Pastors sometimes make the following mistakes in the context of formal church discipline:
- They do not teach their church what church discipline is and why it should be practiced.
- They do not practice full membership, which includes: (1) teaching people what membership means before they join the local church; (2) encouraging casual attendees to join the church; (3) carefully interviewing everyone who wants to become a member; (4) regularly overseeing the entire congregation; (5) maintaining an up-to-date membership list that accurately reflects those who attend weekly meetings.
- They do not teach their church about biblical conversion, particularly the need for repentance.
- They do not explain to new members when they join the local church that church discipline may be applied and that unilateral early termination of membership does not work.
- They do not ensure that the church's public documents (charter, rules, founding documents, etc.) comply with church discipline procedures, exposing the church to legal risk.
- They do not follow the steps outlined in Matthew 18 or 1 Corinthians 5, as the case may be. For example, in the Matthew 18 situation, they do not begin the process with private confession of sin.
- They misjudge the speed with which they should move to formal discipline: they either delay too much or make decisions too hastily.
- They do not adequately explain to their church why a certain act of discipline is necessary.
- They tell the community too many details about a particular sin for which disciplinary action is proposed, thereby humiliating family members and tempting those weaker in the faith.
- They completely reduce the process of church discipline to legal actions (expulsion from lists), paying little attention to the spiritual guidance of the heart of an unrepentant person.
- They fail to consider the differences between types of sinners and how this may affect the length of time the church will tolerate a particular pattern of sin before moving on to the next stages of discipline (see 1 Thess. 5:14).
- They forget that they themselves live by God’s grace, and so they approach the discipline process from a self-righteous standpoint. Other mistakes arise from this incorrect approach, such as an overly harsh tone and aloofness.
- They do not truly love the sinner, they do not beg the Lord for his or her repentance.
- They make excessive demands on a «smoldering wick» or a «bruised reed.» In other words, they set too high a standard of repentance for those deeply enslaved to sin.
- The church is not provided with adequate guidance on how to interact with the rebellious sinner, including how to treat him or her in various social and domestic situations and how to promote their repentance.
- They do not invite a person who has been disciplined to continue attending church services so that they can hear the Word of God (provided there is no threat of criminal harm). Nor do they inform the church that everyone should strive for this person to continue attending church meetings.
- They place all responsibility for leading the disciplinary process on one person—the senior pastor—thus creating a temptation for church members to accuse him of wrong motives or even personal vendettas.
- Ministers are not sufficiently involved in the life of the church, leaving them unaware of the condition of the flock. This failure of formative discipline inevitably weakens the church’s ability to effectively administer corrective discipline.
- They do not teach the Word of God on a regular basis.
- Allowing the church to approach disciplinary matters with a false spirit of revenge, instead of nurturing a loving desire to warn the unrepentant sinner of God's coming final punishment.
- Discipline is applied on unbiblical grounds (e.g., playing cards, dancing, etc.).
- Discipline is applied for any reason other than the good of the individual, the good of the church, the good of the observing society, and the glory of Christ.
Editor's Note: These points are taken from the appendix of Jonathan Liman's book, Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus.
