What To Do About The Past?

One of the more unexpected things I’ve learned about in revitalization efforts is the role of the past. Initially, it was merely the simple understanding that what happened in the past constituted the building blocks for the present. Understand what happened; understand the present better; gain insight into a likely future. All very straight forward and everybody gets it.

But wait, there’s more!

The next insight on the past is that it shapes us – both individually and in the groups and organizations we are part of. Both the traumas and successes of the past shape us and become the experiences that create the lessons of our lives, the values we live by, and the lens by which we perceive both the present and the future.

In the Bible, there is a concept of ‘generational sin.’ The notion goes somewhat like this: ancestor so-and-so commits a grave sin. That experience shapes him, distorts him, and creates new dysfunction. Having no appreciation for the consequences of that sin, those distortions and dysfunctions get subtly passed on to the next generation where those distortions can become amplified and further shaped. That second generation passes on the dysfunction to the third generation. And so forth. God, in Exodus 34:7, indicates that iniquity passes to the third and fourth generations. There are other passages.

We shouldn’t be surprised by this. Sin corrupts. Why would we think that sin would not corrupt between generations? The western church has believed that the very sin nature of humanity is passed between generations. It seems consistent that specific sin patterns would also be passed along.

But wait, there’s more.

Back about ten years, I was in a seminar with a guy named Kenneth Quick who’ written a book, Healing The Heart Of Your Church. In the book, he discusses one of the barriers to church vitality and that is an unconfessed corporate sin. Specifically, the sin of former leadership. Ken builds a case from scripture that leaders of high character take responsibility for the past sins of their groups – even if they individually had nothing to do with them and the events are separated by significant time.

This was a powerful concept and I later saw it in action. I was working with a church who seemed stuck. We’d tried various exercises and I had remembered that there was a significant church leadership failure several years prior. I asked the question of the current leadership, have you publically acknowledged the former leadership’s failures and communicated repentance to the rest of the church? Sadly, the leadership did not want to hear anything about this kind of leadership. ‘It was a long time ago. We’ll just be picking at old wounds. How do you expect me to be responsible for somebody else’s problem? There’s nothing to be done about any of those issues today.’ And so forth. What was sad for me was the denial of this Biblical concept of leadership.

In an article appearing in Christianity Today (Sep2017), D.L. Mayfield writes “In Memory Of These” about the same concept of corporate responsibility in the area of racial violence and reconciliation using many of the same Biblical sources. That is, that our current generation of believers should recognize, become convicted, confess, repent, and seek reconciliation for the sins of racism committed generations ago.

This message has been heard and acted upon in the last couple of decades in certain Protestant denominations. I applaud the even awkward attempts to express quality leadership in taking responsibility for past, unconfessed sin.

In any reformation movement, you need to go back before you can move forward. Usually, we acknowledge that idea in going back to the founding principles and clearing away the accumulated accommodations that have been reasonably made along the way – but which now do not serve the purpose intended. What also seems to be the case is that we must go back and clear out the ‘Sins Of The Fathers,’ as well.

Conviction.

Confession.

Repentance.

Reconciliation.

It is hard, but the direction is clear:

“Therefore, I [Paul], the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3.