I’m always torn when I read DeYoung and Kluck. For one, I regularly swim in their end of the pool. I’m a member of a Sovereign Grace Ministries church here in Northern Virginia. DeYoung was front and center at our denomination’s family of churches’ recent college/20-something expo – Next 2009. Like the two authors, I’m all for church membership and (always gracious and sometimes firm) church discipline — the caveat because the latter is often not practiced very well in the world of the neo-Reformed.  At the same time, I’d argue that much of this emphasis on “membership-is-absolutely-necessary-for-discipline” is also driven by the fear of litigation. Take a look at Ken Sande’s article at Peacemaker Ministries entitled “Lawsuits in the Church.” The name of the game is informed consent:

…most churches need to improve their membership policies, a process which usually includes rewriting bylaws and clarifying guidelines on church discipline. (As detailed as the OPC’s Book of Church Order is, it does not provide all of the guidance we need for full legal protection.) By carefully explaining membership privileges and responsibilities to people before they join a church, churches can secure informed consent to their conflict resolution practices, including church discipline. Such consent serves as the best legal protection against future complaints that a church violated a person’s privacy or caused undue emotional distress while dealing with a conflict.

I saw DeYoung’s comments about NTW’s latest as well, and — like Bill Kinnon — it’s a pet peeve of mine. I’m very discouraged by my camp’s insistence on theological book policing.  While it’s certainly pastoral to be concerned that members of your flock (a) are being well fed, (b) comprehend basic doctrine; and (c) understand the relative importance of one’s respective tradition, it doesn’t always have to be cast in terms of “there be dragons out there” or “you never know what the wrong books or opinions can do to your soul.”  Right now, the result is often — a few “safe” publishers (i.e. Crossway) and a few “safe” blogs (i.e. go to the websites of any of our associated churches in the Sovereign Grace movement and look at the consistency of the blogrolls).  Has an author been criticized by the “safe” publishers or blogs?  You probably shouldn’t read him/her.  I see this as a clear parallel trend to The Big Sort, as well as the social network phenomenon highlighted by Orgnet.com.  As a former university educator, I believe there’s a huge need in my theological camp when it comes to training people in the pews how to effectively “play the argument” rather than “play the man” or “play the publisher.”  Added to this, it worries me when discernment is cast, a la Challies, as a gift rather than a learned skill. If it’s a gift, well, I just have to find and follow the right guy who has that special gift.

Not only that, my theological camp also needs to realize that not all missional, “third place” or emergent congregations are on a path that eventually leads to the burning of incense to John Shelby Spong.  Some are certainly heretical, some have always been completely orthodox (which doesn’t mean Calvinist) and others are returning to the fold.   If the Bar will allow me to be utterly shameless and end with a quote from my father-in-law’s new book,

The confusing diversity of emerging churches represents both a reaction to the evangelical tendency to draw boundaries to determine who is in and who is out and a postmodern celebration of ambiguity and diversity.  Some of the attempts at mission engagement made by emerging church leaders may have been clumsy or even misguided, but at least they represent sincere efforts to address the chronic and urgent challenges facing churches of all traditions in the West.  Some expressions of emergence will be transient, and some diversionary.  Hopefully, among the latter, some will self-correct as they learn from their misdirection and failures, while others may well head off into obscurity or become subverted by yesterday’s outmoded liberal assumptions.  In the course of the long history of mission, many such mistakes have been made… — Eddie Gibbs, ChurchMorph, 38-39.