Church Discipline in a Consumer Culture: A Call for Compelling Community
February 10th, 2008In his essay, Matthew Brooks advocates the importance of church discipline, explaining how our culture of consumerism has undermined the biblical model. He presents the case for reclaiming biblical church discipline by, “pursuing a Trinitarian model of compelling community based on our unity in Christ.” He states that the root of the problem is that our consumer-driven individualistic society undercuts church discipline by viewing it as archaic and oppressive, thus leading people to believe that the church is merely a “vendor of religious services and goods,” where churches compete to offer the most attractive array of programs to gain ‘customers’. In this sort of environment it is not difficult to see why church discipline is ineffective, when people can easily move on to another church willing to serve their needs. Brooks asserts that real Christian unity cannot be achieved apart from the Triune God who unites us both to Him and to each other. He concludes that, “with a renewed desire for biblical discipline, the church will be more capable of transforming the wider culture by shining forth as an example of holiness and love, thereby attracting many to be transformed by the holiness and love of Christ himself.”
Church Discipline in a Consumer Culture: A Call for Compelling Community
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