Category Archives: Church discipline

When Change Seems Unlikely in Church Conflicts

Posted on May 10, 2017 by David V. Edling

Tara has suggested to me that we present a short series of stories of hope—positive experiences we have had when working with churches in conflict. The aim of such a series, of course, would be to reveal God’s faithfulness to … Continue reading →

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Fencing Over Fights

Posted on January 25, 2017 by David V. Edling

Q. This past Sunday our pastor “fenced the table” (i.e., brought the warning regarding coming to the Lord’s Table in an unworthy manner; 1 Corinthians 11:27-29) by using the Lord’s words found at Matthew 5:23-24 concerning unreconciled relationships and how … Continue reading →

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One of the biggest mistakes churches make in conflict is failing to trust Scripture …

Posted on August 15, 2016 by David V. Edling

One of the biggest mistakes churches make in conflict is failing to trust Scripture. In the confusion, hurt, and fear associated with church conflict, even mature Christians sometimes doubt that God’s revealed range of solutions will be adequate to their … Continue reading →

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Trust is shattered when a pastor is caught in deception and overt sin.

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Dave Edling & Tara Barthel

All pastors are sinners, just like the rest of us. But some pastors sin in particularly brazen ways. These sins sometimes stay hidden for a certain period of time, but sooner or later, the truth will come to light. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical peacemaking in the church, Church discipline, Conflicts involving church leaders, Conflicts with our youth pastor, Disappointment in the church | Leave a comment

How to Preserve Your Pastor (Part 2)—Pastoral Over-Concern about Critics: The Relationship Between “Fear of Man” and the Failure of Accountability

Posted on January 22, 2015 by David V. Edling

This is part 2 of a seven part series on How to Preserve Your Pastor. I have organized this series around Dr. Tom Ranier’s excellent article: The Top Seven Regrets of Pastors. The top regret of pastors has to do … Continue reading →

Posted in Church discipline, Conflicts involving church leaders, Conflicts with our youth pastor, Confrontation | 2 Comments

What difference does church membership make? I do everything in my church except vote …

Posted on December 29, 2014 by David V. Edling

“I am a regular attender, not a member.” Those were the sad words I heard; another person explaining to me the nature of their relationship with the church that they had been attending for eight years. I asked her: “I … Continue reading →

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Church Discipline: Also Pursuing the Sinned-Against

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Tara Barthel

In Chapter 12 of Redeeming Church Conflicts (“Accountability We Should Cherish”), Dave and I  recommend a wonderful book on church discipline by Jonathan Leeman entitled The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline. As I … Continue reading →

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RedeemingLinks: What Spiritual Abuse IS and Is NOT

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Tara Barthel

Tim Challies and Bob Kellemen do an excellent job discussing what spiritual abuse IS and is NOT in this two-part series: Spiritual Abuse More on Spiritual Abuse

Posted in Abusive churches, Church discipline, Conflicts involving church leaders, Disappointment in the church, RedeemingLINKS | Leave a comment

What Effect Does Church Discipline Have on Evangelism?

Posted on September 20, 2014 by David V. Edling

I was teaching from Matthew 16:15-20 when a man in the audience asked: “What effect does such a plan of accountability and church discipline have on evangelism?”  I was a bit stunned for a moment, especially as he continued to … Continue reading →

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Must a Church Also Be a Court?

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Tara Barthel

As Christian conciliators, Dave and I agree with all four of the Peacemaker Ministries distinctives. Today, I would like to draw your attention to the second distinctive: The Responsibility of the Church: We believe that peacemaking is an essential ministry of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical peacemaking in the church, Church discipline, Justice and peacemaking, Lawsuits and Church Conflict, RedeemingLINKS | Leave a comment