So, what happened with the whistleblowers? Did they ride silently into the sunset after the dust settled at FCCF? Did they lose jobs and relationships because they spoke up against wrong? If you see something do you say something? Doesn’t it take a special kind of character and courage to confront and inform? Do the whistleblowers deserve our respect and gratitude? I’m just asking.
From the book:
“In their attempt to shed the light of truth on the circumstances surrounding the Brandon Milburn case, along with management problems at the church, the whistleblowers suffered. The accusations and lawsuits against them disrupted their lives and threatened their livelihoods. The apostle Paul asks a pertinent question:
‘Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.’ (Gal. 4:16–17, ESV)
His home church and its elders sued Prof. Lay. They banned him from entering the church of which he was a member. Coerced into silence and spiritually abused by his employer, Doug Lay faced the life-changing decision to comply or stand for the victims.
Meanwhile, Titus Benton fended off an effort by Steve Wingfield to have him fired from the church that he worked for in Texas. He and Kari continued their work at the [Texas] church and started a nonprofit, The 25 Group, to raise money for needy communities around the world.
Dawn Varvil moved away from Florissant and started a new job in 2021. She and her family struggled mightily through the personal comments against her and the lawsuit to silence her.
It is incumbent upon me to address the importance of the whistleblowers and the sacrifices they made to bring out the details of this sordid affair. It was the whistleblowers who held Steve accountable before his congregation and the public.” (Taylor, Joy S., A View from the Pews — The Inside Story of a Broken Church, 2022, Lily of the Valley Publishing, Santa Claus IN, pp. 145-147.)
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