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The general principle is that confessing and seeking forgiveness must extend to the community that has been directly damaged by the sin. If I sin against my wife, I need to confess to my wife. If that sin has damaged the small group I lead, I need to speak to them as well.

Make no mistake: For those who teach or lead, breaking trust with anyone (especially one's spouse) means breaking trust with all those who trust you. Such misbehavior, then, requires confession to all those we lead and teach. I had a chance to watch this principle lived out firsthand when I was on staff at Willow Creek Community Church. It wouldn't be appropriate to share specific stories, but I saw adventures in redemption from the small-group sphere, to the staff level, to congregation. They led to moments of sheer beauty.

This doesn't mean that everyone who violates a leadership position should return to their old position. Some experts in the field distinguish between wanderers (like David) whose fall was not premeditated, and predators (like Eli's sons) who may go through repentance and reconciliation but not re-installation.

Church discipline is really about the spiritual health of the whole body. In larger churches, people can start to think of it simply as scandal avoidance. But the lack of appropriate administration is really a failure of love and a compounding of sin: "Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt" (Lev. 19:17). Discipline does not merely protect the church from contamination: It builds and strengthens the bonds of love.

Another word for church discipline, then, is simply accountability. One of the best forms of this is ensuring that someone always knows where you are. While it sounds simple, I've noticed over the years that one of the first yellow flags for trouble is a staff member spending significant time off campus when no one knows where he or she is.

Larger churches can sometimes forget they are communities, not corporations. Therefore, church discipline is not an obstacle to the mission of the church; it is foundational to the mission. "The practice of discipline in the community of faith begins with friends who are close to each other," Bonhoeffer wrote. "Words of admonition and reproach must be risked."

John Ortberg is teaching pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California and author of God Is Closer Than You Think and The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Previous articles in this series include:

How Discipline Died| The church should stop taking its cues from the state. (July 22, 2005)

Shaping Holy Disciples| Mark Dever says church discipline is not about punishment or self-help. (July 25, 2005)

More articles on church discipline or the need for it from CT includes:

To Judge, or Not to Judge | Christ commanded us not to judge others, but aren't there times when common sense or prudence requires it? (June 29, 2005)

The Evangelical Scandal | Ron Sider says the movement is riddled with hypocrisy, and that it's time for serious change. (April 13, 2005)

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August 2005, Vol. 49, No. 8