Where a church does not biblically discipline it fails to be the church and not every case of church discipline is abusive, just as not every case of parental discipline is abusive. Church discipline, formative and corrective, is necessary and right, according to Scripture. It is for the purity of the body and the restoration of the habitually unrepentant individual.
But sometimes church leadership can and does use what they call church discipline to abuse. Spiritual abuse has become so prevalent and public, that I am taking this opportunity to discuss with some of my family and friends this important topic. We want to be clear that discipline in the church is healthy, and at the same time acknowledge that there is abuse in the evangelical church where it misuses its authority, and where it mishandles Scripture to manipulate and do harm to Christ’s sheep.