IV. The Admonition and Discipline of the Church

B. The Admonition and Discipline of Members

a. Discipline shall be applied by the consistory only after an adequate investigation has been made and the member has had ample opportunity to present his/her case.
b. A person who persistently rejects the admonition of the consistory shall be suspended from the privileges of membership. The privileges of confessing membership include but are not limited to presentation of children for holy baptism, the right to vote at congregational meetings, and eligibility to hold office.
c. A person may be excluded from membership only after the consistory has secured the approval of the classis.
d. The role of the classis in giving approval is
1) To judge whether proper procedure has been followed.
2) To assure that adequate pastoral care has been extended to the person.
3) To determine that the consistory has advanced adequate reasons for proceeding with discipline.
e. The approval of classis does not obligate a consistory to exclude a person from membership since repentance and restoration to the full fellowship of the church are always possible.
f. The liturgical forms and announcements for admonition and discipline may be used if the consistory judges that these will further the purposes of discipline and will serve the welfare of the congregation.

(Acts of Synod 1991, p. 718)
(Acts of Synod 2011, pp. 829-30)