PFR Board Speaks on Church Discipline

We find troublesome several recent incidents of defiance of the Constitution (such as in Baltimore, Cincinnati, Redwoods, and Hudson River Presbyteries), coupled at times with an apparent lack or slowness of response by appropriate governing bodies, reticence to discipline, or distortion of disciplinary action. Yet, even in these troubles, we are confident in the Lord and look to the sound processes of our Constitution to guide our church and help resolve our difficulties.

We urge:
· That Jesus be glorified,
· That our Presbyterian Constitution be upheld, and
· That church discipline, as guided by the Rules of Discipline, be applied, when necessary, in an appropriate, measured, and loving manner, in the spirit of its Preamble, which reads in part:

Church discipline is the exercise of authority given by Christ, both in the direction of guidance, control, and nurture of its members and in the direction of constructive criticism of offenders. Thus, the purpose of discipline is to honor God by making clear the significance of membership in the body of Christ; to preserve the purity of the church by nourishing the individual within the life of the believing community; to correct or restrain wrongdoing in order to bring members to repentance and restoration; to restore the unity of the church by removing the causes of discord and division; and to secure the just, speedy, and economical determination of proceedings….

The power that Jesus Christ has vested in his Church, a power manifested in the exercise of church discipline, is one for building up the body of Christ, not for destroying it, for redeeming, not for punishing. It should be exercised as a dispensation of mercy and not of wrath so that the great ends of the church may be achieved, that all children of God may be presented faultless in the day of Christ.

We love the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and desire its faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ in all things.