"This book stands in a gap that I've long hoped to see occupied." - From the foreword by John MacArthur.

What does church discipline have to do with the separation of church and state?

At first glance, they seem like a strange combination: one, a relatively obscure church procedure, and the other, a hotly contested legal and political issue. But they have been forced together as a growing number of churches find themselves in court. Behind these court cases is an almost forgotten history of the relationship between church and state.

This story is an important one for every American...