The answer to that question depends on whether we’re speaking about what Jay Adams calls formal or informal church discipline. Informal church discipline involves private confrontation, whereas formal church discipline involves a church-wide process.

Teach all prospective members that if they join the church, they will be subject to its discipline. That is, if they sin, they will be confronted about it, and if they refuse to repent of sin, the church will pursue the process laid out in Matthew 18:15-17, even to the point of excluding them from the church. Membership classes are one obvious place to offer this instruction.

Explain what the care list is, especially for newer members. Teach briefly about church discipline, possibly by reading Matthew 18:15-17. Remind the church that love should be the church’s motivation, and nothing else. Present the person’s name and why they’re being mentioned. Explain the nature of the sin very judiciously.Typically, details are not necessary. Explain how the unrepentant sinner has already been approached. What actions have occurred?

A care list cuts out the shock value of corrective discipline. Presenting a person’s name to the congregation months before a possible act of discipline enables the church to better pray and reach out to that person. It also prepares themselves for the sobering and sad act of excluding the individual from the Lord’s Supper.

A “care list” is a tool for accomplishing two purposes: (i) it alerts church members of fellow-members who are in extra need of care or correction; (ii) it prepares a congregation for a possible case of public corrective discipline. Specifically, it’s a list of names which the church leaders announce to the church’s members. Sometimes members undergoing special trials (medical, spiritual, vocational, and so on) need extra prayer and support. They might even ask to have their names included on the care list.