McMinnville pastor accused in suit of Defamation

[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.

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.

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.

If the pastor stated false things about the man, this could be considered slander, depending on what was stated.

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.

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. 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.)