Paula

Of course the statement that being expelled from “the body” should be clarified to extend only to the visible community of believers, as opposed to being literally severed from salvation. Just to clarify.

But I agree; if we are not to be fragmented, there has to be a way for all local congregations to communicate on the matter of believers in good standing. There could be letters of recommendation such as Paul mentioned, or in today’s world maybe a database.

But then the problem is about where the lines are drawn. The reason we have denominations at all is because people part company on so many different and sometimes trivial issues. I really don’t know the answer to solving that (beyond everyone seeing things exactly as I do!).