Ascol on True Church Discipline

Pastor Tom Ascol responds to the recent Wall Street Journal article on church discipline. He notes the always-extreme nature of their news coverage and includes this direction for churches seeking to practice truly Biblical and loving church discipline:

One of the first things a faithful pastor must do when he finds that a church has neglected the practice of corrective church discipline is teach. He must carefully explain passages like the one cited above [Matthew 18] and 1 Corinthians 5. Then he must teach some more. And then some more. He must lead the membership to see and embrace what the Bible says about the integrity of a church's identity and testimony as the body of Christ. Only after a congregatoin has been adequately taught can they be expected to properly carry out the practice of church discipline.

May the Lord bring His Word and His purity back into our local churches.