Church Discipline: A Necessary Means of Grace

The words "church discipline" might make some just instantly stop reading, but I highly suggest you read the lyrics of this song by Stephen the Levite. I have been part of a church that does not practice biblical church discipline and I am now part of a church that does. I always saw it as such a necessary means of grace in the Bible, but never saw it played out. Over the last 9 months I have watched what it looks like to be in a truthful community that practices church discipline as a means of grace, for the purpose of restoration, and I can honestly say it is very necessary in the local church and every believers life. One of the most dangerous things a local church can do is avoid church discipline to make their members feel more comfortable, or avoid it for keeping "numbers. Check out these lyrics and let me know what you think about this topic:

This idea started back in the garden/ when Adam and Eve sinned and God sought to pardon them/ He discharged them, placin' a flamin' sword at the gate along with the cherubim charged to guard it// One could argue it started back even farther with Satan/ I see what you're sayin' but please peep the point I'm makin'/ there's a basic distinction that separates them/ the goal of man's displacement was restoration// We see the contrast in Gen. 3:15/ the serpent's eternally cursed, but The Seed redeems/ In conjunction with judgment we read of a dream/ of a world free of the enemies schemes// But there's a process proceeding the promise/ it's hard, yes, but by His mercy it's not death/ 'cause if they would've ate from the tree of life in their dyin' state/ their resurrection could never take place// And that's the Lord's grace and sanctification/ that shapes men and claims a nation so pagans praise Him/ the big picture I'm givin' is/ mentioned throughout scripture when sinners are driven out for dissin' Him// so keep listenin'/ the topic is not a popular one but you know how we get it in/ it's church discipline, the grace is doubted/ but the body of Christ has A.I.D.S. without it// yeah

"Authority and Church Discipline" x3 "If excommunicated what body would they be missin' in"

If a brother or sister offends you talk to 'em/ if the issue is in scripture then walk through 'em/ if they still ain't listenin' bring witnesses/ prayin' the evidence of the 2 or 3 is convincing, if// it still doesn't work, take it to the church/ the Lord's official spiritual judicial system on earth/ and they'll determine whether to bind or loose them/ scrutinizing the proof for a final resolution// to loose 'em is to render a dudes sin forgivin'/ due to viewin' the true fruit of repentance/ binding 'em means finding 'em guilty/ drawin' a line between the fly and the filthy// 'cause when a few of 'em gather in His authority/ He's in the midst of them, judging and ruling accordingly/ So the Lord is takin' responsibility/ making Himself the true object of hostility// 'cause when you're handing a man over to Satan/ for the destruction of his flesh in order to save him/ and the whole church cuts communication/ cats with punkish views of love start hatin'// but true love is to hate sin/ trustin' that God provides through his prescribed means to break men/ but they'll see when the prodigal comes back/ and they slaughter a beast and the party is dumb phat//

"Authority and Church Discipline" x3 "They turn to the steeple and return to the sheepfold, isn't that just like God's people?"

A few more things for us to consider/ unforgiveness over time becomes bitter/ and bitterness can spread just like a virus/ infecting the whole body with plank in the iris// it blinds us of our own sin, then close friends/ have to tell us we're lunchin' and if we don't listen/ then the whole process is starting up again/ the sin that we tossed out leavens the whole lump again// another counter-productive part of the process/ is the broadcast of slanderous gossip/ even if all the information is true/ the resulting view, of the person or issue is skewed/ then you feel strange and ought'a confront them/ but pride reminds you where your info comes from/ and who wants to be caught in hypocrisy?/ nobody. so you lock your thoughts away and you toss the key// but that won't stop the beef/ cause sooner or later, what you believe becomes your behavior unless you plot for peace/ it's hard not to see, somebody's got to speak/ if not the sin cycle repeats, it's got to cease// The process done properly shows love to everybody/ and the gospel is preached inaudibly/ The God of Peace squashed the beef at the cross of Jesus/ modeling peace-making for the whole flock to see//

Gospel Community

I am reading a book right now called Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis (the 2 founders of the Crowded House Ministries in the UK). The book is basically all about shaping churches around the gospel and community, which community in itself must be gospel centered as well, because without the gospel, no community. They have a part that explains the failure of churches in the UK when it comes to gospel centered churches, but I believe this can relate to the majority of churches in America as well. Here it is, word for word, let me know what you think:

"The reason the UK church is not effective in mission is because we are not making disciples who can live well for Christ in today's culture and engage compellingly with the people they meet....Jesus has a 'train and release' strategy, while overall we have a 'convert and retrain' strategy." In the last twenty years, it claimed, we have produced plenty of creative evangelistic materials, but little to help Christians connect their faith to the whole of life. This has created a sacred-secular divide: "the pervasive belief that some things are important to God--such as church, prayer meetings, social action etc. -- but other human activities are at best neutral -- work, school, sport, leisure, the arts, rest, sleep." As a result:

The vast majority of Christians have not been helped to see that who they are and what they do every day in schools, workplaces, or clubs is significant to God, nor that the people they spend time with in those everyday contexts are the people God is calling them to pray for, bless, and witness to. So we pray for our Sunday services but not, for example, for schoolteachers working 40 hours a week in schools among children and adults who on the whole don't know Jesus. We pray for oversees missionaries but not for Christian electricians, builders, shop assistants and managers in our own towns.... We have simply not been envisioned, resourced and supported to share the Good News of Jesus in our everyday contexts.

Pretty good stuff huh? You guys and gals should check the book out, it has blown me away. The authors close this specific chapter with this:

"We need non-full time leaders who can model whole-life, gospel-centered, missional living. It means thinking of our workplaces, homes, and neighborhoods as the location of mission."

I really like that. My own personal opinion is that the Church's biggest failure has been pushing people to invite people to church, instead of preparing them to share the gospel with people. Romans 1:16 says the gospel is the power of salvation, not the Church. We are to live out the gospel, for God uses the gospel alone to save, not our unique ways of getting people in a worship service. I hope this made everyone think like it did me.