...readers from EthicsDaily. Bob is right: I’m not satisfied that this situation was handled Biblically or ethically. And I’m not satisfied by the church’s unfettered praise as the Pastor and his son try to avoid their responsibility to their flesh and blood. As long as there are meetings where members are told “we did the right thing,” I feel compelled to say, “no you didn’t.” God uses family and fatherhood to tell us about Himself; this situation has gutted Raytown’s credibility on those issues. Instead, the church has approved a plan that will surely harm this little girl’s ability to believe in a loving Father, Church, or Creator. For the sake of the gospel in Kansas City, I sincerely hope they rediscover their voice and a will to do the right thing—but my hope is fading.
Settlement
Would a church let a pastor and his son cut off their own family? And would a church use its money to pay for the deal? A few months ago, I would have told you it was impossible.
I stand corrected. My former church signed that very contract.
In the settlement between the Brooks, the Prewitts and the First Baptist Church of Raytown, Mark Brooks avoids all financial responsibility for his daughter. He gives up parental rights, and Shauna drops claims against any party. The church uses its insurance to secure Mark and Paul’s easy abandonment. Granted, it took two parents and a half-dozen lawyers to reach such a convoluted compromise, but the most obvious result is that Mark Brooks walks away from his daughter.
This, of course, doesn’t change some things. For example, the settlement does not change our duty to forgive past wrongs. Mark Brooks used his position as minister to get sex. Is that forgivable? You bet. Paul Brooks used his position as minister to help Mark get a severance package and flee from the daughter. Is that forgivable? You bet. Many members of the church chose to ignore obvious evil. Is that forgivable? You bet.
But next week, Paul Brooks will offer moral advice, take a collection, and return home to a son who has not, in that week, seen his daughter. Who, in that week, has not offered a dime for his daughter’s benefit. Who has not, in that week, made any attempt to communicate with her. And, on Paul’s advice, and the church’s consent, the next week will be no different. Or any week after that.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that the church is supposed to encourage its members to do the right thing, because the Lord will judge His people’s actions. Heb. 10:25, 30. The settlement seems dangerously close to official church encouragement for the Pastor (and his son) to publicly and defiantly do the wrong thing. Will God continue to bless a church that adopts, approves, and pays for a leader’s abandonment of his God-ordained responsibility toward a child? I wouldn’t take those odds.
What manner of man controls the winds?
Perhaps everyone has been terribly busy celebrating the return of the prodigal, unburdened by his child. But you’d think someone might notice Nature’s own spiritual distress signal to drivers on 350 highway. The Christian flag has been flying upside down for the better part of a week.
The rocks cry out, indeed.
LO$T in repetition?
Andy Stanley, the originator of the LO$T sermon series:
“So I challenged our congregation to give a million dollars in four months. And as my wife and I were praying about what we should give, I began to have the feeling that our contribution should be that I should not take a salary from the church.”
If this is doing well…
This has been making the e-mail rounds:
[FBCR Staff Member] needs your help since most of the cleaning staff at church has been let go. He needs volunteers (men & women & couples even) to help once a week or once a month to clean the 26 restrooms in the church. Cleaning would include replacing the toilet paper, cleaning the counters & mirrors, etc., but not the toilets! Someone else is doing the toilets. No certain times have been decided yet. If you are interested in helping call [staff member]...
FBCR’s atty on blogs.
“Missouri and Kansas are “at will” employment states, meaning employers can fire employees at any time for any reason provided the employee isn’t a member of a protected class. But having a written policy makes such terminations easier, said Paul Pautler, chairman of the labor and employment department in Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP’s Kansas City office.“There’s no absolute requirement that you have a policy about it. But when you’re looking at the possibility of having to explain to a jury why you took a certain action, it is always nice to say, ‘We have a policy about it, our employees were aware of the policy, and here it is in writing,’” Pautler said. “Ten to 15 years ago, there was no need for an e-mail policy. It’s just one of the things that as technology and things change, it’s going to be a natural extension of existing policies.”
—Kansas City Business Journal, Sept. 1, 2006 (emphasis added).
Prewitt’s attorney suspended.
Sorry for neglecting comments for awhile. As a few of you have noted, Michael Fletcher, the Prewitts’ attorney, has been the subject of a disciplinary action, and has withdrawn from the Prewitt’s case. Dan Margolies’ 8/22/2006 Column in the KC Star has more details. The decision by the 8th Circuit [Federal] Court of Appeals (the precursor to the Missouri decision) is here.
Practically, this means that Fletcher can’t practice in Missouri courts until he’s reinstated in Federal Court—probably after May 2007. Presumably, other lawyers in Fletcher’s firm could continue the representation, or the Prewitts (collectively or individually) could find a new lawyer (or lawyers).
In other events, the Church and Pastor (but not Mark, if the Case.Net entry is complete) have moved to enforce discovery and for sanctions. I haven’t seen the motion, but my guess is that Shauna didn’t show up for her deposition, or missed a discovery response, and Defendants are asking for their costs (or more). I’m not sure if Fletcher’s suspension had anything do with this, or if the conference scheduled for last week occurred despite his withdrawal.
What a difference…
...a day makes!
- Mark lives in Murphy, North Carolina? (according to the last address on the custody/support case)
- Federal judge remands the defamation case to state court, as Plantiffs deny that damages will ever exceed $75,000 (a requirement to be in federal court under diversity jurisdiction). [Click here to see the Judge’s order]
- The custody case is dismissed without prejudice to refile.
- Settlement talks fall apart. I’m told the deal is not simply on hold, but off for now.
7/19/2006
FBRConcernedMember posted this Partial Transcript of the 7/19/2006 business meeting at thetruthatfbcr.com:
Paul Brooks: ……..Now we come to recommendation #4 and before we put recommendation #4 up, uh, I am going to, uh, recognize, uh, who am I recognizing? Lorna. Okay. Lorna Frojd is going to, uh, speak to you from the Reconciliation Committee and then we will have recommendation #4. [... more] Read More
more on removal
Based on what I’ve seen on the Federal Court system, it’s only the Vermillion Defendants who are removing the severed defamation claims to Federal Court. Click here to see the notice of removal.