What interpretations would lead to someone receiving "the ban" or excommunication from your church?

[barnhart]

I was reading a study titled "Old German Baptist Brethren: Plain but Different"
It's an interesting read. They mention that one noticable difference between the OGBB and other plain groups is a thing called "Orthopraxis"...

I'm sympathetic to a little orthopraxis as an alternative to rigid orthodoxy.

[barnhart]

I'm also open to the idea different groups within different cultures might come up with slightly different approaches. I have a friend from India who mentioned his home church was socially diverse with people from different economic status. They would gladly share the Lord's supper together in church but the higher status people would never go to a low status believer's home to eat with them, nor allow them into their own house to share fellowship.

If that church developed a conviction to address that problem with stern action, I would be sympathetic but if another church in a different cultural context excommunicated members for failing to exhibit hospitality, I might raise an eyebrow.

[JohnH]

I'm also open to the idea different groups within different cultures might come up with slightly different approaches. I have a friend from India who mentioned his home church was socially diverse with people from different economic status. They would gladly share the Lord's supper together in church but the higher status people would never go to a low status believer's home to eat with them, nor allow them into their own house to share fellowship.

If that church developed a conviction to address that problem with stern action, I would be sympathetic but if another church in a different cultural context excommunicated members for failing to exhibit hospitality, I might raise an eyebrow.

Why not? It’s clearly spoken of in the NT as a very important virtue, and a lack of it spoken of as a grievous sin, including one of the sins of Sodom & Gomorrah.

In any case, this thread is a unique exhibition: a frequent accusation levelled against horse and buggy people by conservative Anabaptists is that they “don’t believe in born again salvation”, “don’t believe in the New Birth”, “don’t believe you have to trust in Jesus to forgive your sins”, “try to earn their salvation via works”, and so forth. Yet this thread seems to be building up the opposite case - that horse and buggy groups don’t exist who would tolerate a works based Christianity that lacks belief in Jesus.