How Church Discipline Benefitted My Church

Our Church Matters series has brought a lot of memories to mind of the churches I have attended, but one overarching lesson is that I need a better understanding of church discipline. It can be easy to imagine that church discipline is something to groan about in our heart. But this is not God’s design, is it? Church discipline is his idea. It is something to be valued, not dreaded. 

As a child, my family made a small but significant choice to attend church weekly. Up until my first week at college, I always attended church with my family and heard the Gospel faithfully preached. One particularly strong memory from those years is a good example of church discipline, how it can be done to bless not just the person being disciplined, but the entire church body. 

I don’t remember precisely how old I was – probably I was a pre-teen or maybe just before. One Sunday, to the congregation’s surprise the pastor publicly announced that there was an elder who would be removed from leadership. The elder in question was not there in the service, but his family was. Our pastor gave a brief and vague (to avoid gossip) summary of why the elder was being removed, and then prayed for his wife and two daughters, who were sitting in the rows along with their church family. 

Months later, the elder appeared publicly just like the pastor. Except instead of the pastor sharing with the congregation about church discipline being necessary, there was confession, apology, and testimony about the effect of church discipline. There was a display of godly repentance (2 Cor. 7:10). Then, finally, there was reconciliation – not a restoration to leadership, but a restoration to fellowship.  

Church discipline administered well brings life, not death. When God the Father disciplines, his is a wounding that produces healing (Job 5:17-18), a submission that produces holiness (Heb. 12:10-11), a temporary grief that leads to joy. When we discipline like him these are the results. 

Imagine for a moment if the church chose not to implement any discipline, and instead swept this sin under the proverbial rug? There is a strong temptation to hide sins that can embarrass the church, or to avoid making decisions that will remove leaders from service. It would have been much easier to either remove the elder from service with no explanation (which doesn’t allow the congregation to be involved in supporting and praying for him), or simply let him continue serving (which minimizes the sin). 

Choosing to discipline well showed a profound kindness to the elder, his family, and the church. 

The elder was told clearly that unrepentant sin is never acceptable – for the Christian, but especially for the Christian leader. And when he was told this, he had the opportunity to repent. 

His family was shown grace by not having to carry the burden of leadership. They were given time together to allow for grieving; two spouses were given a chance to restore their marriage; their children could see repentance in practice and submission, along with their father and mother loving and forgiving one another. 

How the church benefits from seeing discipline administered well! How good to know that leaders are held to a high standard and, if necessary, those standards are not diminished when transgression occurs. It is a way to be reminded that prayer should always be offered for leaders. And it is a reminder that we ought to never idolize our leaders – they are people like us – but remember instead to be humble. 

Lord God, thank you for being the head of your church. Thank you for calling all of us to be holy as you are holy. And thank you for the way you discipline us – may we be conformed to your likeness, Lord Jesus, whenever we receive or administer discipline. May our obedience in this area winsomely draw people to glorify and magnify your great name.