'Bringing the sheep back to the corral': Moral discipline in the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Livingstonia, Malawi, 1995--2005

For a long time evangelical scholars kept out of the scene of church discipline matters. The recent discussions and growing interest in church discipline studies are not in the field of missions but other academic disciplines. This Dissertation is a missiological contribution to the current church discipline discussions. Its ultimate concern is the theological and missiological implications of the practice with specific attention to the Livingstonia Synod of Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) in Malawi.;At its Kirk Sessions' monthly meetings, among other matters, Livingstonia Synod's clergy discuss issues affecting the moral life of their church members. A church member is supposed to live a consistent Christian life according to the laws and guidelines of the church. If a person transgresses he or she is liable for discipline. He or she is summoned to appear before the session for interrogation before suspension or restoration is issued. The Synod's congregations keep written records of their Session meetings where information on moral discipline is documented. The research examines the church discipline institutions.;It specifically (1) examined Livingstonia Synod's church documents on church discipline for the period 1995-2005 in eight selected congregations (2) conducted interviews with selected pastors, elders, and those that underwent church discipline in the selected congregations (3) examined the actual practice by observing how church courts, Kirk Sessions and discipline committees perform moral discipline.;Chapter 1 is introductory giving an overview of the Dissertation; the problem statement, its purpose and significance Chapter 2 is a discussion of selected literature on contemporary discussions on church discipline practices. Chapter 3 presents the qualitative research methodology. Chapter 4 presents the social and cultural context of the Tumbuka people and definition of some terms and sizes and structure of the congregations under study. Chapters 5 and 6 examine research findings and discuss what the researcher thought to be the dominating themes and issues and selected case studies Chapter 7 is the assessment and interpretation of the findings. Chapter 8 is the conclusion and implications of the research. The appendices include questionnaires and the summaries of congregational session records.