While I was taking a break from clearing out my office at the church, I found a copy of a collection of early post-New Testament writings called The Apostolic Fathers. These are writings by largely second century followers of the first century Apostles and leaders. One of the writings was from Clement, Bishop of Rome from A.D. 92-101. It is a letter to the church in Corinth. Many years earlier, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth to address the disunity and problems in the congregation. Apparently, they had heeded Paul’s instruction and solved the problems. The result was a very long and effective ministry with a good reputation. Unfortunately, jealousy of the leadership had again resulted in conflict and disunity. In the letter called “First Clement”, the bishop writes to help deal with the problems, reminds them of the dangers in disunity, and makes recommendations for solutions to the conflict. As I was rereading the letter, I noticed the remarkable references to scripture in both Old and New Testaments. The tone is firm, but loving and pastoral. We have little other information about the disunity or if the bishop’s admonitions were followed, but the spirit of the letter is supportive and obviously expects a positive response. Even early on, there were difficult times for the growing church, but faithful leaders and God’s grace was present. As it was, so it still is now.