When news
broke a little over a week ago that the Episcopal Church of the United
States had been suspended from the Anglican Communion over its official affirmation
of same-sex marriage, it signaled a huge step in a debate that has raged for
more than a decade. The Anglican Primates (senior bishops of the 38 Anglican
provinces) voted to censure the Episcopal Church for three years—denying its
ability to represent Anglicans on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, restricting
it from participating in Anglican committees and decision-making, and demoting
it to “observer” status—with the hope that the Episcopal Church will repent and
return to fellowship with the Communion.
While many conservative
Anglicans called for broader sanctions or for the Episcopal Church to voluntarily
withdraw from the Communion, the decision signifies a deep line in the sand
over doctrine, and the Anglican Church should be applauded for reaffirming
their commitment to Scripture’s teaching on marriage as between one man and one
woman for life.
Certainly, as a Baptist, I
disagree with Anglicans on a number of matters related to doctrine and polity.
Additionally, I probably would have pushed for stronger discipline and a
shorter timeframe than the senior bishops agreed upon. But, there are some principles
that can be gleaned from the disciplinary actions of the Primates with respect
to the practice of church discipline within a local body of believers.
In recent years, the practice
of biblical church discipline has seen somewhat of a renaissance, especially
among Baptists. After decades of avoiding the practice, many evangelical
churches have seen the need for the grace-based,
restoration-focused discipline outlined in Scripture (most specifically
found in Matthew 18:15-17 and 1 Corinthians 5:1-13) in order to
re-establish regenerate church membership.
The following six principles seen
in the Anglican Church’s suspension of the Episcopal Church follow the New
Testament guidelines for church discipline:
1.
Standing
on doctrinal and moral principles. It would have been easy for the Primates
to simply ignore the Episcopal Church’s theological drift “for the sake of
unity.” Instead, they recognized the serious departure from Scripture and
believed that there are truths worth separating over, no matter how difficult
that break-up may be. Paul rebukes the church in 1 Corinthians 5 for tolerating
open sin. Unrepentant sin must not be acquiesced to or swept under the rug. If
there is serious doctrinal error or moral sin in the church, leaders and
members must address the issue head on.
2.
Loving call
for repentance. Along with standing for truth, there is a sincere and
loving call to repentance. The Anglican bishops are right to call for the
Episcopal Church to renounce their position and return to the clear teaching of
Scripture in order for fellowship to be restored. Similarly, when sin is
exposed in a local church, brothers and sisters in Christ should lovingly call
the offender to repent of the sin in order to have fellowship restored. Jesus’
instructions in Matthew 18 outline multiple levels of confrontation in order to
provide multiple opportunities for repentance.
3.
Desire
for unity. As Paul instructs in Ephesians 4:3, we must be “eager to
maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” within the church. The Anglican
bishops showed that a “unity at all costs” mindset is untenable. In fact, true unity
is only strengthened through their actions. In their statement, they said,
“Over the past week the unanimous decision of the Primates was to walk
together, however painful this is, and despite our differences, as a deep
expression of our unity in the body of Christ.” So, too, when autonomous
churches carefully walk through the biblical practice of church discipline,
they must always keep unity in view. A haphazard, graceless approach to
discipline could result in a valid excommunication from fellowship for the
unrepentant, but it can also result in fractured unity within the church.
4.
Clear
timeframe and consequences. The Anglican Primates were specific in giving a
three-year suspension as well as a clear explanation of what would happen if
the Episcopal Church did not repent of its error—excommunication. In local
churches, a clear timeframe must be given within which an individual or
individuals must repent or else they will be removed from membership of the
church. In some churches, this “watch care” period can last from 3-6 months up
to a year, in which time members are asked to pray for the offender(s) and
lovingly encourage them to repent. For example, the case could be presented to
the church at a quarterly business meeting and a vote of restoration or
excommunication—depending on whether repentance has taken place—occurs at the
next quarterly meeting.
5.
Action to
suspend leadership. Just as the Episcopal Church has been restricted from
representing Anglicans and participating in decision-making while this interim
period plays out, so too should a church immediately remove someone from areas
of leadership while the discipline process takes place. This protects the
church and serves as a visible reminder of the relational distance between the
church and the offender.
6.
Goal of
restoration. - As receivers of grace, our goal in church discipline should always
be grace-fueled restoration. Regardless of how unimaginable it might be for the
Episcopal Church to reverse its stand on same-sex marriage, I fully believe
that if they repent, the Anglican Communion will graciously welcome them back
into fellowship. Likewise, in the local church, discipline should always have
forgiveness and restoration as its aim. It’s no surprise that Jesus follows up
his instructions on discipline in Matthew 18 with a teaching on the extent of
our forgiveness (77 times) and the parable of unforgiving servant. Forgiving
and restoring a repentant brother or sister in Christ is a magnificent picture
of the gospel.
As can be seen in the actions
of the Anglican Primates and the clear teaching of Scripture, discipline is
sometimes necessary, but the process should not be entered into lightly.
Maintaining our unity in Christ, we must lovingly call for repentance and
graciously restore those who repent. At the same time, we must lovingly
discipline the unrepentant and break fellowship for their sake and the sake of
the gospel.
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