How much should Christians interact with the secular world? I live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is known for our Amish community, a Christian sect that practices a form of separation from the world. As I type this, I can look out my kitchen window and see my Amish neighbors wearing their traditional clothing and ridingContinue reading “How to respond to deceivers in a church – 2nd John, Part 4”
Tag Archives: church discipline
A three-step process for resolving conflict in the church – Titus 3:9-15, Part 4
Has your church family experienced disagreements? Divisions? Has your church had to wrestle with how to respond? It can be really tricky, right? Emotions fly, people get offended, and it can seem that no matter what option you choose, someone will not like it, get hurt, and leave the church. Okay, let’s turn off theContinue reading “A three-step process for resolving conflict in the church – Titus 3:9-15, Part 4”
Should Christians make rules to follow? Titus 1:10-16, Part 4
When my wife and I were students in Bible college, at the beginning of every semester we had to sign a document stating we would abide by the student handbook which had loads of rules. You couldn’t go to the movies. You couldn’t kiss on campus. There were pages and pages of rules. One ruleContinue reading “Should Christians make rules to follow? Titus 1:10-16, Part 4”
How to have restorative church discipline – Titus 1:10-16, Part 2
When you discover troublemakers in the church, what is a faithful way to respond to them? Confrontation is difficult, so we might be tempted to avoid the troublemakers and think the problem will work itself out on its own. It rarely does, though. Instead, as we will see in our continuing study of Titus 1:10-16,Continue reading “How to have restorative church discipline – Titus 1:10-16, Part 2”
Spotting deceivers in the church – Titus 1:10-16, Part 1
“They didn’t teach that in seminary.” I had a wonderful seminary experience, and I would recommend my seminary to anyone. But there are some aspects of pastoral ministry that you just have to experience, and it is about those that pastors can say, “they didn’t teach that in seminary.” Dealing with funerals. The emotional toll. Continue reading “Spotting deceivers in the church – Titus 1:10-16, Part 1”
Mr. Pillion’s Painful Paddles and thoughts on doing church discipline the right way – 1 Corinthians 5
My high school math teacher had a collection of vicious paddles on display in a locked glass case in his room. There were some like the ones in the picture, and then there were others of more sadistic nature. One with spikes sticking out, for example. Any Warwick High School grads remember Mr. Pillion’sContinue reading “Mr. Pillion’s Painful Paddles and thoughts on doing church discipline the right way – 1 Corinthians 5”
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