CREEDE HINSHAW: When a church proclaims its power to ‘hand over to Satan’

Can your congregation kick you out if you believe wrongly or act immorally?

Churches have always wrestled with how to remain “pure.” Some congregations fall more into the welcoming category of “a hospital for sinners,” while other congregations are more eager to sort the good from the bad than Jesus himself.

I came across the bylaws of a church – posted online – that portrayed a church very much like a cranky home plate umpire with a narrow strike zone and a short fuse.

This church’s bylaws consist of an 18-page single-spaced document with main points, sub-points and sub-sub-points that feel ominous, threatening and narrow. It was hard reading, and I doubt that many members understand they are signing up for a rigid belief system with no appeals.

Members there had better watch out what they post of Facebook. More on that later.

My eyebrows were raised when I waded through to Article 7.C.3, which states the church is prepared, as a last resort, when it comes to disciplining pastors, to hand the pastor over to Satan (whatever that means) and drive him out from the church. Yes, that’s in the Bible at 1 Corinthians 5.

The bylaws give the pastor and a very small ruling body enormous power. An ordinary member is forbidden from making a motion at a church meeting. All suggestions must be submitted at least two weeks in advance. Maybe there will be an acknowledgement; maybe not.

The church member is required to be in “complete agreement” with every single word of the two-page, single-spaced faith statement, which is “binding” on members, staff and volunteers. The Bible, not surprisingly, is the standard of measurement, but should there be disagreement over what a word or sentence means, the church pastor and a few advisors are judge and jury and there is no hearing.

The heave-ho is described in Article 3.C.1.a-e, titled Automatic Termination of Membership, which denotes five circumstances that trigger when a member will be “automatically terminated without notice.”

Inexplicably, the first offense causing automatic expulsion is death. This seems weird, as if the recently deceased has caused some grave offense against the congregation by failing to live.

Failure to give money to the church is also potential cause for expulsion, which is tragic. Even though exceptions were specified, when the dollar is cause for expulsion, a church comes close to worshiping Mammon, itself a grave sin.

Most chilling, however, was the paragraph explaining that anything in “direct contravention to the church’s statement of faith” that a member speaks, writes, or posts on Facebook, X, Instagram, or any social media — as determined by the pastor and ruling body — will be considered to be the member’s resignation. The member is gone. Without notice. Expelled. Turned over, I guess, to Satan.

Nothing in the two-page statement of faith suggests what Jesus might do when Pharisees take control of the church. But anybody raising that question would be evicted.