Church discipline
Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective says about discipline:
“We believe that the practice of discipline in the church is a sign of God’s forgiveness and transforming grace to believers who are moving away from faithful discipleship or who have been overtaken by sin. Discipline is intended to liberate erring brothers and sisters from sin, to enable them to return to a right relationship with God and restore them to fellowship in the church. It also gives integrity to the church’s witness and contributes to the credibility of the gospel message in the world.”
“Mutual encouragement, pastoral care, and discipline should normally lead to confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation. If the erring member persists in sin without repentance and rejects even the admonition of the congregation, membership may be suspended. Suspension of membership is the recognition that persons have separated themselves from the body of Christ. When this occurs, the church continues to pray for them and seeks to restore them to its fellowship.”
