Church Discipline without a Lawsuit

Lawyers tell how to convict a sinner without landing in jail.

Lawsuits have become part of the American way of life. Skiers injured on the slopes sue ski resorts. Inmates sue prison officials. Now the specter of litigation also looms over churches.

“Church, not Mother Sinned,” read a March 16, 1984, newspaper headline. The story reported the verdict in a lawsuit against the Collinsville (Okla.) Church of Christ and three of its elders for “inflicting emotional distress and invading the privacy” of a woman who was disfellowshiped.

A Tulsa jury awarded Marian Guinn $205,000 in actual damages and $185,000 in punitive damages after a week-long trial. The decision will be appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In light of the crucial church-and-state issues involved, the case will probably go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Increasing interest in the biblical practice of church discipline, “the third mark of the true church” (Belgic Confession, 1561), has heightened the threat of legal action. A California woman named the pastor and six elders of the Fairview Church of Christ in Garden Grove as defendants in a lawsuit stemming from disciplinary action in connection with her divorce. A letter read to the congregation urged church members not to associate with her until she repented. As in the Marian Guinn case, she charged libel, slander, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Five years ago Church Mutual Insurance Company of Wisconsin, which has been insuring church buildings since 1898, added coverage up to $1 million for clergy desiring protection from malpractice actions relating to their counseling of parishioners.

While it is impossible to avoid a lawsuit if a malicious person insists on pursuing one, lawyers suggest these steps for reducing the chances of being sued for exercising biblical discipline:

1. Spell out completely in your church constitution or bylaws your beliefs regarding church discipline. Specify the procedures and provide the scriptural basis (Matt. 18:15–20; 1 Cor. 5:1–13; Gal. 6:1; 2 Thess. 3:14–15; 1 Tim. 5:19–21).

2. Also include a statement such as, “We the members of First Church will not pursue legal action or sue the pastors, elders, deacons, or church staff in connection with the performance of their official duties.” You may want to include a general statement about lawsuits based on 1 Corinthians 6:1–8.

3. Acquaint those seeking membership with the constitution, including the steps for dealing with sinning saints. Inform them that, as members, they will be expected to abide by this agreement.

4. Specify in the constitution that members of the church have entered a covenant to minister to one another’s spiritual needs, and since this relationship is entered by mutual consent with the church leaders and congregation, it also ends only by mutual consent. This statement will help deter (1) resignation from membership as a means to avoid discipline, and (2) lawsuits for administering discipline after resignation.

5. When discipline is necessary, make sure to follow the constitution. Strict adherence will deter charges of partiality, prejudice, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

6. If information is disclosed to church leaders in confidence, such privileged information must not be disclosed to others. Marian Guinn insisted that what she had told the elders was in strict confidence. When the elders reported the details of their conversations to their own church and several other churches, they exposed private information and were legally accountable.

7. Respect the privacy of the one being disciplined. Avoid any appearance that the discipline is designed to harass or cause emotional distress. If public disclosure is demanded, word the announcement carefully. It is possible to exercise public discipline without exposing privileged information. Naming the specific sin is not always necessary; a general statement may suffice. Loving concern, a desire for restoration, and careful wording can “tell it to the church” without violating confidence.

8. Don’t publicize the action outside the church family. Although the elders of the Collinsville church thought it necessary, they appear to have overextended their responsibility when they reported the situation to four neighboring congregations. There may be two exceptions: (1) when another church requests a transfer of membership for that person; and (2) when a minister’s ordination is revoked. In the first situation, all that need be said is, “John Doe did not leave our church in good standing. We cannot recommend him for membership in your church.” In the latter situation, prudence would suggest announcing the discipline only to other churches within the denomination.

9. If a lawsuit is filed, pursue an out-of-court settlement or alternative means of resolving the conflict. The goal of mediation should be reconciliation, not “winning.” The Christian Legal Society of Oak Park, Illinois, recently established the Christian Conciliation Service to help Christians resolve legal disputes.

Church discipline is risky. Despite all precautions, your church or its leaders may still be sued. But if you follow biblical procedures and administer discipline out of love and with a view of restoration, your conscience can be clear before God regardless of the outcome of the trial. These experiences add new meaning to Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:12: “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Mr. Laney is associate professor of biblical literature at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland, Oregon.

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