Decisions had to be made from time to time
as to where or when services
of the church would be held; the church needed to be told
of the impending visit
of an apostle, or
of some prophet or teacher from abroad; a question has been raised
as to the good
faith of one
of these visitors, and there must be some discussion
of the point and a decision on it; a fellow Christian from another church is on a journey and needs hospitality; a member
of the local congregation planning to visit a church abroad needs a letter
of introduction to that church, which someone must be authorized to provide; a serious dispute about property rights or some other legal
matter has arisen between two
of the brothers and the church must name someone to help them settle the issue or must in some other way deal with it; a new local magistrate has begun to prosecute Christians for violating the law against unlicensed assembly, and consideration must be given to ways and means
of meeting this crisis; charges have been brought against one
of the members by another member, and these must be investigated and perhaps some disciplinary action taken; one
of the members has died, and the church is called on for some special action in behalf
of his family in the emergency; differences
of opinion exist in the church on certain questions
of morals or belief (such
as marriage and divorce, or the
resurrection), differences which local prophets and teachers are apparently unable to compose, and a letter must be written to the apostle — who will write this letter and what exactly will it say?