God's Design for the ChurchSample

Discipline

Church discipline can be a tricky subject. We understand the importance of practicing discipline in the church (as in every other context of life), but we tend to shy away from it. We make three typical mistakes: (1) only disciplining people for a select list of sins, (2) only disciplining people who offend the church leaders, or (3) not disciplining people at all.

Many people feel that to exercise church discipline is unloving, but it’s possible to love someone and discipline them at the same time – indeed, to discipline them because you love them. What’s more, discipline isn’t always punitive or corrective. It’s also formative. Formative discipline is about putting systems in place that result in decency, orderliness, peace, and flourishing. In other words, we enjoy the results of formative discipline without necessarily seeing how it was administered. For example, if people visit your home, they may experience your children as kind, helpful, and polite, without necessarily seeing you instructing or disciplining your kids. The discipline you’ve consistently put in place ensures your home is safe and things run smoothly. The same is true in our churches.

Corrective or restorative discipline is generally unpopular because it can feel awkward to confront others about their sin. Thankfully, Jesus gives us clear, step-by-step instructions about how to do this well and with great love and respect. This discipline starts at a personal level. If you know of unrepentant sin in another’s life, you approach them privately to avoid shame and to preserve that person’s dignity, trusting they will turn away from their sin. If, however, they stubbornly refuse to repent, you take one or two other people with you, and you try once more to reason with them and draw them kindly towards repentance. If again there’s no repentance, bring the matter to the attention of your church leaders. Even if people still don’t repent, it’s worth going through this process, making every effort to draw people back into the fold. And try to remember that it’s not unloving to exclude an unrepentant person from church membership; we do this to awaken them to the seriousness of their sin, as well as to protect the other church members. A church that knowingly turns a blind eye to flagrant sin amongst its members is on a path to disaster.

As we celebrate that the Kingdom of God is advancing across the earth, may we be determined to build well-ordered churches that honour Jesus Christ in every way. May we learn to discipline the believers in our care so that they know how to live as Christians, how to relate to one another, and how to use their gifts and resources in the church context. And may we refuse to compromise by harboring unholiness in our communities, aspiring always to be holy as God is holy.

This reading plan was adapted from the video series, God’s Design for the Church, on RightNow Media. To find out more, visit https://www.rightnowmedia.org/af/get-access. You can also purchase Conrad Mbewe’s book, God’s Design for the Church.