I am going to chalk this up to an enormous coincidence. I received the following letter from the discipline committee by e-mail just now, a few hours after my last blog post which directly relates to the subject matter. It is dated Feb. 5 and I guess it is still in the mail. The letter is as follows:
February 5, 2011
Dear Peter:
Greetings to you in Jesus’ name.
It is with profound regret that the Discipline Committee, acting according to the policy “Discipline, Restoration, and Appeal for Licensed Workers” in the Manual of The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, has granted your request to withdraw from the discipline process described in my letter of April 22, 2010, and has thereby brought to a conclusion the period of discipline prior to its completion.
In accordance with the above mentioned policy, Section VIII – Restoration Process, paragraph D, “At the conclusion of the period of discipline the Discipline Committee shall make a recommendation regarding the suitability of the respondent returning to ministry,” the committee has determined that it is not suitable for you to be reinstated to ministry in The Christian and Missionary Alliance. With reference to part of paragraph E, “If the discipline committee determines that the person under discipline will not be reinstated, the committee will inform the person in writing giving the reasons for non-reinstatement,” the reason for non-reinstatement is the committee’s granting of your request to withdraw from the discipline process. You must, therefore, surrender your credentials as an Official Worker in The Christian and Missionary Alliance immediately by sending them to this office.
The committee had genuinely hoped for a different outcome than this, but hereby releases you to God with the hopes that you will eventually be restored to wholeness and find that God is sufficient for all your needs.
Harnessing Chaos 
“…hereby releases you to God with the hopes that you will eventually be restored to wholeness and find that God is sufficient for all your needs.”
Wow do I have a problem with that line.
At what point are we, in God’s eyes, not whole? At what point do we need to be released as a possession of the church and given unto God? Is it not further presumption to say that one fails too or does not see God as sufficient?
As fallible humans we make mistakes. To give this as evidence that one does not view God as sufficient shows a lack of acceptance for the equality of Man Kind in God’s eyes and places oneself on a higher tier. If we look closely into the New Testament we should be able to find some sort of name or reference from Christ about those who place themselves on a higher tier of holiness than their fellow man.
From memory…(forgive any errors)
“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.”
“The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. The second greatest is then to love others as you love God.”
Who then does an unforgiving church represent…..Think about that reader. When the members of a church or a church leader makes a proclamation over another human being, who is being represented? How are they being represented?
While it is perhaps too painful, given our human nature to reinstate a pastor to lead a flock in a small town setting, the scripture itself begs the question; “Is it necessary to remove a man entirely from God’s service? Are the removal of credentials on the whole necessary or even in the best interest of the church as a national entity? As a global entity? Or in the end do such absolute measures only ensure that the next tongue fails to confess? In the end do such absolutes breed fear and resentment and ultimately corrupt that which is so guardedly trying to maintain an outward purity?
Here endeth today’s rant,
Pat
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