I pastor a church that was founded in 1832.
Our church records show church discipline was a regular practice for our congregation well into the 19th century. Church discipline was a regular practice for most Baptist churches of that time. However, increasingly that reality began to change in the mid to late 20th century.
One reason for this decline of discipline surely must be attributed to the pragmatic church growth movement that swept across American congregations. Characteristic of this movement, many churches began to care more about membership numbers than membership purity. More about marketability of the church than maturity of the congregant. More about growth in size than growth in sanctification.
Churches proudly announced to member prospects, “Come as you are!” — an admirable invitation to be sure! However, the problem wasn’t the invitation to come but the isolation that followed. Functionally, in many cases, “come as you are” turned into “stay as you are.”
If you think I’m exaggerating, just consider how many churches have membership numbers that are extraordinarily higher than their Sunday morning attendance. Where are all the people on the membership rolls?
Turns out, many of them came under the mantra of “come as you are” and then “stayed where they were,” and the church never said anything otherwise. And why? Why wasn’t anything said or done? Might it be because it’s hard to rapidly grow a church when one of your practices includes the discipline of its straying members?
So as pragmatic, numerically driven ministries rose, church discipline took a nosedive — so that nowadays, many Christians have never even heard the term, much less seen it practiced. And, sadly, if they are familiar with it, for many of them, they have only witnessed it done poorly, and they have the horror stories to tell about it.
But still, I believe we need to recover the biblical practice of church discipline. I’m assuming you already know:
- What church discipline is (and what it’s not)
- Why it’s necessary (and good, for that matter)
- When to exercise it (and when not to)
- The process for it (Matt. 18:15-20), and
- What to do after it.
With those categories assumed, here’s the question I’m seeking to answer: How should a pastor lead his church to recover biblical church discipline? (For the purposes of this article, when I refer to church discipline, I’m talking about the formal process of a church removing an individual from church membership because of persistent, unrepentant sin.)
My answer is summarized in two simple points: First, teach them. Then, lead them.
Teach Them
Before a pastor ever practices discipline, he needs to patiently spend time teaching some fundamental truths, four in particular.
1. Teach them to obey Jesus — no matter what.
A pastor must develop a culture within the church where members are eager to obey Jesus in all circumstances. Jesus calls us to obedience clearly in the Great Commission: “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20). A church should have the mentality of: “If it’s in the Bible, we’re going to believe it” and “If the Bible commands it, we’re going to do it — no matter what.”
A church cannot first care about what is popular or what works — a church must be willing to die on this conviction: We aim to obey Jesus no matter what. No matter the cost.
Once this culture of Jesus’s lordship is developed within the church and the congregation prizes obedience over the world’s approval, the church is closer to being ready to exercise the hard practice of church discipline. Yes, exercising discipline will be challenging, but if the church sees it prescribed in Scripture, they’ll already have developed the mindset of obeying Jesus no matter what.
2. Teach them what the church is.
Often, individuals cannot fathom the exercise of church discipline because they don’t know what the church really is. If the members think the church is primarily a place they go on Sunday instead of who they are together in Christ, then they will certainly not be ready for church discipline. If the church is nothing more than a place to attend, or the religious version of Sam’s or Costco, then discipline will feel excluding, judgmental, condemning, uninviting.
Instead, teach them the church is the body of Christ, meant to mirror His fullness (Eph. 1:22–23). Teach them the church is the bride of Christ, meant to walk in His purity (Eph. 5:25). Teach them the church is the exhibit of God, meant to display His character (Eph. 3:10). Teach them the church is the temple of God, meant to adorn herself with His holiness (1 Cor. 3:16–17).
So then, what happens when a member of the church is living in persistent, unrepentant sin?
If the church is simply a place people go, then sin is easy to overlook. But if the church is the body and bride of Christ, the exhibit and temple of God, then such unrepentant sin left unresolved is an assault against the very character, holiness, purity, and fullness of God.
Therefore, a church will not be ready to practice church discipline until it realizes what the church is, what is meaningful membership, and what’s at stake when unrepentant sin remains unresolved.
A faithful pastor must teach them this.
3. Teach them how to respond to sin.
Christians are still sinners (1 John 1:8). But Christians are individuals who seek to repent when they commit sin (1 John 1:7). Further, Christians know that God offers wonderful forgiveness every time we turn to Him in repentance (1 John 1:9). But a “Christian” who ultimately refuses to repent of sin is actually no Christian at all (1 John 1:6).
The church is not made up of perfect people, but repenting people. Therefore, a pastor should teach the members to continually walk in repentance when they sin. Jesus proclaimed, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). For Christians, church members can expect sin will occur, but they should also expect that repentance will follow.
4. Teach them what church discipline is.
So, what happens when a member refuses to repent?
A pastor should teach the people what the Bible clearly says to do. He should teach them that God disciplines every son (and daughter) whom He loves (Heb. 12:5–6). He should teach them that God expects them to live in self-disciplined ways (Titus 2:11–12), and he should teach them of the corporate nature of discipline within the church.
Through personal and public teaching, a pastor can lead the members to consider passages such as Galatians 6:1, Jude 22–23, James 5:19 — all about the necessity of fellow members calling one another to repentance. A pastor can walk the members through Matthew 18:15–20, which prescribes the process for discipline, and he can show them an example of discipline in 1 Corinthians 5.
Members unfamiliar with church discipline will have lots of questions. The pastor can patiently disciple the congregation to find the answers in the Bible and encourage trust that obeying Jesus is always best, even in the hardest of circumstances.
Pastor, once you have taught the church (and they’re convinced from Scripture), then you are ready to lead them to action.
Lead Them
You have taught them about it; now you should lead them to do it. And as you lead a church to follow the processes laid out in Scripture for discipline, keep in mind three principles of wisdom:
1. Fear God more than people.
Church discipline will be hard; it will come with lots of personal emotions. Some members will hate you for it. Others won’t fully understand. Some will falsely accuse you. Through all this, to the best of your ability and by God’s grace, walk in humility, love and kindness, moving forward while fearing God more than people.
2. Love people more than a process.
Be flexible. Receive counsel from others. Adjust the pace of meetings and decisions as needed. Be willing to bend over backwards to accommodate at times. Be willing to have more private meetings than public ones. The goal is not to finish the “process of discipline.” The goal is to love the person by calling them to reconciliation to God and His people. Church members will detect if you’re simply following a process or sincerely trying to love the person.
3. Be prayerful and patient.
God’s Spirit must bring conviction — you cannot. Therefore, be prayerful for God to work within the person’s heart. And, as you pray, be patient as you interact with them in difficult meetings. Let grace and truth be the driving motivators.
For His Glory
Pastor, leading a church to recover church discipline will be challenging, and you’ll have some scars at the end of the process, but, Brother, believe that Jesus’s way is always best, follow Him in obedience no matter what, and trust Him with the results — for His glory and the purity of His bride.
— Donald Thomas serves as lead pastor of Abner Creek Baptist Church in Greer. He is also a member of The Baptist Courier’s board of trustees.