Church discipline
Encyclopedia
Church discipline comes in two types: formative and corrective. Formative discipline, or discipleship, seeks to help form the character and life of the believer. In this sense, every church disciplines it members. Jonathan Leeman has noted that "every church disciplines its members formally . That is, every church, even the unhealthy ones, teaches its members something." Discipline and discipleship come from the same root word, thus discipline is discipleship and discipleship is discipline. Either we are formally or correctively discipling, or disciplining, our members.

Corrective Church discipline is a response of an ecclesiastical body to some perceived wrong, whether in action or in doctrine. Its most extreme form in modern churches is excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

 where the offender is banished from the church community until such time as he or she repents
Repentance
Repentance is a change of thought to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged. In religious contexts it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law...

 or recants
Recantation
The verb recant , and its derivative noun recantation, can mean:* To formally abandon a belief or a particular statement of belief, generally under order from an ecclesiastical authority to...

.

Catholic Church discipline

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...

 is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. Among the most active of these major Curial departments, it oversees Catholic doctrine. The CDF is the modern name for what used to be the Holy Office of the Inquisition.

According to Article 48 of the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, Pastor Bonus, promulgated by Pope John Paul II on June 28, 1988: "the duty proper to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world: for this reason everything which in any way touches such matter falls within its competence."

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the...

 is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the Sacraments.

In some contexts, church discipline may refer to the rules governing an ecclesiastical order
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...

, such as priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

s or monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

s, such as clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy is the discipline by which some or all members of the clergy in certain religions are required to be unmarried. Since these religions consider deliberate sexual thoughts, feelings, and behavior outside of marriage to be sinful, clerical celibacy also requires abstension from these...

.

Protestant Church discipline

Along with preaching and proper administration of the sacraments, Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 during the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 considered it one of the marks of a true church
Marks of the Church
In Protestant theology, the Marks of the Church are those things by which the true church may be recognized. Three marks are usually enumerated: the preaching of the Word the administration of the sacraments and church discipline...

. Church discipline is mentioned several times in the Bible

In I Corinthians 5 and other passages, the Bible teaches that sin if not dealt with in a congregation can contaminate other members of the body of Christ, as leaven spreads through bread. This was an important doctrine in the development of different branches of the Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...

 movement. It is also an important topic of discussion in many churches today.

The Westminster Confession of Faith
Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition. Although drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly, largely of the Church of England, it became and remains the 'subordinate standard' of doctrine in the Church of Scotland, and has been...

 sees the three steps of church discipline as being "admonition", "suspension from the sacrament of the Lord's Supper for a season" and then finally excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

.

Fundamentalist Corrective Church discipline

Ultimate authority resides in Christ, who authorizes the Church
to use it as needed. (Matthew 18:17)

Corrective Discipline is for:
  • Troublemakers and those who sow discord. (Romans 16:17)
  • The unruly and disorderly. (1st Thessalonians 5:14)
  • Those who disobey the great doctrines of the faith. (2nd Thessalonians 3:13-14)
  • Those who deny the great doctrines of the faith. (1st Timothy 6:3-4)


Procedures in Discipline
  • Note those in need of discipline. (Romans 16:17)
  • Arrange a private meeting with the offender. (Matthew 18:15)
  • If a private meeting fails, meet with them and several witnesses. (Matthew 18:16)
  • Admonish and warn them. (Titus 3:10); (1st Corinthians 5:14)
  • As a final resort, bring the matter up to the whole church. (Matthew 18:17)
  • Remove their membership, and avoid them. (Romans 16:17)
  • Be ready to forgive them when repentance
    Repentance
    Repentance is a change of thought to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged. In religious contexts it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law...

    occurs. (2nd Corinthians 2:7)


Purpose of Discipline
  • To maintain the standards of the church to a watching world. (Matthew 5:13-16)
  • To keep sin from spreading throughout the church. (Joshua 7:3); (1st Corinthians 5:6-7)
  • Help the guilty person find their way to God. (2nd Cornithians 2:6-8)
  • To escape God's judgement upon habitually sinning saints. (1st Corinthians 11:30)
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