Overture 04-6. On Amending D-1.0103 to Add a Call to Prayer and Confidentiality—From the Presbytery of Western North Carolina.

The Presbytery of Western North Carolina overtures the 216th General Assembly (2004) to direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed amendment to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative votes:

Shall D-1.0103 be amended by adding a new sentence at the end of the paragraph so that it shall read as follows:

“The traditional biblical obligation to conciliate, mediate, and adjust differences without strife is not diminished by these Rules of Discipline. Although the Rules of Discipline describe the way in which judicial process within the church, when necessary, shall be conducted, it is not their intent or purpose to encourage judicial process of any kind or to make it more expensive or difficult. The biblical duty of church people to “come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court . . .” (Matthew 5:25) is not abated or diminished. It remains the duty of every church member to try (prayerfully and seriously) to bring about an adjustment or settlement of the quarrel, complaint, delinquency, or irregularity asserted, and to avoid formal proceedings under the Rules of Discipline unless, after prayerful deliberation, they are determined to be necessary to preserve the purity and purposes of the church. If after prayerful deliberation the formal proceeding of church discipline seems necessary, every church member should hold in prayer and confidentiality all aspects of the disciplinary case until disposition is made by the appropriate governing bodies or commissions.”

Rationale

Church discipline is the exercise of authority in the manner and name of Christ.

Discipline is for the direction, control, and nurture of the people of God.

In church discipline “members are to be accorded procedural safeguards and due process” (D-1.0101).

Confidential information can be revealed when “there is a risk of imminent bodily harm to any person" (G-6.0204).

The call to prayer and confidentiality guides individuals who are involved in the discipline process and those who have information about a discipline procedure or case. The overture upholds the biblical principles on which the “Principles of Church Discipline” are founded.