A Paradigm for Church Discipline - Mark James

Nov 16

If you’ve read this far, I’m glad to see that the title did not turn you away. Church discipline is never a fun subject to think about, let alone talk about, let alone put into practice. However, church discipline is necessary. As the Westminster Confession of Faith XXX.III puts it, “Church censures are necessary, for the reclaiming and gaining of offending brethren, for deterring of others from the like offenses, for purging out of that leaven which might infect the whole lump, for vindicating the honor of Christ, and the holy profession of the gospel, and for preventing the wrath of God, which might justly fall upon the church, if they should suffer His covenant, and the seals thereof, to be profaned by notorious and obstinate offenders.” So, the purpose of church discipline should be clear to all who love Scripture and the Standards. The ARP Book of Discipline gives us guidelines based on Scripture and common sense in the procedure when discipline is necessary. Yet, part of the difficulty of exercising church discipline is knowing when to exercise it. There are “obvious” situations where church discipline needs to be administered such as in the cases of adultery, embezzlement, etc. But what about more “respectable, white-washed sins”? When was the last time you saw a church administer discipline in a case of public/open slander or grumbling and complaining? I’d like to point out a Scriptural paradigm that I believe will help church sessions recover wisdom and guidance when it comes to administering discipline. This paradigm is that of a parent-child relationship.

All believers are children of God (Rom 8:16-17, 9:8; Gal 4:28, 31; Eph 5:1; Phil 2:15). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus calls His followers, “children” (Matt 11:25, 18:3, 19:14; John 1:12) or “little children” (John 13:33). John picks this up in his writing to the church in 1 John to call those in the church “little children” or “my little children” (1 John 2:1, 12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21). Likewise, Paul calls those in the church “my little children” in Galatians 4:19 and “my beloved children” in 1 Corinthians 4:14. Given their apostolic office, the apostles saw those under their authority as children and saw themselves as parents (2 Cor 12:14; 1 Thess 2:7, 2:11-12). This authority continues in a derivative manner today with ministers and elders who together make up the session of the church and are given authority over those members under their care. Included in this authority is the authority to administer discipline to wayward Christians (ARP Form of Government 6.4, 6.8.C, 9.6). So, elders and ministers should see themselves as parents and those under their care as children, even while elders and ministers also see themselves as children (after all what parent isn’t also somebody’s child at the same time).

This paradigm helps us better understand why the qualifications for elder found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 include being able to faithfully parent one’s own children. There is a connection between parenting in the home and “parenting” in the church. So, it would be to our benefit to consider how our parenting in our homes according to Scripture should help guide us in our spiritual parenting, especially when it comes to discipline. Talk of this benefit brings us to a brief discussion on informal and formal discipline. As parents, when we see our children begin to take a step off the narrow path of faith, we do not usually proceed to immediate formal discipline such as spanking, grounding, etc., but instead will give them a warning. A warning is designed informally to give them a chance to come back before they proceed further down the wrong path. The Lord gave the Israelites warning by revealing to them ahead of time His statutes and commandments (Ex 18:20, 19:21; Deut 8:19). Paul also gives a warning to the Corinthian church and threatens that if those who were in sin did not return, that informal discipline would move to a more formal discipline process (2 Cor 13:2). He likewise gave warnings to the Galatians (Gal 5:21), and the church is admonished to provide informal discipline in the form of warning in 2 Thessalonians 3:15. There is a proper place for informal discipline in the form of warnings in the church just as there is in the home (Titus 3:10). In home life, think of the warnings parents give to their children when they begin to get frustrated and raise their voice. Or, think of the warnings we give if they are grumbling and complaining about something, such as the food that has been prepared for them. Likewise, when the session hears of frustrations being voiced or people giving in to grumbling and complaining, informal discipline in the form of warnings are appropriate. The proper way parents want their children to act is to be able to voice their opinion or disagreement but in a respectful manner, while maintaining appropriate submission to parents as in authority. So, we should want spiritual children to be able to voice opinion or disagreement, but in a respectful manner, while maintaining appropriate submission to the session as in authority.

However, there is also formal discipline. Some sins are heinous enough to bypass informal (or verbal) discipline/warnings and move directly to the formal discipline process. A child who steals from his or her parents, who hits a sibling, etc. should be immediately disciplined, rather than giving a warning. In similar manner, there are some sins among church members where there is the need to bypass warning and proceed straight to the formal discipline process. Paul gives us examples of this with Hymenaeus and Alexander in 1 Timothy 1:18-20, as well as the unnamed sexually immoral man in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5. There is also the need for formal discipline when informal discipline fails to achieve the intended outcome. The frustrated child who ignores the parental warning and moves into anger has opened himself/herself up for formal discipline. The child who refuses to heed the warning to stop grumbling and complaining opens himself/herself up for formal discipline (see Numbers 16 if you think grumbling and complaining is a “respectable sin”). This roughly corresponds to the Book of Discipline on personal/private sins which have the potential to move into being dealt with as general/public sins if informal warnings are not heeded (BoD 3.1.D-E).

Given the correlation between parental authority in the home and “parental” authority in the church, as well as the distinction between informal and formal discipline, we are now ready to ask some guiding questions to help us when comes to carrying out informal and formal church discipline. Here are some questions I propose would help sessions think through about the how of carrying out discipline:

If the issue is between church members, then we should ask, “Would I let my child treat a sibling this way?” If the answer is no, then the follow-up question would be, “Is this the case where I would issue my child a warning (informal discipline) or is it of a nature where formal discipline should be meted out?”
If the issue is from a church member directed toward a session member, then we should ask, “Would I let my child treat me or my spouse this way?” If the answer is no, then the follow-up question would be, “Is this the case where I would issue my child a warning (informal discipline) or is it of a nature where formal discipline should be meted out?”
If the issue is between members of the session, then we should ask, “Is this the way a husband and wife should act toward one another?” If the answer is no, then the follow-up question would be the same as above.
If the issue is from a session member directed toward a church member, then we should ask, “Is this the way a parent should treat a child?” If the answer is no, then again we must consider the same follow-up question.

Given these questions, we are now Scripturally able to deal with various situations that we face or will inevitably face in positions of church leadership. What do we do with church members who regularly absent themselves from worship corresponds to what would we do with our children who regularly absent themselves from the family dinner table and/or family worship. What do we do with church members who try to leave the church for unbiblical reasons corresponds to what would we do with our children who try to leave being a part of the family. What do we do with church members who slander the minister or an elder would correspond to what would we do if a child talked that way to a parent. What do we do with an elder who regularly misses session meetings and is frequently out of town would correspond to what would we do if our spouse was habitually absent from the home. There are many other correspondences that could be listed but those are just a few.

While the bulk of this article has been aimed for those in positions of church leadership, there are also implications for the congregation. All of us should cherish being under the authority and spiritual oversight of the minister(s) and elders, just as children should cherish being under the authority and protection of their parents (Ex 20:12). When we see ourselves as children under authority, and when we recognize that we are children of God called to imitate God (Eph 5:1), that will inform the way that we act and speak toward the household of God, our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as our session as our spiritual fathers. This biblical paradigm should go a long way in informing our thoughts, words, actions, and habits so that together we grow up as spiritual children into spiritually mature adults (Eph 4:13-14). A question congregants should constantly ask themselves is, “Is this how I should treat my sibling?” or “Is this how I should treat my parent?” Such reflective questions can help us either avoid stepping off the narrow path or bring us to repentance when we realize we have gone astray from what pleases God.

At the end of the day, the Father through the Son as Head of the Church has delegated a measure of His parental authority to the session (elders and ministers) to exercise on His behalf over His children. A lack of exercising discipline (or willingness to exercise it), even on an informal level, sends a message that God does not discipline His children in direct contradiction of His Word. Harsh discipline (defined as the severity of the punishment goes beyond the severity of the sin) sends a message of a harsh God who fails to show tender compassion as well as fails to mete out corresponding discipline (lex talionis). We do not wish to send either of these messages to our own children, so why are we willing to do just that with the household of God?

My son, do not regard

Lightly the discipline of the Lord,

Nor be weary when reproved by him.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

And chastises every son whom he receives.

Hebrews 12:5b-6 (ESV)