Take a look at a Baptist church’s minutes from 75 years ago, and it might not take long to find a record of a member’s acknowledgments to the church. Whether the moral failing involved playing pool, drinking alcohol or some other activity, the public nature of the confession and forgiveness was meant to bring the wayward member back into fellowship with the church body.
The thought of a church member being disciplined for leading a square dance might seem humorous today, but the absence of church discipline in modern church life is a concern for many pastors and other church leaders.
Like other Protestant denominations, Baptist churches have been grappling with the decline of church discipline for decades. In his article “Church Discipline: Lost, but Recoverable,” first published in 1959, James Leo Garrett Jr., distinguished professor emeritus of theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, called discipline “[o]ne of the most neglected and unpopular themes of our era.”
More recently, R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., called the decline of discipline “perhaps the most visible failure of the contemporary church” in a commentary posted on his blog in 2005.
Dale Huff, director of the office of LeaderCare and church administration for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said Alabama Baptist churches historically have practiced discipline. He believes one reason churches have been quiet on the subject in recent years is because of the abuse of the practice in the past.
“Years ago, churches went too far in the practice, but now we have thrown the baby out with the bathwater,” Huff said.
But teaching a congregation how to practice discipline is still a necessary aspect of church life, he said.
“Churches must have a willingness to discipline, or they have no spiritual spine,” Huff said. “There are certain behaviors that should not be tolerated and must be addressed, especially in leadership — clergy or lay.”
Shawn Merithew, pastor of Morningview Baptist Church, Montgomery, in Montgomery Baptist Association, believes discipline is most effective when the church body is spiritually prepared to deal with issues that might occur in the fellowship.
“In a healthy church, discipline as described in Matthew 18 should be ongoing,” Merithew said. “Our churches should be loving enough and concerned enough for each other to have that kind of loving accountability at all times.”
As Garrett pointed out, “discipline” and “discipleship” come from the same Latin word, meaning “to learn.”
But discipline is equated with punishment in the minds of many. So teaching and practicing biblical discipline can be tough for pastors, church leaders and their congregations.
Shane, the pastor of a congregation in east Alabama who asked not to be identified, knows how difficult it can be to hold a church member accountable for his or her actions. When a member of his church’s youth group got pregnant outside of marriage, he had to make some tough decisions. Would the girl be allowed to continue in the youth activities? Should the church host a baby shower for her as had been done in a similar situation in the past? How would her family respond to any mention of the choices that had been made?
“This young woman had engaged in behavior not keeping with Scripture,” Shane said. “It wasn’t that she needed to be punished, but her walk with the Lord was suffering in some way for her to be in that situation.”
Though defensive at first, the girl stayed at the church, counseling and praying regularly with Shane and her parents. Several months later, she made acknowledgements to her church family, who offered its prayers and support for her and her family.
Today Shane said the young woman is married and an active church worker. More than that, he said she displays a strong faith that has been tested and proved.
And Merithew believes that is the key to effective church discipline — the church’s response must be geared toward reconciliation, not punishment.
“The church is not in a position of judging people’s hearts,” he said. “The goal of discipline is restoration. The goal is not vengeance.”
Merithew said the majority of situations he has faced in which discipline was needed involved violations of the marriage covenant, such as unbiblical divorce or adultery. He has known of situations in which an adulterous spouse was never confronted by his or her church. That should not happen, he said.
“The moment we became aware of something like that, we would begin the process of Matthew 18,” Merithew said of his church.
Without repentance, the eventual result could be withdrawal of fellowship, he said.
“Even then, we should continue to reach out to them and demonstrate the love of Christ to that individual,” Merithew said.
But he does not want to see the positive aspects of discipline overshadowed by negative implications. For example, Merithew believes couples at his church take marriage more seriously because they feel accountable to the church family to maintain or restore their marriage relationship.
And as a result of accountability at home and in the church, Shane believes the witness of the church will be stronger in the community.
“We’re not going to preach the gospel of sin and reconciliation and then ignore it when it comes into our congregation,” he said. “If church leadership does what the Lord has told us in the right heart and spirit, He will work and the glory will be His.”
For questions about church discipline, contact Huff at dhuff@alsbom.org or 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 263.
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