Practicing Christian Leadership, Mentor's Guide, MG11

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P R A C T I C I N G C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

Evil must not be returned against evil, but blessing instead.

1 Pet. 3.8-9 - Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. [9] Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

God is willing to restore the offender if they acknowledge their wrong to him.

1 John 1.9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The Peter example reveals the mercy and grace of Christ, as well as the redemptive power of restoration.

The following “contacts” are launching points for engaging the difficult subjects of offense, exhortation, and discipline in the Church. These have been carefully selected to mirror actual situations and perspectives being encountered today. While it may be tempting to spend prolonged time on any one of them, their purpose is to bring to the surface of your student’s minds and attentions the critical problems and issues connected with the issue of forgiveness, restoration, restitution, and discipline. Use your time wisely, but do not hesitate to begin the lesson in earnest with clear, engaging, and important dialogue on these questions. In some way, the issues covered in this lesson are at the heart of successful pastoral care in urban congregations, so it is appropriate to be generous and yet wise in your allowance of time to consider them. It is critical for students to recognize throughout this lesson that every Christian in some sense, is called to participate in the process of exhorting, healing, and restoring those who are caught in sin, or who are walking the edge of being backsliden. D. N. Freedman’s commentary on the text in Matthew 18 illumines for us the role that exhortation and discipline are to have upon the entire Christian Church.

3 Page 83 Contact

4 Page 94 Outline point IV