Another court continuance drags out the personal injury case against FCCF/Christ First and Steve Wingfield that was filed in October, 2021. A mediation meeting in the personal injury case against Steve Wingfield and FCCF/Christ First ends with further delay until the end of July. You can keep up with court dates with this link:
https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/cases/searchDockets.do?inputVO.caseNumber=21SL-CC04432&inputVO.courtId=CT21
For the sake of clarity, there are two lawsuits involved in this story. To begin with, FCCF/Christ First sued the whistleblowers who spoke out against what they said was the failure of the senior minister to report the aberrant behavior of Brandon Milburn even though he had been notified more than once about Brandon’s actions with young boys. The second lawsuit was brought by one of Milburn’s victims against the church and the senior pastor as a personal injury suit.
If the leadership wanted to incense their congregation to the point of disengaging from the church, this was the perfect plan. My opinion is speculation, however, either they didn’t think through the possible outcomes of their suit against the whistleblowers or they were so desperate to keep the events under wrap that they didn’t care about what their choices might cause. They put together what they said was biblical justification after-the-fact. I, and others around me, did not agree with their application of Scripture. So, the fuse was lit by the stroke of a pen onto a legal document.
From the book:
“Yet, Prof. Lay continued to speak out on behalf of the victims to get them counseling, to help the church react properly to the predator in its midst, and to help protect children in the church from future threats.
“Is it Enough?” broke down the timeline and shed light on the dual nature of the church leadership. Instead of embracing the challenge to openly communicate with the authorities and the church body, the church leaders brought a defamation lawsuit against the whistleblowers to shut them up or make them pay $25,000 in damages. They filed the suit not only in the name of the senior minister and elders but also in the name of the church membership.” (Taylor, Joy S., A View from the Pews — The Inside Story of a Broken Church, 2022, Lily of the Valley Publishing, Santa Claus IN, p. 62.)
#aviewfromthepews #forthevictims
“A View from the Pews” is available on Amazon in print and ebook format, along with being available to read through the Kindle Unlimited program. Buy a book, read online, choose your preferred method and read the rest of the story. This project is for the victims. Every book sold and every page read helps support Safe Connections non-profit in St. Louis. Please join me in the cause for victims of abuse.