The November/December 2009 issue of the Nine Marks eJournal is out. The articles deal with the issue of church discipline, and there are a series of book reviews on ecclesiastical matters. One article in particular caught my attention:
The Preemptive Resignation—A Get Out of Jail Free Card?
Can church members resign their membership to avoid discipline?
By Jonathan Leeman
In my small amount of experience, this has happened several times: a church member does something egregious (e.g., suddenly leaves their spouse, or displays gross financial impropriety), other Christians lovingly confront the member, the member hardens their position, the church moves to an act of formal discipline, and….poof, the person formally resigns their membership in that particular church, possibly finds a new church, and moves on. The question is: Can such a person still be excommunicated? Jonathan Leeman says yes they can, and yes they should. I agree.