We
have chosen to cover this because of “First Amendment” issues and our
continuing development of binders of state and federal rulings on the First
Amendment. Correlatively, there are
First Amendment issues at Vanderbilt University that are ongoing. Here, however, in this article and in this instance, a
Pastor, Chuck O’Neal, of Beaverton Grace
Bible Church in Oregon (here), has chosen to pursue a blogger, a former
parishioner. Allegedly, the cause of
action is defamation.
There are important legal issues here. Apparently, news outlets are picking it up: ABC News here, Fox News here (and now the UK here). Apparently, it started at a more local level here with KATU news.
Thanks
Dee for raising this. Here’s Dee’s post.
Pastor Makes
International News by Suing Blogging Critic-Is John MacArthur’s Church
Involved?
Mon, May 14 2012
By dee
I choose
not to give energy to the emotions of revenge, hatred or the desire to
subjugate. Roseanne Cash
A few
months ago, we received a call from Julie Ann Smith who explained that she was
being sued by a former pastor, Chuck O’Neal, of Beaverton Grace Bible Church in
Oregon here.
Julie
relayed to me the pain that caused her to leave her former church. I attempted
to reach the pastor at the time but he did not return my call. Today, at 3:00
PM EST, his inbox is completely filled up. Could it be calls from the national
media? Poor Chuck. I would not want to be his attorney.
The Story Heats Up
The story broke with local news media. Let’s pick it up here with KATU news.
“The
family being sued left the church a few years ago and Julie Anne Smith says she
and her family were shunned and couldn't understand why. So she went online and
wrote Google and DEX reviews of the church and then started a blog.
When the
family left the church, Smith says friends were told to end all contact with
her.
"If I went to Costco or any
place in town, if I ran into somebody, they would turn their heads and walk the
other way," Dissatisfied, she went online to write reviews. Other church
members counteracted them with church praise. So Smith started a blog called
"Beaverton Grace Bible Church Survivors."link.
But the pastor claims in the
lawsuit he filed that her words, "creepy," "cult,"
"control tactics," and "spiritual abuse," are defamation.
The
lawsuit targeted Smith, her daughter and three other commenters . He is asking
for $500,000 in damages. Here is the KATU broadcast.
Did a pastor(s) at John MacArthur’s church misuse the office of the
pastor?
Julie has
since moved out of state but this pastor is hell bent on this lawsuit, pursuing
her across state lines. Why? At FBC Jax here, we learn: (O'Neal speaking)
"After
seeking counsel from a pastor on staff
with Grace Community Church (under Pastor John MacArthur) and reading
him several excerpts from Julie Anne's endless defamation, he recommended that we FILE A LAWSUIT in
an appeal to Caesar as the Apostle Paul did when falsely accused of crimes
against God and the state."
What follows next is my own conjecture. I have not spoken to Julie about
this concern.
I have
some background to add to O’Neal’s statement. According to Julie, a few months
ago, knowing Chuck O’Neal’s devotion to everything John MacArthur, she called
MacArthur’s church, asking for help in resolving/mediating this situation. She
said a pastor spoke with her at length about the situation and said he would
speak with O’Neal. She later was told that there was nothing the church could
do to stop O’Neal’s lawsuit.
Was there
more to this story? Could it be that pastor(s) at Grace Community Church
(MacArthur’s) were actively counseling this pastor to sue his former church
member? If they were, did they not have the obligation to tell Julie that they
were involved in advocating the pastor to sue her?
This could
give the appearance of duplicity. For example, it could appear, in the
conversations with Julie, that they were seeking information to help O’Neal. If
this were so, it could be viewed as a despicable act, misusing the office of
pastor for the gain of one of their devoted followers. But, they could also
have been on the side of the angels, encouraging Chuck to reconcile and trying
to help Julie.
I believe
that Grace Community Church has an obligation to clear up this matter.
Approximately 5 hours ago I called Grace Community Church and spoke with two
secretaries, stating that I planned to post questions regarding their
involvement in this situation. I warned the church that news of this poorly
conceived lawsuit has now garnered the attention of ABC News here, Fox News here (and now the UK here) indicating that this will become a internationally
discussed case. I carefully spelled out my concerns, warning them that I would
post this in 5 hours. If you are reading this, you can assume that TWW did not
receive a response.
If Grace
Community Church played any role in encouraging this lawsuit, then I hope the
lawyer for the defense will depose the church and expose their involvement. I
pray that it isn’t so.
Bene Diction and The Streisand Effect
Meantime,
Bene Diction Blogs On, here, provides some interesting insights as well.
“What
lawyer wouldn’t want to defend Julie Anne? Her lawyer filed a motion to dismiss
in April and it goes to a judge May 21st. Chuck still doesn’t get it. He amended
his lawsuit the first week of May, adding another person and again claiming
defamation. Needless to say the Google reviews on his church are multiplying,
and those reviews are not in favour of pastor Chuck and Beaverton Grace Bible
Church.”
Bene
cleverly points out that this pastor may find out that he is the recipient of
the “Streisand Effect.” From Wikipedia, we learn “The Streisand effect is a
primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of
information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more
widely. It is named after American entertainer Barbra Streisand, whose attempt
in 2003 to suppress photographs of her residence inadvertently generated
further publicity.” In other words, O'Neal and his church will now be the
recipient of all sorts of unwanted attention.
Chuck O’Neal: Is this Hypocrisy?
Tom Rich,
over at the FBC jax post linked above, had this to add.
“If you go
back and listen to one of Chuck's sermons entitled "Emergent Church
Apostasy – Wolves in Our Midst" – Chuck goes after emergent church leaders
Doug Pagitt, Brian Mclaron, and Rob Bell for their false teachings. Chuck says
that Brian Mclaron "serves the devil", he claims all three men are
"wolves in sheep's clothing", he calls them "false
prophets", and says Rob Bell is a "dangerous man". It is a very
scathing sermon and he attacks these men's motives and their character and
their ministries. And no doubt Chuck will say that he is doing it because he is
called by God to call out and expose what he perceives to be false teachers.
For Chuck
to file a lawsuit against Julie Anne for criticizing religious leaders, while
Chuck himself uses his pulpit to criticize harshly religious leaders, makes
Chuck a hypocrite. And we know what Jesus thinks about religious hypocrites.
Chuck, whether you like it or not, Julie Anne Smith is just as called of God as
you are to expose what she believes to be false and harmful teachers.
Here is a link to a post O’Neal did at eChristian. Let’s see who he
calls apostates. (This means people who have renounced their faith). And he has
the chutzpah to go after Julie??!! (Note to Julie: Make sure the judge sees
this one)!
Yale
Divinity School professors originally authored the apostate letter, but there
are over 300 “Christian” theologians, pastors, and leaders that have signed on.
The list reads mostly as a who’s who of apostates, but there are probably a few
that we would all be surprised to find in apostate company supporting an
apostate letter. Here are just a few of the notable names:
· Leith Anderson, President, National
Association of Evangelicals
·
David Yonggi Cho, Founder and Senior
Pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, Korea
· Lynn Green, International Chairman,
Youth With A Mission
· Bill Hybels, Founder and Senior
Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL
· Duane Litfin, President, Wheaton
College, Wheaton, IL
· Richard Mouw, President and
Professor of Christian Philosophy, Fuller Theological Seminary
·
Rev. Roy Oksnevad, Director Muslim
Ministry, Billy Graham Center at Wheaton, IL
· Doug Pennoyer, Dean, School of
Intercultural Studies, Biola University
·
Rev. Dr. John Stott, Rector
Emeritus, All Souls Church, Langham Place, London, UK
· Michael W. Treneer, International
President, The Navigators, Colorado Springs, CO
· Rick Warren, Founder and Senior
Pastor, Saddleback Church, and The Purpose Driven Life, Lake Forest, CA
Bloggers: Be Aware of SLAPP tactics
It is also
important to note that O’Neal could possibly be pulling a SLAPP lawsuit.
Bloggers everywhere need to be aware of this tactic. Thankfully, Oregon
recognizes this unsavory device and has implemented recourse for victims. I
have it on good authority that an Anti-Slapp motion may have been employed in
this matter. The following is a simple explanation of this tactic from
Wikipedia here.
"A
strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is
intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the
cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.[1] The typical SLAPP plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The
plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear,
intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the
criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate.
A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat. The difficulty, of course, is that
plaintiffs do not present themselves to the Court admitting that their intent
is to censor, intimidate or silence their critics. Other widely mentioned elements of a SLAPP are the actual effectiveness at
silencing critics, the timing of the suit, inclusion of extra or spurious
defendants (such as relatives or hosts of legitimate defendants)attempts to
identify anonymous or pseudonymous critics and attempts to run up defendants'
costs even if this clearly costs more to the plaintiffs."
Hmmmmm…….
TWW’s take on the matter
· This is a foolish lawsuit which will
bring shame to the pastor and the church.
· Julie and the other defendants will
win this lawsuit.
· Chuck O’Neal should drop the suit
and save himself (and his church) money and ridicule.
· Julie will receive remuneration for
her court and attorney costs and fees.
· John MacArthur’s church should speak
out immediately about Grace Community Church’s involvement in this fiasco and
distance themselves from this pastor.
· Christian bloggers need to be aware
that “big names” may be involving themselves in blogging issues. In such cases,
be aware of anti-SLAPP guidelines.
· This is a First Amendment case, pure
and simple.
· The pastor should learn to turn the
other cheek and show grace under pressure.
Now, we
leave you with a performance of the musical hit ,“Barbra Streisand,” performed
by the cast of Glee (Chris Peterman-we are thinking of you!). Each time you
hear “Barbra Streisand,” substitute Chuck O’Neal and pray for Julie. Julie, we
will join in the dance when you prevail, and you will!
Lydia's
Corner: Ezekiel 42:1-43:27 James 5:1-20 Psalm 119:1-16 Proverbs 28:6-7
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