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From the Preface to Luther's Small Catechism
"22 We should so preach that, of their own accord and without any law, the people will desire the sacrament and, as it were, compel us pastors to administer it to them. This can be done by telling them: It is to be feared that anyone who does not desire to receive the sacrament at least three or four times a year despises the sacrament and is no Christian, just as he is no Christian who does not hear and believe the Gospel. Christ did not say, “Omit this,” or “Despise this,” but he said, “Do this, as often as you drink it,” etc. Surely he wishes that this be done and not that it be omitted and despised. “Do this,” he said. 23 He who does not highly esteem the sacrament suggests thereby that he has no sin, no flesh, no devil, no world, no death, no hell. That is to say, he believes in none of these, although he is deeply immersed in them and is held captive by the devil. On the other hand, he suggests that he needs no grace, no life, no paradise, no heaven, no Christ, no God, nothing good at all." The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. 1959 (T. G. Tappert, Ed.) (341). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press. |
Why a Pastor?
God could've spread his Word any way he wanted to. He could've instituted any means both in creation and outside of creation (supernaturally) to forgive sins. That's why it's so astounding, so special, and so to be heeded when God by Christ instituted the Office of the Holy Ministry for the preaching of his holy Gospel and the distribution of the forgiveness of sins through his Means of Grace. So this month, I'd like you to join me in looking at what the Bible says about this Office of the Holy Ministry and why it matters so much to God – and why, then, it should matter to you.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11-12, "Christ gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." Therefore, to begin with, the Bible calls us to see that the Holy Ministry is an office given by Christ as a gift to the Church; not to enslave the Church, but as a gift. Now the ones who reject the gifts of God, e.g., the called Pastor, find themselves in a desperate place, spiritually.
And this gifted Office is called to do something specific. Jesus told his disciples after his resurrection: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld" (Jn 20:22-23). And again, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28:19-20). And of the Supper, Jesus says in Luke 22:19, "Do this in remembrance of me."
So Paul says of Apostles and those who stand in their Office, the pastors, "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. 4:1). Thus Paul says in his pastoral epistles, "The saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to the office of overseer (bishop), he desires a noble task" (1 Ti. 3:1). And again, "I charge you [Pastor Timothy] in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Ti. 4:1-5). And so Hebrews 13:17 tells all congregations, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account."
So, not only does the Bible tell us THAT Christ instituted the Office of the Holy Ministry, but it also tells us WHAT that Office is supposed to do according to Christ's institution, and HOW the congregation is intended to receive that gift Christ gives. That's why the Apostles, when faced with the issues of caring for the poor and widows after the resurrection and Pentecost, in Acts 6:2-4 say to the Church, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word." This is what the Holy Office is about even to this day: prayer – intercession for the world to God – and the ministry of the Word – intercession for God to the world. As the Apostles, then, so those who fill their office, today.
Self-Exclusion
There is much confusion about the matter of "self-exclusion" and what this means for those who can't and/or don't attend service. So, let's look at what the Bible and our Lutheran Confessions say about this matter.
First of all, the Command is given (Exodus 20:8-11) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." So worship is not an adiaphoran – a thing neither commanded nor forbidden – but it is commanded by God that we worship him by sanctifying our time with the remembrance of him who rested on the seventh day. And the New Testament declares, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries (Hebrews 10:23-27)." Our Lord commands, and Paul delivers, "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me (1Corinthians 11:23-25)." Thus are we commanded by the Scriptures to do and be holy – lest we be found to be rejecting our Savior and so also our salvation.
Our Confessions – the documents which expound what Lutherans believe, teach, and confess – also have this to say about the matter. From Luther's preface to his Small Catechism: "It is to be feared that anyone who does not desire to receive the sacrament at least three or four times a year despises the sacrament and is no Christian, just as he is no Christian who does not hear and believe the Gospel. Christ did not say, “Omit this,” or “Despise this,” but he said, “Do this, as often as you drink it,” etc. Surely he wishes that this be done and not that it be omitted and despised. “Do this,” he said. 23 He who does not highly esteem the sacrament suggests thereby that he has no sin, no flesh, no devil, no world, no death, no hell. That is to say, he believes in none of these, although he is deeply immersed in them and is held captive by the devil. On the other hand, he suggests that he needs no grace, no life, no paradise, no heaven, no Christ, no God, nothing good at all. For if he believed that he was involved in so much that is evil and was in need of so much that is good, he would not neglect the sacrament in which aid is afforded against such evil and in which such good is bestowed. It is not necessary to compel him by any law to receive the sacrament, for he will hasten to it of his own accord, he will feel constrained to receive it, he will insist that you administer it to him." And the Apology to the Augsburg Confession in article XI says, "4The openly wicked and the despisers of the sacraments are excommunicated. We do this according to both the Gospel and the ancient canons… The canon says this: “If any enter the church of God and are found never to commune, let them be admonished. If they still do not commune, let them come to penitence. If they commune, let them not be permanently expelled. If they do not commune, let them be expelled.” Christ says (1 Cor. 11:29) that those who receive in an unworthy manner receive judgment upon themselves." Thus the Confessions teach that those who do not receive the Sacrament at all in a year's time are confessing that they are not a part of the Church and are cutting themselves off from Christ. And the Church – pastor and members – is called to warn them with both words and actions – and even penalties.
God could've spread his Word any way he wanted to. He could've instituted any means both in creation and outside of creation (supernaturally) to forgive sins. That's why it's so astounding, so special, and so to be heeded when God by Christ instituted the Office of the Holy Ministry for the preaching of his holy Gospel and the distribution of the forgiveness of sins through his Means of Grace. So this month, I'd like you to join me in looking at what the Bible says about this Office of the Holy Ministry and why it matters so much to God – and why, then, it should matter to you.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11-12, "Christ gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." Therefore, to begin with, the Bible calls us to see that the Holy Ministry is an office given by Christ as a gift to the Church; not to enslave the Church, but as a gift. Now the ones who reject the gifts of God, e.g., the called Pastor, find themselves in a desperate place, spiritually.
And this gifted Office is called to do something specific. Jesus told his disciples after his resurrection: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld" (Jn 20:22-23). And again, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28:19-20). And of the Supper, Jesus says in Luke 22:19, "Do this in remembrance of me."
So Paul says of Apostles and those who stand in their Office, the pastors, "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. 4:1). Thus Paul says in his pastoral epistles, "The saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to the office of overseer (bishop), he desires a noble task" (1 Ti. 3:1). And again, "I charge you [Pastor Timothy] in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Ti. 4:1-5). And so Hebrews 13:17 tells all congregations, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account."
So, not only does the Bible tell us THAT Christ instituted the Office of the Holy Ministry, but it also tells us WHAT that Office is supposed to do according to Christ's institution, and HOW the congregation is intended to receive that gift Christ gives. That's why the Apostles, when faced with the issues of caring for the poor and widows after the resurrection and Pentecost, in Acts 6:2-4 say to the Church, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word." This is what the Holy Office is about even to this day: prayer – intercession for the world to God – and the ministry of the Word – intercession for God to the world. As the Apostles, then, so those who fill their office, today.
Self-Exclusion
There is much confusion about the matter of "self-exclusion" and what this means for those who can't and/or don't attend service. So, let's look at what the Bible and our Lutheran Confessions say about this matter.
First of all, the Command is given (Exodus 20:8-11) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." So worship is not an adiaphoran – a thing neither commanded nor forbidden – but it is commanded by God that we worship him by sanctifying our time with the remembrance of him who rested on the seventh day. And the New Testament declares, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries (Hebrews 10:23-27)." Our Lord commands, and Paul delivers, "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me (1Corinthians 11:23-25)." Thus are we commanded by the Scriptures to do and be holy – lest we be found to be rejecting our Savior and so also our salvation.
Our Confessions – the documents which expound what Lutherans believe, teach, and confess – also have this to say about the matter. From Luther's preface to his Small Catechism: "It is to be feared that anyone who does not desire to receive the sacrament at least three or four times a year despises the sacrament and is no Christian, just as he is no Christian who does not hear and believe the Gospel. Christ did not say, “Omit this,” or “Despise this,” but he said, “Do this, as often as you drink it,” etc. Surely he wishes that this be done and not that it be omitted and despised. “Do this,” he said. 23 He who does not highly esteem the sacrament suggests thereby that he has no sin, no flesh, no devil, no world, no death, no hell. That is to say, he believes in none of these, although he is deeply immersed in them and is held captive by the devil. On the other hand, he suggests that he needs no grace, no life, no paradise, no heaven, no Christ, no God, nothing good at all. For if he believed that he was involved in so much that is evil and was in need of so much that is good, he would not neglect the sacrament in which aid is afforded against such evil and in which such good is bestowed. It is not necessary to compel him by any law to receive the sacrament, for he will hasten to it of his own accord, he will feel constrained to receive it, he will insist that you administer it to him." And the Apology to the Augsburg Confession in article XI says, "4The openly wicked and the despisers of the sacraments are excommunicated. We do this according to both the Gospel and the ancient canons… The canon says this: “If any enter the church of God and are found never to commune, let them be admonished. If they still do not commune, let them come to penitence. If they commune, let them not be permanently expelled. If they do not commune, let them be expelled.” Christ says (1 Cor. 11:29) that those who receive in an unworthy manner receive judgment upon themselves." Thus the Confessions teach that those who do not receive the Sacrament at all in a year's time are confessing that they are not a part of the Church and are cutting themselves off from Christ. And the Church – pastor and members – is called to warn them with both words and actions – and even penalties.
Exceptions?
There stands the third Commandment, the command of Hebrews not to give up meeting together, and our Lord's institution to "do this often;" also Luther's Small Catechism and the Apology to the Augsburg Confession all declare that those who refuse to come to the Sacrament when they are able are to be regarded and treated as those who deny fellowship with the body of Christ – both the Sacramental body and the Churchly body. When this happens, our Church Constitution even calls this "self-exclusion," and such a person is either put under Church discipline or dropped off of the church's rolls.
While this is the standard of expectation and practice in the LCMS, teaching and doing this in the Church always raises the question about exceptions. What about the home-bound, those in the military, those who live where there isn't an LCMS church or a church in fellowship with the LCMS? This also raises the question about judgments and whether such a practice makes the Church either be or appear unloving or intolerant. We'll look at both, yet the latter first.
The New Testament has many examples of Church discipline – where the Apostles and pastors were required to act justly and punish someone, even to the extent of declaring them no longer Christians and no longer in fellowship with the Church. And there are not only descriptions of this but also prescriptions, commands, given to the Church through the Word of God on what to do about such. In the chief example, 1 Corinthians 5, Paul tells the congregation to remove an openly unrepentant man from the church and hand him over to the devil for fleshly affliction so that he may come to see the spiritual severity of his sin. He also tells the congregation that such "leaven" in the fellowship would affect their reception of the Lord's Supper. Paul gives a similar admonition in 1 Timothy 1:20 to a young pastor whom he is teaching how to shepherd the Church after the institution of Christ. Therefore the first question for us, the Church, is not "What will others think if we do this?" but rather "What is faithful to Christ and his Word?" When we ask that question first, and see that God does command and commend such practices, we then come to ask, "What does Jesus want to show the world through excommunication?" And the answer is clear: this is big, serious stuff, and we shouldn't just take it lightly. So the world may call us unloving and intolerant, but it is for the sake of the Gospel: that those who don't take it seriously may learn how seriously our Lord holds his Supper and his beloved Church, and be given the opportunity to repent of their apathy and turn back to the body and blood of Christ now, while there is still time. So we, as the Church, can either seek to serve men or God. That's really the issue.
With that understood, then, we can face the former issue: exceptions to the rule. First, you must have a rule to have exceptions. Second, we remember that the judgments of God are never about the thing itself, but about our motivations; our faith. Where the faith and desire are present but the ability is not, this is an exception. Soldiers in service where there isn't an altar, shut-ins who don't have the ability to come to the altar, pioneers and explorers going into a new land where there isn't an altar, and the like, all may have the desire but not the ability. Such ones are not set under this discipline. Yet those with ability are encouraged to seek out the faithfully-administered Sacrament, and if such can't be found, to work to plant a church or mission station – that the Gospel may be spread to their area as well. That's how the Church grew here in America – where, before they built them, there weren't any Lutheran churches. That's why the Church takes Communion to sick and shut-in; not to see how they are, but to deliver to them the forgiveness of Christ.
Church Discipline: Excommunication
Now all of this comes to its head in a very misunderstood discipline of the Church called Excommunication. And because that's such a freighted word, let's explore what it actually means – which, we'll find, is vastly different from what most think about it.
First of all, Excommunication is about Church DISCIPLINE. It is one of the many disciplines, or, to say it another way, disciple activities, of the Church. Just as making it a discipline to come to worship every Sunday, to memorize Scripture and hymns, Confirmation, daily prayer, to abstain from certain activities, and the like, are means of strengthening our discipleship with Christ through outward actions, so Excommunication is a matter of discipline.
Regrettably, when many hear DISCIPLINE now a days they think punishments. And while part of discipline is punishment, that's only one side of the picture. Where the Church only ever does discipleship through punishments, we have greatly missed the mark. And where Christians only think of discipline in terms of punishment, we, ourselves, need to seriously review our faith walk with Christ.
Excommunication as a DISCIPLINE is intended to lead an impenitent Christian into a deeper discipleship with Christ by tangibly separating that person from the Sacraments and leadership of the Church so that they can come to know how serious is their sin and so that, by this realization, that individual would repent of their sin. Once repentant, once absolved, that excommunicated individual is wholeheartedly welcomed back into Communion and full fellowship with the Church, now with a deeper appreciation of the blood of Christ shed for their sins. Discipline.
Second, Excommunication is about CHURCH discipline. The Church cannot discipline someone outside of the Church. Now the Church is the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church: the Communion of the Saints. This discipline of Excommunication isn't about kicking someone out of the Church because someone outside of the Church doesn't grow in discipleship with Christ. Rather, it's about strengthening the Church.
Regrettably, many who face the discipline of Excommunication in our modern world choose to leave the Church, themselves, and go somewhere else – usually somewhere they won't face discipline – rather than remain in the church to undergo discipline and emerge stronger for it on the other side. This is the shame of our modern society and one of the major reasons for the decline in morals and righteousness even in the Church built by Christ. Until we wrestle with this reality nothing will change.
But how can someone be Excommunicated and still be part of the Church? Ex means, "Outside of"; communio, means "Communion"; and cation means, "To make." The word itself simply means "To be made outside of Communion," and it is meant to say that you are no longer to come to the altar for Communion because there at the altar God comes down to touch penitent Christians to forgive their sins, and if you are impenitent, refusing to agree with God (confess) that what you are doing is sinful, then the presence of God brings for you not mercy but wrath and judgment. How could a loving congregation knowingly allow someone to face God that way – even if the individual doesn't see it that way? So we encourage that person to come and hear the read, preached, and sung Word in the Service of the Word so that they can learn and be convicted of their sin and so come to Confession. For how would they repent unless by the Word of God, and how would they hear the Word of God if we just kicked them out of the Church? So an Excommunicated person is still a member, but not a member in Communion Fellowship. Thus, Excommunication is actually about making disciples God's way.
So what does that process of disciple-growing actually look like? God's Word is applied to Christians in both Law and Gospel: to repentant Christians, the Word of God speaks the tender compassion and grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the promise of eternal life, and to the impenitent Christian, the Word of God speaks the fiery judgments of Mt. Sinai and the threats of eternal judgment. Excommunication is not enacted by the Church on penitent Christians, but only to the impenitent.
Therefore, the Church must first have conversation and attempts at Confession and Absolution with a member before ever Excommunication takes place. As per Matthew 18, if a fellow Christian privately sins against a fellow Christian, the two are called to confess to each other their sins and work towards repentance. If a fellow Christian doesn't repent of that personal sin, Jesus tells us to bring it before two or three witnesses and then, if still impenitent, to bring it to the Church body, and, if still impenitent after being called to repentance by the Church, the Church as a body is to publicly declare in the worship service and public newsletters that the individual is barred from Communion until such a time as they repent and receive absolution. At which time they are publicly, in the worship service and in the public newsletters, welcomed back into full fellowship with the Church.
The same is true for public, obvious sins; except such instances will usually be directly dealt with by either the Pastor or elders who may begin by privately calling the member to repentance and amended life, and then, if that member is impenitent, the same process of publicly Excommunicating that person occurs – and, again, with the expectation that he or she will come back in repentance to receive absolution and be publicly welcomed back into the Church. Both the rite of Excommunication and the rite of Readmission to Communion are in the Lutheran service agendas (the book of the rites of the Church).
At St. Paul's we look at how to biblically treat the issue of persistent, public sin as committed by those who are not "remembering the Sabbath day BY KEEPING IT HOLY" through the public hearing of the Word of God and receiving Christ's body and blood. In this particular situation, the attempts to call people to repentance should end in members coming back to Church and attending the Lord's Supper. If that is done, then, as St. Paul says, "you have won your brother"; repentance has occurred. All is mended; the sin forgiven and forgotten. If, after persistent attempts to call members to such repentance and amended life, the Church is called to act after Jesus' teaching of Matthew 18 and so meet as the Church (voters' meeting) and call for repentance. If there is still no repentance for rejecting the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins, the Church must – to be faithful to Christ – revoke Communion membership of the impenitent (Excommunication).
In the case of someone who hasn't come to Church in many years, it may also be that the Pastor will want to confirm what such members still or now believe regarding Jesus, the Bible, and the Lord's Supper. This can either be done privately with each individual or, if there are many, you might do such re-confirmation publicly in a class at the church. Either way, the point is simply to make sure that such a one can rightly vow that they confess the Lutheran faith after such a long time of not hearing Lutheran doctrine and not doing Lutheran practice.
All of this, of course, assumes that delinquent members from the Church aren't going to church elsewhere. If you have made another church your regular place of worship and haven't done so, yet, it's probably time to transfer your membership.
Membership in the Body of Christ
Many church constitutions have an article that goes something like this: "Membership shall be terminated upon approval of the Board of Elders by… self-exclusion. All terminations are reported to the Voter's Assembly and duly recorded in the minutes." The Board of Elders has the right, apart from the voters, to remove people from membership of a church for absenting themselves from worship for an certain amount of time - yet that amount of time is often undesignated and so unknown. As we, at St. Paul's, were discussing this, it didn't seem right to do this without having a clear definition and understand of the what's and the why's for the whole congregation. Therefore, in these articles we've been looking at the straightforward, basic, Christian understanding of the Third Commandment, Self-Exclusion, Excommunication, and Restoration from the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. For if you don't understand what's being done, why would you care? It would just be Pastor's issue, not yours.
That all said, let's look at what it means to even have membership in a church. Paul says, "For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another" Rom. 12:4-5. "We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" Eph. 4:15-16. "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" 1 Cor. 10:16-17.
In the Church, we are members of the body of Christ, and we are made such members of the body by partaking of the one body of Christ through the Supper. (Which is, by the way, why you're not considered eligible to be a fully-privileged member until you're Confirmed). You are a member of the body of Christ by partaking of the body of Christ. That's what membership means. Each local congregation has been charged with the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments in that place, with the Pastor as the chief steward (1 Cor. 4:1), for the building up of the body of Christ (Eph 4:11-12). In being a member of the local congregation, you declare that such a congregation is the place whereby you will be united as a member to the body of Christ by partaking of the body of Christ. That's why in our Confirmation and membership rites, new members declare that they will be faithful to receive the Lord's Supper at this altar – because here is where they've declared that they are a member of the body of Christ. That's what membership is: being united to the very body that we celebrate this Christmas.
So to remove someone from Church membership, isn't to declare that they are going to hell for unbelief. It is, rather, to declare to them and to the Church and to the community that they are no longer a part of the body of Christ in this place. If that means they've transferred to another congregation, then they are simply a part of the body of Christ in that place rather than this. If that means they've denied the Faith and no longer wish to be part of the body of Christ anywhere, then we are called to treat that person as an unbeliever – not with scorn or shame, but as a mission field. Now, if someone has removed themselves from the fellowship of the body of Christ in this place by prolonged, unnecessary absence, though, what does that mean and what then should a congregation do? Membership isn't about names on a list. It's about participation in the body of Christ and how that participation, that fellowship, that communion, unites us together in this place as God's people for this place. That's why it matters.
St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Malcolm, NE puts forward this designation for Self-Exclusion:
- An individual who does not partake of the Sacrament of the Altar at least 3 or 4 times in 12 months' time, either at the Church during worship or privately with pastoral visits,
- Just as it says in Luther's preface to his Small Catechism: "It is to be feared that anyone who does not desire to receive the sacrament at least three or four times a year despises the sacrament and is no Christian, just as he is no Christian who does not hear and believe the Gospel."
- Yet an individual, for example, on military deployment, missionary service, away at college, or other recognized absence is excepted from the Self-Exclusion requirement as evaluated by Pastor and the Elders.
- Such Self-Exclusion, after repeated attempts to call for repentance by Pastor and Elders as per Matthew 18, would result in removal from Communicant Membership until one is restored through public Confirmation. During such time one would remain a Baptized Member of St. Paul's.
