Generational Sin in Churches Part 1

In Israel’s history, the sins of one generation followed the next one like a dark cloud. Until those sins were dealt with and put away, God’s blessing on the nation languished. Several Old Testament figures attest to this and pray for relief from the sins of their fathers.[1] The question is, does Jesus see churches this way? Are churches carrying unaddressed generational sins, sins caused by previous leaders and congregants, that negatively impact their current sense of blessing?

Culturally, “No. Biblically, “Yes.”

Though most of us would, culturally, say “No.” Biblically, the answer is “Yes.” And when previous church leaders have sinned, subsequent leaders need to take responsibility for those sins before the Lord, acknowledging their own propensity for the same type of wrongdoing. This cleanses the office they hold and removes any curse that might reside on the group.

To be clear, when I use the word “curse” I do not mean a generational curse in the sense that modern day deliverance ministries use the word. I mean it in the sense of God’s restorative discipline that He sends upon His people out of His love and faithfulness to them.

Unless addressed, current church leaders will face inexplicable difficulties because of the historical sin attached to their office. Neither will they enjoy the complete trust of their constituency. They come under suspicion by the congregation because of the damage caused by their predecessors. 

The Horrific Consequences

Because we don’t acknowledge such a possibility, churches that began as splits continue to split. It is why we see ministries with repeated episodes of moral indiscretion. It explains the controlling spirit churches struggle to shake off, despite new leaders replacing old ones. It sheds new light on why a church suffers a long train of short-tenured pastors. It explains why denominations that stop listening to Jesus grow increasingly dull to their actual condition. They become oblivious to how God sees them, just like Israel did.

Without taking responsibility before God for the sins of those who preceded us, the entity we serve carries them in its corporate heart.^[2]As a result, God’s blessing on that group flickers like a melted candle. The loss of God’s anointing may not be apparent overnight. Decades may pass before we realize our Ichabod like state if we ever do.

The Demise of Churches and Denominations

The impact of unaddressed corporate/generational sin explains the demise of churches and denominations. In most cases, we attribute the closure of a ministry to its organizational lifecycle, changing demographics, the aging of the congregation, or just bad leadership Yet, spiritually, no ministry can shutter its facility without Jesus saying something about it. He is the Lord of the ministry. When you drive by a once great church where plywood shutters windows and tall weeds creep across the parking lot, unconfessed corporate sin in its generational history likely hindered God’s blessing on their ministry and led to their eventual closure.

The Body of Christ is a spiritual entity that traverses time. Offenses that occurred in the body during a previous generation do not leave the body simply because they occurred before we joined. Those sins linger until addressed. Paul said more than once, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough” (1 Cor.5:6; Gal.5:9).

Mark Barnard serves with Blessing Point Ministries which works to heal ministries with painful histories. The above article is excepted from Mark’s Book, The Corporate Church: Why We Need to Get our House in Order.

[1] Daniel 9; Ezra 9; Nehemiah 1

[2] Dr. Kenneth Quick unpacks the concept of a corporate heart in chapter one of his book Healing the Heart of Your Church.