While church discipline may not be widely practiced in today’s church, God’s Word does teach disciplining erring members of the Body. As in anything we do, we must exercise church discipline in alignment with God’s purposes, design, and mission for the Church. We demonstrate His heart and pull on His means to align with His intent. God isn’t out to merely discipline people for wrong-doing. He’s into restorative church discipline, the kind that “produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:4-11).
Bad experiences with church discipline have usually come when our motivation or means haven’t aligned with God’s heart and ways.
Restorative Church Discipline Grows Out of Alignment with God
Following you’ll find articles to better understand how to align with God’s heart and ways.
- Church discipline must align with God’s purposes, design, and mission for the Church.
- Church Discipline Because of Church Purpose
- Lack of Church Discipline Against God’s Purposes
- Church Discipline Must Exemplify God’s Purposes
- Involvement of Body in Church Discipline
- Body Life Can Prevent Need for Church Discipline
- Discipleship and Church Discipline
- Discipleship Not Church Discipline
- Restorative church discipline grows out of the character of a holy, yet loving God.
- Holiness the Objective for Church Discipline
- Lack of Holiness Affects the Whole Body
- Holiness Dictates HOW We Exercise Church Discipline
- If His Name is Holy Then …
- The Standard for Conduct
- We align with God’s intent through the means He provides.
- Authority & Power Needed in Church Discipline
- The Power of Grace in Church Discipline
- Pivotal Role of Holy Spirit in Church Discipline
- Church Discipline But They Didn’t Change
- Prayer is Essential as a Preventative and When in Process
- It’s Not About Giving Up on People
- When Christians Need Correction
- God’s Word Brings Correction
- What kind of leader who leans into God’s intent for church discipline?
Books about Disciplining Church Members
Following you’ll find a collection of books on the subject that will add more input. Always remember to filter what you read. As leaders we’re responsible to align with and steer the church toward God’s ways which He’s communicated in His Word. That’s our authoritative standard on the matter, not what’s popular or expedient.
While seeking to choose doctrinally sound resources, we make no claim to total endorsement of any listing. Where possible, links go to merchants with whom we have an affiliate relationship, such as being an Amazon Associate from whom we earn from qualifying purchases. These sites may use cookies to track activity to ensure that Ministry Tools Resource Center gets commissions from any sales. Links open in new pages to keep the list available.
- A Biblical Analysis of Corrective Church Discipline: God’s Loving Plan to Rescue and Restore Believers by Dr. Todd M. Fink
- Church Discipline – A Neglected Necessity by Wilbert Bradley
- Church Discipline: God’s Method of Restoring Broken Fellowship by Mark Agan
- Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus by Jonathan Leeman
- Is It Loving to Practice Church Discipline? by Jonathan Leeman
- Love that Rescues: God’s Fatherly Love in the Practice of Church Discipline by Eric Bargerhuff
- Restorative Church Discipline: Rescuing and Healing the Wounded by Terry Ivy
- That His Spirit May Be Saved: Church Discipline as a Means to Repentance and Perseverance by Jeremy M. Kimble
- The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline by Jonathan Leeman
- Those Who Must Give an Account: A Study of Church Membership and Church Discipline by John S. Hammett (ed.), Benjamin L Merkle (ed.)
- Understanding Church Discipline by Jonathan Leeman
- Walking Together: A Congregational Reflection on Biblical Church Discipline by Wyman Lewis Richardson