RYR – Historic Emails – My Email to Elders About Matt 18 Aug 16, 2012

Brother,

 I think we better sit down as a fellowship and discuss this whole matter again.  In accordance with Matt 18 we weren’t allowed the opportunity to deal with them as a church that they may hear us.  I understand now all the work that you both and the woman did on these issues.  However, it does not change the fact that this situation had escalated without all the members understanding.  If you remember I asked several times to table the discussion until the men could meet and I was cut off in that request.  Now, the elders have basically made the final decision within the meeting to cut them off from fellowship and told us not to have any contact with them without the matter being clearly heard by all members.  Your response that IF this should happen in the future we should meet as a fellowship beforehand I don’t think is biblical.  I think it should happen as it did only that the meeting has to be slowed down that everyone will get an opportunity to testify, listen, question, cross examine, pray, etc…  Once all the members are in agreement or not, then the matter is brought to conclusion by a decision by the body, not just the elders to dis-fellowship them.  Not allowing James and Angela to speak completely prevented our hearing on this matter.  Whether what they said is an accusation or false testimony is beside the point.  That is exactly what I and others needed to hear.  I heard James several times say, ‘You are preaching a false gospel.’  What does he mean by that?  I do understand that is both a serious and a false charge.  Angela began to speak twice you cut her off without our hearing the matter.  If things were allowed to proceed naturally without all the emotional responses then maybe we as a fellowship could have cleanly broken our fellowship with them.  Lastly, instead of presenting this as a teaching that morphed into a Matt 18 scenario, it should have been started off clearly with that as the premise including all the Scripture you used during the rebuke.  I will be in prayer about this matter and praising Him for the refinement.

The letter that Sarah sent was originally addressed to the McGlone children and was changed to McGlone family. Do you know that Sarah is motivated by some ulterior motive?  How is Nida and I reading her letter aiding them, the Franklin parents, in this situation?

I would like you to share our correspondence on this matter with Kevin.  Thank you.

1) The offended brother/sister (the one sinned against) talks to the offending brother/sister (the one doing the sinning) about their sin.  If the offending party repents, it stops there.

2) If the offending party doesn’t repent, then the offended brother/sister takes 1 or 2 more people to confront the offending party.  The 1 or 2 more could be leadership in the Church, but the 1 or 2 more don’t have to be leadership in the Church.  In an ideal situation, it probably wouldn’t be.  If the offending party repents, it stops there.

3) If the offending party doesn’t repent, then the Church leadership now gets involved.  The Church leadership calls the offending party to repentance, as representatives of the Lord and of the Church.  If the offending party repents, then praise the Lord.  If the offending party doesn’t repent, then they are not allowed back into the fellowship of the saints.  They are to be treated as an unbeliever, not a brother/sister in Christ.  The leadership of the Church announces to the Church, what has happened.  

 This is the way we see Matthew 18.  We also sought Godly counsel from three different Godly Pastors. They all, as one voice agreed, though they were spoken to separately.  They all said that the way we did it was as public as they would do it.  All of them agreed that they would never get all of the Church involved in the discipline or excommunication of a Church member.

Regarding your letter from Sara Franklin, we have no idea what her motives/intentions are.  That doesn’t matter, since we told the Franklin family to have no contact with anyone in the fellowship except Kevin and I.  We also told everyone in the fellowship to have no contact with the Franklin family.  You opening the letter (if you have done so or are still planning to do so) aids them in their rebellion to what we told them to do.  Sending the letter back to them, the way it was sent to you, will show them that the Church is unified in the discipline of them and that their is no compromise/leaven/discord among us.