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Walking Together, Student Workbook: A Congregational Reflection on Biblical Church Discipline
Walking Together: A Congregational Reflection on Biblical Church Discipline is a study of the biblical concept of church discipline. It seeks to show that church discipline, rightly understood, is a ministry of mercy and grace that will bless churches that return to it. Walking Together reveals that church discipline was a ministry that was very important to earlier believers, and that the modern church has abandoned it to her own detriment. It is a clarion call for individuals and churches to come back to this vital but long-neglected aspect of congregational and personal life. By doing so, churches can be healed and interpersonal relationships can be restored.
114 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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January 13, 2020
This book improves as it goes. The author has three convictions that he clearly defines as directional to the whole book: (p. 26).
1. Church discipline has largely disappeared in American churches today because our ecclesiology has been defined more by the culture than by the Bible.
2. Consequently, many churches are more concerned today with the comfort of the club than with the obedience of the church.
3. Therefore, churches must return to a biblical ecclesiology even when that ecclesiology brings us into conflict with our cultural desires.
The chapter titles are not helpful in understanding the contents of the book. Here they are with my own summary following.
1. A Most Unlikely Development: The neglect of church discipline.
2. A Conversation and a Plea: Definition and how it relates to love.
3. The Clash of Ecclesiologies: Three convictions, overview, and summary of biblical data.
4. What It Means to Be the church: Membership and Pragmatism
5. The Hermeneutics of Integrity: Siding with God's Word on church discipline.
6. Interpreter and Interpretation: Letting the word speak and not silencing it with wrong understanding of Matthew 7:1ff and John 8:1ff.
7. The Process Defined: Overview of the steps in Matthew 18.
8. Beginning: Step 1 A Personal and Private Appeal.
9. Rightly Viewed, Rightly Handled: Turning away from gossip. Winning your brother or sister in Christ.
10. The Raising of the Stakes: Step 2: An Appeal With 2 or 3 Witnesses.
11. Five Objections: Not for the church today? That won't work today? We don't have apostles. Times have changed. Judge not.
12. The Widening of the Circle: Step 3 Asking the Church to Appeal to the Member.
13. Excommunication: Step 4: Placing the Member Outside of the Fold.
14. The Returning Prodigal, the Rejoicing Church: Step: Restoration and Forgiveness Upon Repentance.
This book gets very practical and helpful when working through the steps. Very solid resource.
1. Church discipline has largely disappeared in American churches today because our ecclesiology has been defined more by the culture than by the Bible.
2. Consequently, many churches are more concerned today with the comfort of the club than with the obedience of the church.
3. Therefore, churches must return to a biblical ecclesiology even when that ecclesiology brings us into conflict with our cultural desires.
The chapter titles are not helpful in understanding the contents of the book. Here they are with my own summary following.
1. A Most Unlikely Development: The neglect of church discipline.
2. A Conversation and a Plea: Definition and how it relates to love.
3. The Clash of Ecclesiologies: Three convictions, overview, and summary of biblical data.
4. What It Means to Be the church: Membership and Pragmatism
5. The Hermeneutics of Integrity: Siding with God's Word on church discipline.
6. Interpreter and Interpretation: Letting the word speak and not silencing it with wrong understanding of Matthew 7:1ff and John 8:1ff.
7. The Process Defined: Overview of the steps in Matthew 18.
8. Beginning: Step 1 A Personal and Private Appeal.
9. Rightly Viewed, Rightly Handled: Turning away from gossip. Winning your brother or sister in Christ.
10. The Raising of the Stakes: Step 2: An Appeal With 2 or 3 Witnesses.
11. Five Objections: Not for the church today? That won't work today? We don't have apostles. Times have changed. Judge not.
12. The Widening of the Circle: Step 3 Asking the Church to Appeal to the Member.
13. Excommunication: Step 4: Placing the Member Outside of the Fold.
14. The Returning Prodigal, the Rejoicing Church: Step: Restoration and Forgiveness Upon Repentance.
This book gets very practical and helpful when working through the steps. Very solid resource.
Displaying 1 of 1 review