 rules for survival: don’t talk, don’t trust, don’t feel.
In our meetings, we allow Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit to break those rules. We believe that Jesus’ death on the cross and His blood shed for us provide the perfect shelter, and the abundant grace needed to be honest about the true state of our souls. We talk about what happened in the past, and what’s happening now. We share the truth about ourselves and the truth about God. We trust the people in this meeting to respect our thoughts, feelings, desires and what we say here as confidential.
We are here to honor God and one another. We are not here to fix or advise one another. We do not tell anyone what they should do, think, or feel. Instead, we share about our journey with Jesus, trusting that God will somehow use our life experience to draw others deeper into His loving presence.
Confessional Community is a ministry of Grace Fellowship Church Shrewsbury, for the Kingdom of God to the world. You can visit the Grace website at www.gfcshrewsbury.org
The best way to learn about Confessional Community is to attend our meetings! At the end of each meeting, there will be an opportunity to ask questions and interact with other members of the fellowship. Welcome to the Confessional Community!
During our meetings, we do not cross-talk. This means that we do not dialogue with each other, ask one another questions, or directly respond to what others say. We focus instead on our own thoughts, feelings, struggles, and victories. This creates a safe environment for all of us to share.
We do this for two primary reasons:
First, some of us have been told what we’re supposed to think and feel. Some were told that our thoughts and feelings are wrong. Our meeting is intended for people to commune with God and others so that they discover what they truly think and feel, ultimately leading them to take all their thoughts and emotions to Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, some of us have become accustomed to caretaking others, and in doing so, have avoided taking responsibility for our own lives. In this meeting we keep the focus on the work that Jesus needs to do in each one of us individually. Most of us find that letting Jesus do His work in us equips us to better help others in the appropriate ways and times.
Many of us find it helps to share with others after the meeting and exchange phone numbers with others in the group. After the meeting, if other members are willing, we can exchange specific ideas and thoughts more freely.
We ask that you limit your share to 3 minutes and refrain from sharing a second time until everyone has had a chance to share. Each meeting has a timekeeper who will say the words “gentle time” when 3 minutes are up. Please wrap up your sharing when you hear these words.
No one is required to talk in Confessional Community, nor will anyone be asked to talk. If you’d like, you may participate in silence.
We also ask that everyone refrain from using offensive or sexually-explicit language.
The best way to learn about Confessional Community is to attend our meetings! At the end of each meeting, there will be an opportunity to ask questions and interact with other members of the fellowship. Welcome to the Confessional Community!
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