Dear friends,

At our recent synod, a committee was established to discover whether it was permissible for a member to withdraw his/her membership while under discipline. It is my understanding that even if the member withdraws from the Church, the process must continue to uphold the 3rd mark of the Church. I'm looking for some historical documentation on this subject from the puritans or magesterian reformers. Any reasearch done in this area?

Kind regards,

__________________
Pastor Jerrold H. Lewis. (Dipl. IT; Assc. A; B.Th; M.Th Candidate, PRTS)
Lacombe Free Reformed Church
"A hot iron, though blunt, will pierce sooner than a cold one, though sharper."

JOHN FLAVEL

My Blog - Click HERE
Our Church site - Click HERE

Jerrold,

Do you have access to Dr. Morton Smith's Commentary on the PCA BCO? My guess is that he makes some comments on this in the appropriate section. (Since the BCO prohibits such withdrawal)

__________________
Fredrick T. Greco
Senior Pastor, Christ Church PCA (Katy, TX)
Christ Church Blog

"The heart is the main thing in true religion...It is the hinge and turning-point in the condition of man's soul. If the heart is alive to God and quickened by the Spirit, the man is a living Christian. If the heart is dead and has not the Spirit, the man is dead before God." (J.C. Ryle)

Thanks Fred. I do not have access to this document. Any suggestions where i could find it?

Thanks,


Jerrold

__________________
Pastor Jerrold H. Lewis. (Dipl. IT; Assc. A; B.Th; M.Th Candidate, PRTS)
Lacombe Free Reformed Church
"A hot iron, though blunt, will pierce sooner than a cold one, though sharper."

JOHN FLAVEL

My Blog - Click HERE
Our Church site - Click HERE

Jerrold,

I think you'll find this *very* helpful:

http://katwijk.gkv.nl/anderson/pdfen...withdrawal.pdf

Regards,

Wes

__________________
Wes Bredenhof
Co-pastor, Langley Canadian Reformed Church
Langley, British Columbia
www.bredenhof.ca

Thanks Wes!

__________________
Pastor Jerrold H. Lewis. (Dipl. IT; Assc. A; B.Th; M.Th Candidate, PRTS)
Lacombe Free Reformed Church
"A hot iron, though blunt, will pierce sooner than a cold one, though sharper."

JOHN FLAVEL

My Blog - Click HERE
Our Church site - Click HERE

Very interesting issue. In your research you might want to read an OK Supreme Court case affirming a suit against church leaders for pursuing church discipline after the member left the church. Several decades ago. Last time I brought this issue up here, someone had the citation handy.

__________________

HaigLaw, ruling elder
Grace PCA, Shreveport, LA
http://www.xanga.com/HaigLaw

The accuser in all cases in the PCA is the denomination itself rather than the church leadership, and the legal implications of church leaders doing so may be one of the reasons. BCO 31-3

As Fred said, in the PCA if the person doesn't show up after being cited, he will be found guilty of contumacy and banned from the Sacraments until his repents of the contumacy and given satisfaction in relation to the original charge BCO 33-2

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Tim Vaughan, 48 years old, member Redeemer OPC, Santa Maria CA.

In my denomination in order to leave a congregation you need a disjunction certificate from the elders to say that you are a member in good standing who is not under church discipline. Someone under discipline cannot withdraw until the matter is satisfactorily resolved.

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Daniel Ritchie
Saintfield, Northern Ireland - Queen's University, Belfast:History/Politics
Member of Dromara Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Covenanter)

That is most wise.

Unfortunately there are churches who will receive new members who bolt from such situations, leaving the Session of the sending church with little or no recourse.

And sadly, this type of thing has been known to happen at the presbytery level, not just the local congregation.

__________________
~Jay~
Husband of ENS, father of J II. | Indian Trail, NC
Currently disabled due to health issues
Communicant Member, Precentor | Presbyterian Reformed Church of Charlotte, NC | Presbyterian Reformed Church

Jerrold -

Does your church order allow "withdrawal of membership" in fact? It seems to me there are generally only two ways to withdraw - one by being removed through disciplinary action, and two by moving to another church with the blessing/guidance/approval of the consistory/session. I find it hard to accept the idea of "resigning membership" in Reformed, Presbyterian-governed churches.

__________________
Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://semperubi.rtrc.net

"Many men, after a long conversion, see more of the workings of sin in their hearts than ever they did before or at their first conversion. Now, such men have not an increase of sin, but an increase of illumination and light" (Christopher Love)


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