A lively discussion in a bible study class last night set me to thinking about the saying "where is Paul when you really need him"?
The discussion centered on our study of the fifth Chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. This snippet will remind you of what it says,
"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you...............you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord."
In response to a report he received about the immoral situation, Paul did not hire an investigation firm to study the situation, nor did he convene a commission to study the report of the investigator, he also did not convene an ecclesiastical court to judge the situation, nor use the court's verdict as the foundation of his final judgement about the situation.
Instead, Paul, an Apostle [think Bishop] dashed off a letter to the Church in Corinth describing the action they needed to take, claiming his spiritual presence with them as his authority for the course of action.
So this got me to thinking about what our ecclesiastical landscape might look like if Paul was the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Presiding Bishop of TEC, or the Archbishop of the ACNA [pick the leader of your favorite denomination]?
Well, I suppose Joe Biden, Dick Durbin, and Nancy Pelosi would be excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church for starters. A number of Evangelical Churches would be smarting from the bruising they received from him, and the Church of England would look like the Temple in Jerusalem after Jesus had cleansed it.
While it is fun to speculate on these things, the key question is what would those churches look like today?
I am guessing they might be filled to the brim with committed, enthusiastic Christians, thrilled to see that their churches actually stand athwart the world, proclaiming and living out the Gospel without any hesitation or compromise.
Paul, we really, really need you!!
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