Welcome to the Breakpoint podcast and our Q&A segment Ask the Colson Center.

I'm Shane Morris, host of the Upstream podcast and one of the writers for Breakpoint.

I'm joined today by John Stone Street, president of the Colson Center and the voice of Breakpoint.

We're here to answer your questions, which were sparked by Breakpoint commentaries, short courses, and the Colson Fellows program.

If you'd like to ask a question of your own,

you can send us an email at Ask the Colson Center at colsoncenter.org. John, the first question

we want to deal with today is really about the line between the purity of the church and the evangelistic

purpose of the church. And this is one that I've definitely wondered about over the years

as well. And I think it's an unspoken tension in many people's minds when it comes to dealing with

sin and behavior in the church that is very different from, you know, what scripture requires of us,

what Christian moral teaching requires. And then, you know, what scripture requires of us, what, what Christian moral teaching requires.

And then, you know, it's all about harmonizing the difficulties that the culture throws at us with,

you know, creating this, this called out community. So this person asks, what's a reform that I

think they're kind of getting at a biblical perspective on church discipline. I've

often wondered what the proper course is. We obviously want unbelievers to come to church and hear the

gospel. But what happens when they convert and aren't convinced to give up a sinful lifestyle?

Then do we withhold fellowship? Might that be a roadblock for conversion?

I'm thinking specifically of a few LGBT couples who have come to my church.

I'm not sure how to apply 1 Corinthians chapter 6 to people who convert,

but aren't convinced that they need to give up a homosexual lifestyle.

I've never seen discipline enforced in general, really,

except for one instance where a pastor called

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