Shepherding those who struggle with life dominating sin is not unlike
swimming out to a drowning victim. There’s always the potential of
having your nose broken by the very one you are trying to save. It’s an
exhausting sort of love, but sincere. Churches that truly love their
members swim out to each other’s lives in light of the risks.
It’s unloving to let a brother drown. Accountability, or church
discipline -as we call it – is part of what makes for a loving
community. It’s necessary if we are to be biblical churches. Churches
that don’t practice accountability as mandated by the Lord aren’t really
churches. Confrontation is a part of true love. If I love you I will
not let you leave your wife and children without a fight. Right? Some of
my biggest fans as a pastor are people who once hated me for
interfering in their lives. Some of my dearest friends are those who
have stepped in and confronted mine when I most needed it.
But, having noted the importance of
church discipline, I do think we most often get it wrong. Mainly at the
level of motivation – not to mention the misapplication of method. We
can seem more committed to practicing church discipline for the sake of
practicing church discipline than loving people. Yet, the aim is love.
Based on Jesus’ description it might just as well be called church loving as much as church discipline. Keep Reading >>>
