Chris,
You are touching greatly on an occurrence I am aware of, thus my post.
1 Corinthians 5:11 says: But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. Here the sins which stand as grounds for excommunication are plain and the action that is to be taken is to be out in the open. In context of this, I know some individuals of good reputation in the faith who left a reformed congregation and were afterwards unofficially placed in the very first portion of v11 of 1Cor5 (But now I have written unto you not to keep company...). I am for the most part trying to see where this fits in scripture (especially the unofficial behind the scenes dealings). These folks were not guilty of the iniquity that follows in this text, they simply left the congregation due to differences which are non salvific. Is there a problem with this?
Thanks