The United States is one of the most controversial countries in the world, so when a church begins to practice the formal biblical discipline process, it usually receives a letter from a lawyer from a member who threatens to sue the church for defamation, invasion of privacy, and Many church leaders who did not back down are forced to go to court , subjected to days of humiliating and shocked interrogations to see jurors penalize their churches with six-figure losses. This trend was initiated by the Guinn case in 1984, which resulted in a $400,000 lawsuit against a church and its leaders, and continued to grow for twenty-five years.
Many of these trials occur because churches have not clearly established or communicated how to treat members who have been discovered in conflict and sin. As a result, un remorseful members can persuade jurors that the church’s actions were unbursable and offensive, which is not difficult. to do in a culture that rewards autonomy and despises responsibility.
- Even when a church wins in court.
- It generally pays a huge price in terms of legal costs.
- Wast of time and energy.
- Wounded witnesses.
- Distraction from ministry.
- Confusion.
- And dissent from the congregation.
- Therefore.
- It is not enough for a church to behave.
- Either in a way that will prevail over a process.
- Instead.
- Churches must act with such wisdom and integrity that they will prevent processes from being completed in the first place.
One of the most effective ways to prevent prosecution is to adopt explicit biblical policies that understandably describe how your church will discipline unrepentant members. These policies will provide your church with one of the most effective defenses against any process: informed consent. , a church must be able to prove before a court that the person complaining of a mistake was, in fact, fully aware of and knowingly agreed to comply with church policies and procedures.
Although most churches have provisions in their statutes on “the exercise of discipline in accordance with Matthew 18”, this type of general statement is often insufficient for the current individualistic and anti-ecclesiastical legal climate. It is therefore essential that churches update their government documents by adding language that preserves the church’s rights to shepherd their flock and save disobedient members from sin. This additional language should present specific challenges that may arise, such as maintaining discipline after a member attempts to leave the church, or informing members of their disciplinary actions to protect others from danger (for example, when someone cheats through malicious investment plans).
Based on his experience in church case mediation and arbitration, Peacemaker Ministries has developed a model of “relational commitments”. They were developed so that churches could clearly establish their own script-based policy for conflict resolution, divorce, counselling methodology, confidentiality and ecclesiastical discipline (see an example of the document in peacemaker. net/project/relational-commitments). [1]
By updating your government’s documents with such provisions, you will strengthen your ability to obey God’s orders to restore stray sheep, while reducing your church to exposure to legal threats.
[1] Here is an example of one of the models of relational commitment: “We realized that our natural human response to correction is often hiding or escaping responsibility (Genesis 3. 8-10). To avoid falling into this ancient trap and strengthening our ability of the church to save us if we fall into sin, we have agreed not to leave this church to avoid corrective discipline. Therefore, we waive our right to waive membership or responsibility, if disciplinary action is taken against us. Stop going to church at any time, we agree that a departure while discipline is ongoing will not be effective until the church fulfills God’s responsibilities to encourage our repentance and restoration, and to process from discipline to an orderly conclusion (Matthew 18. 12 -14, Galatians 6. 1, Hebrews 13. 17).
By: Ken Sande. © 2010 9Marks. Original: Informed Consent: Biblical and Legal Protection of Church Discipline
Translation: Matheus Fernandes Review: Yago Martins © 2016 Faithful Ministério All rights reserved. Website: Original MinisterioFiel. com. br: a way to protect your church from lawsuits in the event of ecclesiastical discipline
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