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Originally Posted by Reader
Whether or not a court will intervene depends upon what transpired and when it occurred. When a church attempts to discipline after a person is no longer a member, courts can and do intervene and have every right to do so. Issues of slander or defamation would not matter whether one was a member.
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From what I've read, the church tried disciplining the man before he was subsequently excommunicated.
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Originally Posted by Reader
Laws would appear to have been broken. The state intervened and is forcing payment for the workers. The state obviously heard from both sides and regardless of there being talk that they were working to pay for their involvement at a church function, the state saw otherwise after their investigation.
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The only law broken was regarding the Pastor not paying the kids. From what I've read in the comments, that is a separate issue from the lawsuit.
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Originally Posted by Reader
If the pastor revealed things to the congregation about the man that were made during counseling, this would also be breaking the law. If the expelled man had privately shared with a few people all or part of his troubles, such does not release the pastor/counselor from keeping the counseling sessions confidential.
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If a person tells the Pastor something, then goes around telling others the same thing, there is no expectation of privacy or confidentiality. How can he claim it was private information if he were telling others the same information?
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Originally Posted by Reader
If the pastor stated false things about the man, this could be considered slander, depending on what was stated.
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Agreed....IF he did. We don't know that he did. People are just assuming the accuser is telling the truth without any evidence. And he may well be telling the truth.
Comment from the main news article.
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I too was there the evening it happened. I will say that private matters should be kept confidential. However, Pastor Davies did not say anything that was not already common knowledge to many of us. If you know Jim, you also know that he is a very outspoken individual, and much of what was said, Jim himself made public knowledge. How can he possibly want to sue for things that he himself told many of us?? Things that have been said in these comments are not even on topic with the issue. The issues I saw in the article were the BOLI case and suing for defamation of character. As far as Jim suing for defamation of character, again he told many of us by his own mouth some of the things that were said. It is only my opinion, but Jim seems to make a living by suing people. In my time of knowing him, this is the third incident of him suing someone that I am aware of. Have you seen the car/truck he drives? Or the guns and toys that he has?
An employer would fire an employee for sowing discord among other staff members, I have seen it happen. A service club would disbar a member from a club for noncompliance, I have seen it happen. Why should a Pastor have to continue to put up with a church member being rude and overbearing to other church members or to him!!
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Either this guy has some bad luck with people, or he likes suing people.
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Originally Posted by Reader
With only going by the little that has been shared, it would appear the pastor may have only ex-communicated the man after he helped to bring about the payment owed the children. If true, it would then appear to be retaliation for the man's action. With the state ruling against the pastor on this issue, if this accurately portrays what transpired, it would be wrong of the pastor to retaliate in such a manner.
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That's an assumption made without any evidence. You claim the Pastor would be wrong to retaliate against someone who took him to the authorities. What if the man was going around the church, causing division? Do you believe a Pastor should sit idly by while someone is purposefully causing trouble and division?
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Originally Posted by Reader
Some are emphasizing the fact that the expelled man has brought forth a lawsuit, feeling this to be scripturally wrong, yet are not addressing what should be done when a pastor (assuming the pastor did these things) does things like the above.
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Do you not believe the words of Jesus or writings of Paul on this issue?
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Originally Posted by Reader
How can the individual use steps outlined in scripture when a pastor would not allow it? What recourse does such a person have? What should the church do after a pastor does this? If the person is harmed in the community by false statements, injuring friendships and possibly hurting their employment in the area, are they to do nothing? Are the person's hands tied? (It would be good to address what is in my last paragraph on its own and not how it may or may not pertain to this specific incident.)
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If the Pastor slanders someone, that is for the church board to take up. If the church is affiliated with any organization, there are steps to take there. I wasn't there, I don't know the timeline of events, but it reads as though the man was causing division, refused to stop causing division and then was publicly reprimanded for it and excommunicated. After that, this man decided to file his third lawsuit. Because, from the comment posted above, that's what this guy does.
Harmed in the community? Hurting his employment? This was done in a church. It's not as though the Pastor wrote an op-ed in the local paper or put up a billboard on main street.
Why did this man keep going to the church, if not to cause trouble? I don't understand people who complain about and disagree with a Pastor, yet continue to go to the church.