Church Discipline
Episode 17: On How to Receive and Dismiss Members
By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 06.06.2017One of the most important and time-consuming tasks for a church and its pastors involves receiving and releasing members. And yet, it’s almost never talked about in books on the church or in seminary.
A New Resource to Teach People about the Church
Review by Vergil Brown | 05.17.2017These resources will give both church leaders and church members a clear and compelling vision of their role in God’s work.
Lessons on Pastoring from Martin Bucer
By Eric Beach | 05.04.2017Martin Bucer (1491–1551) isn’t as well known as John Calvin or Martin Luther, but during the 16th century Bucer’s writings and reform of the church in Strasbourg influenced many
Mailbag #56: Voting for a Pro-Choice Candidate; What Makes a “True” Church?
By Jonathan Leeman | 03.17.2017— Is it okay to tell my church members, “You should never vote for a pro-abortion candidate”? — Would you say churches that don’t practice membership or discipline are not true churches?
Mailbag #55: Explaining the “Care List”; When a Member Marries a Non-Christian
By Jonathan Leeman | 03.10.2017— Can you explain your church’s “care list”? — Does marrying an unbeliever warrant church discipline?
Mark Dever Interviews Jonathan Leeman about “Don’t Fire Your Church Members”
By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 02.07.2017Would you believe it if someone told you church structure actually plays a crucial role in your individual discipleship?
Good and Bad Ways To Think About Religion and Politics
By Caleb Morell | 01.24.2017All around us, from pulpits, to newspapers, to pop culture, we are surrounded by bad ways of thinking about religion and politics. How should Christian think about these things?
Mailbag #47: Applying Paul’s “Able to Teach” Qualification; Confidentiality between Pastors and Members?
By Jonathan Leeman | 01.06.2017— How gifted does someone have to be in order to be considered “able to teach”? — Can church members appeal to a kind of “pastor-member confidentiality”?
Churches in Great Britain: Living with the Legacy
By Mike Gilbart-Smith | 9Marks Journal: Healthy Churches around the World | 12.12.2016Conservative evangelical churches in Britain benefit from the legacy of faithful expositors of the Word. However, clarity on the centrality of the gospel is accompanied by confusion on the importance of secondary matters.
Churches in India: A People “Formed for God”
By Aubrey Sequeira | 9Marks Journal: Healthy Churches around the World | 12.12.2016As a result of a low view of preaching for many years, the health of churches in India has suffered. Yet through a growing number of faithful shepherds, faithful preaching, and your prayers, the Lord may bring to India the reformation its churches need.
Churches in Spain: A Smoking Flax He Will Not Quench
By Andrew Birch | 9Marks Journal: Healthy Churches around the World | 12.12.2016Though many of the churches in Spain often confuse or lose the gospel in their preaching, there is a small and growing network of churches who love gospel clarity and church health.
Mailbag #43: Relationship to Excommunicated Members; Baptism & the Developmentally Disabled
By Jonathan Leeman | 12.02.2016— How does your church care for an excommunicated member when they show up at church? — Can a person who wants to be a member of the church but is functionally at the level of a child be baptized?
Mailbag #42: Hypocritical Church Discipline; Pre-Marital Counseling for Two Unbelievers?
By Jonathan Leeman | 11.18.2016—Why do churches discipline for sins like homosexuality and adultery but not other sins like gluttony or vanity or greed? —Would you do pre-marital counseling for two unbelievers? If so, what would you cover?
Mailbag #41: When the Church Votes “No” on a Clear Discipline Case; The Biblical Case of “Lay Elders”
By Jonathan Leeman | 11.11.2016—What if the congregation votes “no” in a clear case of discipline? —Are “lay elders” a biblical category?
