Church Discipline for Real Life

Since Aaron wrote about church discipline several weeks ago, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on the severity of the problem – this is a big issue for most American evangelical churches.

Scripture makes clear, particularly in Matthew 18, that loving discipline needs to be a priority in the life of the church. Aaron did a good job of highlighting key parts of that big picture.

But this leads to a second issue: how does this work in real life? Moving from theory to implementation is difficult, and church discipline becomes especially tricky given the contours of normative church culture.

But if we witness ourselves falling short of the biblical standard, it is wrong to do nothing. That’s the same as disobedience.

Now, I don’t claim to have this figured out completely. But as a pastor, I have responsibility to help implement this in my local church. Which leads to the main point of application I think churches need to grasp in order to grow in their ability to handle church discipline biblically:

Identify a point pastor.

Probably not the best way to attract a good candidate.

This sounds simple (and simultaneously difficult), but the reality is that no one ever wants to think about church discipline until it’s needed. By identifying a person who will preemptively build a church culture healthy enough to carry out discipline, the church will not only be ready to face the difficult cases  - they’ll avoid a few as well.

Let me try to spell out a few benefits below:

Why a point person? God will unfailingly give His church gifted people to make sure his church can be what He intends it to be (1 Cor 12). In a small church, that person is probably the pastor or elder, but in a larger church, it may be a specific pastor or team of individuals. Identifying the gifted people God has given to His church to carry out this task is a step of faith.

Once this person (or team) is identified, he needs to be entrusted with the early steps of church discipline. If he does his job proactively and preemptively, the church will be able to build the culture that can handle church discipline.  The point pastor becomes a champion for church discipline that restores believers and glorifies God.

Why proactive and preemptive? You might be wondering why  I keep using words like “proactive” to describe this role within the local church. Simply, it’s because that’s the example of Jesus himself.

Too often, we are confronted by a “big” sin and a church reacts by trying to “figure out” how to do church discipline. But Jesus gave us the paradigm for church discipline before the church even existed!

Think about it: the Matthew 18 outline for church discipline was given before the church had even started. Jesus was preparing the community of believers to lovingly address sin and restore individuals before the issue even came up.  A point pastor is one who continually explains to the present-day church the importance and practice of church discipline. He is the proactive agent in the church body, one who prevents the violent reactionary nature of much church discipline.

Why a culture? Being proactive manifests itself in a church body that has healthy culture in which church discipline can take place. In order for a program of church discipline to meet its goals of communicating love and giving God glory, it needs to run on an operating system of (1) preparation and (2) genuine relationships.

A point pastor – who is always conscious of the call for a church to practice discipline – invests in the church culture with a mind to build up these aspects of church life. A pastor who cares about church discipline will not be content for inauthentic relationships where people check in and out of church each week. A pastor who cares about honoring God will not sit idly by until a crisis is so intense it can no longer be ignored. He is on the front-lines, investing in the church community.

How do you follow-through? It’s on these front lines where a point pastor will show his value. He will lead the church through the challenges and spiritual battles that will likely surround church discipline. When the time comes to enact church discipline, a point pastor with the right blend of gifts will be able to lead fellow believers in the process of spiritual restoration (Galatians 6:1-3), using a Spirit-driven of boldness and compassion.

Because individuals have these gifts in different measure, identifying your leader will simplify the challenge of addressing all the tricky issues that come with church discipline. 
No two sins are alike, but all of them should be treated with prayerful love and care. In the face of a challenging confrontation, church members are tempted toward gossip or defeat, but a point pastor who coordinates the “next step” will help church members navigate these tricky waters without stepping into either error.

The church must know this individual is available to walk through the process of loving confrontation with them. Again, in larger churches, this may be a team of people. However, the individuals in the church need to know where to go with that “second step” of confrontation.

An identifiable leader within the church will lead his fellow believers through the process with love and special gifting. This is an invaluable gift for the church.

Standing Firm. Church leaders need to have the boldness to carry out the plans for church discipline they communicate. This happens way before the “cast-out” stage, and faithfulness in the early stages will (Lord-willing) lead to fewer final stage actions. But even should church leaders be faced with the heart-wrenching decision to “turn over a brother to Satan,” they should follow-through knowing that they’ve lovingly sought to restore their sinning brother every step of the way.

In smaller churches, the person I’ve described is most likely the senior pastor. However, larger churches need to make sure that church discipline doesn’t accidentally fall off the radar. For my money, a preemptive and proactive point pastor for church discipline will go a long way toward ensuring it happens well in the life of the church.

No matter what, may we glorify God in the way we live our lives as the church.