Church discipline is one of the marks of the true church (Belgic Confession art 29). This is all part of the process of being a disciplined church. It is difficult and expensive. It costs time and energy. There is no guarantee of the desired outcome. Experience tells me that the deliberative bodies of the churches usually get things right but not always. Those who enter the process must be prepared for an unfavorable outcome. They must be prepared to be corrected in case they are wrong and they must be committed to living with the frailty of the visible, institutional church. 

In my experience, the vast majority of elders and ministers are selfless, gracious, kind, patient, and Christlike men. Most serve sacrificially. Most serve out of love for their Savior and out of love for their brothers and sisters in Christ. Unless one has served on a consistory (in the Reformed churches) or a session (in the Presbyterian churches) one probably does not appreciate the degree to which ministers and elders sacrifice themselves (to borrow a phrase) for Christ, his gospel, and his church. We should remember that Ephesians 4:11 describes the special offices in the church as “gifts” to the church and we should receive those gifts with grateful hearts.

We should also remember that as late-modern people we live after about two centuries of radical democratization (egalitarianism). This leveling spirit has dominated Western society since the French Revolution. In the USA it began to appear during the Jackson administration (1829–37) and has only increased in intensity and speed since then. The internet may be the greatest force for social leveling yet seen in human history. We see the results of this leveling all around us. In the 1990s a presidential candidate appeared on a talk show to discuss his underwear. Before that President Nixon appeared on the television comedy Laugh In. Most recently we have seen Facebook mogul Mark Zuckerberg mount what look like the early stages of a presidential campaign by appearing at (and looking totally bewildered by) an Iowa truck stop. This leveling effect (and affect) has influenced the way we look at all authority figures. People resist police officers on the assumption that no one has the right to detain or arrest them. People look at pastors and elders differently than we once did. In a world in which all claims to authority are regarded as groundless assertions to be deconstructed, Christians are even suspicious of pastors and elders. Under the influence of the leveling spirit of the French Revolution, even the most legitimate and righteous exercises of the ministerial authority of the church are regularly dismissed as illegitimate or arbitrary. This is not an entirely new problem. The pastor who wrote to the Hebrews had to exhort them, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb 13:17).

This is a fallen world, however, and thus all ministers and elders are sinful. Sometimes sin manifests itself in abusive behavior on the part of authoritative church assemblies and courts. Again, we are not now discussing the legitimate, righteous, divinely instituted and authorized exercise of the keys of the kingdom (Matt 16:19; 18:17,18; 28:18–20). Here we are thinking of those unusual instances when elders and ministers cross the line and abuse the authority given by Christ to their offices. It is not possible to describe all the ways this has happened or might happen but I am aware of a case where a minister physically kicked a parishioner. There were some mitigating circumstances but there is no excuse for a minister striking a member. There have been cases in which elders tried to dismiss the minister without due process. There have been cases where members have been summarily excommunicated and cases where ministers have threatened to ruin a member for disagreeing with them. Yesterday I read of a coverup of a sexual abuse scandal by a denomination. I have previously described a case in my own federation where a consistory and a classis mishandled a doctrinal complaint by a lay couple. Fortunately, their righteous cause was vindicated at synod. The list could continue but the reader gets the picture.

Why does such abuse happen? As suggested above, the over-arching answer is sin. It corrupts our minds, our wills, and our affections. Ministers and elders are not immune from its effects. The churches call men to these offices because the churches see in them the sort of qualities that Paul catalogues in the pastoral epistles. We know that the men called, examined, and ordained are sinful but we hope and expect that they are mature enough to fulfill their offices. Sometimes, however, the churches err and sometimes people change or sinful behavior patterns emerge after ordination. There are group dynamics for which to account too. Deliberative bodies in the church (e.g., consistory, council, session, classis, presbytery) are composed of mostly underpaid, under appreciated ministers and elders who volunteer their time, often at their own expense. When criticized it is a temptation for these bodies to respond defensively to criticism or even to lash out at critics.

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