On Church Discipline

 Church discipline is very far from what it ought to be in the UK. 

But churches ought to have some respect for one another's discipline. 

Without this, excommunication is much less weighty than it ought to be as the one put out of fellowship can find so many other churches delighted to receive them as if they were in good standing. 

But this is also clearly a matter of Our Lord's command who said: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." This surely means, at least, a friendly email or phone call to the person's former pastor even if it does not mean slavishly following every decision of every other church.