Some snippets from lecture notes of mine–borrowed mostly from Dr. Garth Rosell, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I’d be interested to hear readers’ comments on church discipline: have you seen it exercised in good ways? bad ways? Do we need more? less? What stands in the way of biblical church discipline today? A “penitential lifestyle” is one of the five themes of my course (with Mark van Steenwyk) and possible future book (with same) on “resources for radical living.” What would a penitential lifestyle look like in your part of the 21st-century world?
Church discipline and the system of penance
This is another theme reflected richly in these early documents. You read these and you quickly find out that strict discipline very important to early church.
Its purposes
Preservation of the Church’s Purity
We often place this as central emphasis today. But a second purpose was . . .
Restoration to Spiritual Health of the Fallen Christian
Back to spiritual purity, life, vitality! Continue reading
Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians
