Welcome to Mortification of Spin, a casual conversation about things that count, with Carl Truman, Todd Pruitt, and Amy Bird.

Mortification of Spin is a weekly podcast from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

What should church members think and feel about the practice of church discipline?

It's an unpopular topic, but Carl, Amy, and Todd don't shy away from asking some tough questions

and giving some keen insight on the matter.

Keep listening after the conversation to find out how to download a free MP3 from the Alliance.

Okay. Okay, so this is a very sobering podcast for the three of us today.

We happen to be sitting outside of a puppet master's office.

We're a little nervous.

We've gotten in a little bit of trouble here, and it's kind of like being sent to the principal's office. Todd, once again, said the word sexy on air, and

here we are not knowing what our punishment's going to be. But that's led to an interesting

conversation that we thought would be a pretty good topic, and that is within the

realms of church discipline, the importance of church discipline and the church, the lovingness

of it. But then the really difficult parts of when it actually comes to excommunication,

and then also the wonderful beauty of restoration when the purpose of excommunication and then also the wonderful beauty of restoration when when the purpose of

excommunication is fulfilled.

So I'm talking here with two pastors who are under a little bit of trouble of their own

while we're sitting here.

But what do we have to say about this, guys?

Well, you know, Carl and I have been kicked out of all kinds of associations, so we do know the feeling. But, you know, it's interesting. Hopefully, if you're a

Presbyterian, a confessional Presbyterian, or a Reform Baptist, you actually do have a

category for understanding church discipline. There's a lot of other evangelicals, though,

...