By Ingrid Schlueter
While in South Carolina, our family visited a large conservative church one Sunday. After the sermon was over, the pastor told everyone to stay in their seats as there was a matter that needed to be addressed. He proceeded to read out the church discipline of a man who had been repeatedly warned of his sin and had refused to listen. The man had been involved in adultery and was going to leave his family for another woman. Prayer was requested for the man but his removal from the church rolls was necessary. There was a sober mood in the air as people departed the church that day. Church discipline is an essential function of Christianity. It is not supposed to be punitive but redemptive in nature, with the prayerful hope that the soul in spiritual jeopardy will repent. It is the loving and biblical thing to do in situations like this. Now, however, lawsuits are being filed over cases like this as this article reports. One church in SE Wisconsin was advised by a member/attorney to stop doing Biblical discipline. The attorney advised that the church would get sued if they carried out church discipline as the Bible describes it. The Senior Pastor refused to weaken, saying that the church would do it God's way or no way. Increasingly in America, doing it God's way is coming with a price tag.
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