John Divito points out a case in Dallas in his post here, in which a church member involved in an adulterous relationship sought to avoid Matthew 18 church discipline by “quitting the church” so that the church could not appropriately confront him over his “private sins.” The man and mistress in question have sued the church. His case has been dismissed twice and is currently on appeal. Go over to John’s and read the articles, especially the church’s release on the matter...
You can read more on this at The Silent Holocron.
Some questions:
-Does scripture support the idea that some sins are private?
-Why is biblical church discipline neglected? Is it an outdated practice that served its purpose ages ago?
-Is there anything that would ever cause you to sue your church?
-Is keeping the name of Christ's church unstained by your hands more valuable than retribution for suffering wrong at her hands?
-What are your thoughts on the issue as it pertains to the article linked to above?
1 comment:
Interesting questions.
Here is my take.
Why is biblical church discipline neglected?
For discipline to work you need to have a sellers market for churches. Right now we have a buyers market. Churches need to be way off the mainstream and offer unique features to be able to effectively discipline.
Is there anything that would ever cause you to sue your church?
I think the answer would be yes for most people. Imagine it was involved in the wrongful death of your child.
Is keeping the name of Christ's church unstained by your hands more valuable than retribution for suffering wrong at her hands?
In the case of Rececca Hancock, it has nothing to do with wrongs it has to do with churches not following the law. She doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the box and the church handled her situation incompetently so this makes for a bad case. That being said the problems the church has had are therapeutic, its been attacked for not thinking through what it is doing clearly. Not having defendable policies and not acting within its own guidelines. Christ isn't be defamed, by her charges.
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