Abstract

The purpose of this Ministry Focus Paper is to examine how church growth is enhanced by the application of godly church discipline. Within the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada there has developed a significant trend toward seeker-sensitive style churches. These seeker-sensitive churches attempt to grow by removing everything that is thought to be offensive to the non-Christian. This model of church growth strategy is good in principle and has much to commend it. However, when it is taken to an extreme the result is that these seeker-sensitive churches relinquish many of the essential qualities that have traditionally characterized the church. One of these characteristics is the proper application of church discipline. When the commitment to godly church discipline is sacrificed in the name of seeker-sensitive inclusiveness the consequences are often heartbreaking. The goal of this Ministry Focus Paper is to show that it is possible to have a vibrant and dynamic church that is both seeker-sensitive and yet committed to the principle that church discipline is essential to the development of healthy and strong churches. In short, I want to develop a philosophy of seeker-sensitive church growth that allows for the proper exercise of church discipline. ;The paper is divided into two sections. Section one is an attempt to develop a theological strategy for church discipline in a seeker-sensitive environment. In this section church discipline is defined, its mandate explained and applied. The final chapter in this section deals with possible objections to the strategy presented. The second section attempts to apply the theological study in a practical manner within the context of an Alliance church. ;Therefore the overall goal of this paper is to present a biblically based strategy for church growth that incorporates a strong commitment to the practice of church discipline as well as many of the exciting and attractive elements of the seeker-sensitive approach to church growth