Q4. Church Discipline

[Reuben]

Q4. (2 Thessalonians 3:9-16) Why do so many churches avoid exercising any church discipline? What is the result of a thoughtful and appropriate application of church discipline? What is the result of neglect of church discipline?

Churches avoid church discipline because it is probably the most difficult thing to do in a community of people that should be loving, caring and inclusive, as well as applying Christian principles, like " seeing the speck in your brothers eye, rather than the plank in your own". We all have flaws, but the Bible instructs us clearly how we should deal with these flaws, especially the ones that causes harm to the body of Christ. Considerate, and loving discipline is very necessary to keep the church community healthy. Without it we will have a group of people where one half carries on like they want, and this is no standard or example for new Christians who look at fellow believers and get confused as to what the standards are. It will also cause the congregation to be divided, and will be unhealthy towards the growth of the church. Strong, faithful, and loving leadership with consistency in disciplining will control this in a healthy way.   

[Jonathan Edwards]

Some churches have what is called Canon Law.   Tragically the United Methodist Church is going through tough situations.  Their ministers are bound to obey the Book of Discipline; tragically obedience amongst ministers has not been thorough.   Bishops have not been agressive to enforcing the various rules on lqbtxyz issues.  A number of UMC churches have left the denomination to pursue a more conservative Biblical path.  The fear of men will not dissuade a true Bible pastor or Bishop from doing his job.

The heterodox or schismatic is brought back to his or her senses and recants incorrect doctrines or behaviours that are condemned in 2Thessalonians.

Confusion and serious doctrinal errors spread.    This is very common in mainline denominations.   The souls that are affected by spurious doctrines!   St Paul mentioned how even the elect may get caught up in heretical or Antichrist teachings.   Lack of serious Bible study lack of sanctified living has ruined great churches in the past.  Andover seminary, Harvard and Yale Universities were centers of Bible orthodoxy for years; the situation is totally different.

[Krissi]

Perhaps church discipline is avoided because with so many churches to choose from, an individual Christian is able to leave a more stringent church and join a less stringent church without social repercussions. Church discipline may work best in a monopolistic circumstance. During the reformation, for example, when Luther was excommunicated by the Catholic church, it was a big deal because Luther had no other options -- the Catholic church exercised a monopoly on Christianity. This is no longer the case.

Another reason why church discipline is avoided is that churches are morally/ethically weak. They'd rather look away from sin, to proclaim a weak gospel of love and forgiveness. Moral laxity is the norm and churches, unfortunately, don't set themselves apart from society. In my wee opinion, we need to be more like the Amish than the Episcopalians; more distinct from society than successful within it. 

I have never seen church discipline so I have no idea what it would be like. I don't have a comparison with a culture that practices discipline and don't see or can imagine it's consequences.

Pastor Ralph's mention of shunning among the Amish makes sense -- that's an application of discipline. Do they still do this?

I'm sure we've all read the nineteenth-century novel by Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, in which the protagonist Hester Pyrne (?) was judged on a platform in front of her entire community because she had borne an illegitimate child. As a punishment for her moral transgression, she was forced to wear a large, red letter "A" conspicuously sewn on her clothing ... for the rest of her life. If I recall the story correctly, because the father of her child was the town minister, she refused to divulge his name and so was forced to bear the shame and punishment alone. 

To avoid this novel's scenario, the church has gone to the opposite extreme. We don't have stocks or public shaming. We don't brand people or force them to wear a letter "A." We don't have overt shaming in the church either. But we do have subtle shaming: being avoided, not being included in social events, sitting alone, being the focus of gossip. Morality, then, is internalized.

Though I'm certain that, if asked, most Christians would agree that adultery, for example, is wrong, I rather doubt that a practicing adulterer would be kicked out of 99-percent of evangelical/charismatic fellowships, particularly if he/she were subtle about their sin. We tolerate some sins more easily than others -- blatant materialism and greed are rarely considering to be offensive, and, at times, are even seen as a marker of success. 

If you want to get a sense of how much people care about morality in your church or fellowship, just ask them to list the Ten Commandments ...