“In general, with many exceptions, of course (and I am not including here real fundamentalist churches), American evangelical churches have allowed biblical and traditional virtues, values and rules to fall away. Individualism has become the norm; each church member’s lifestyle and conduct is solely between him/her and God.” - Roger Olson
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)
A Model for Church Discipline
Since 2005
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Here you go.
I like it. More or less, Olson’s source (and Olson) are proposing a new fundamentals for churches of today along the same lines that many of us have watched our church constitutions/covenants change with the times, and the question, then, is how they ought to be emphasized and enforced.
One thought is the high church model, where one recites things like the Apostles’ Creed at every service. That noted, a lot of people in that model recite that creed hundreds of times in their life without acknowledging the truth of one iota of it. Another possibility that we ought to endorse is that the pastor would use these guideposts to good theology in sermons.
Even if you believe your church does discipline well (and if you do, I hope and pray you’re right), worth a read, IMO.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.