Total Church - Chapter 7 - Church Discipline

I say Amen to this quote. May we actually know each other enough through close relationships in the church that church discipline may never get to the point of formal interaction from the church.

"I have been involved in a handful of situations where the church has deemed it necessary to discipline a church member with excommunication because of persistent refusal to turn from open sin. On each occasion the issue was blatant immorality with no repentance. Everyone agreed that the behavior was wrong. Care was taken to follow the procedure of Matthew 18, not only at the level of the letter, but also trying to be true to the spirit of the instruction. All those involved were clear that it was done with a view to the restoration of the individuals concerned. However, I have never known that process to succeed in achieving that aim. Why not? After all, church
discipline is biblical, and so it is legitimate to expect it to work.

I do not pretend to have all the answers, but I suspect a significant factor was that the discipline foreseen by Jesus in Matthew 18 and by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5 was meant to be the end point of a process. Our real failure was in the process leading up to it. The culture created by the leadership was not a culture of mutual discipline and care. Anyone who has a family will know that there is more likelihood of success in dealing with acute disciplinary issues with children if as parents you have shown commitment to creating an environment of care and discipline. Church discipline needs to become a daily reality in which rebuke and exhortation are normal. Without this, any form of confrontation will itself create a sense of crisis. We need a culture of daily and mutual discipleship. Structures and programs cannot create it. It requires the sharing of lives and gospel intentionality. We need to accept that God’s lordship extends over every area of our lives. This means there is no act so mundane that it lies outside the scope of the gospel. We cannot be content with a morality of negatives (do not get drunk, do not swear). We need to take responsibility for each other’s godliness—not only at the level of behavior but of attitudes and underlying idolatries. Paul encourages the Christians in Ephesus to “speak the truth in love” to one another (Ephesians 4:15.). This means recognizing that apparently insignificant moments are actually full of significance.

Grumbling, for example, is almost a national pastime and a feature of many conversations. We grumble about anything and everything. But Christians are called to stand out by not complain- ing (Philippians 2:14–15). So when I grumble, I need God’s people gently to rebuke me and remind me of God’s grace in Christ. I need them to encourage me to live a life of thankfulness so that I might “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4). We do this lovingly and gently, recognizing that we are all sinners saved by grace and recognizing that transformation is God’s work that he will complete by that same grace."

- Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total Church, p. 121-123