I certainly hope the church looses this law suit. A jury should award several million as punitive damages. This is definately not the church or pastor I would want.

The church isn't being sued. Rich is suing the sheriff's and the prosecutor's office.

If Rich had grievances against his pastor or other church leaders, why didn't he voice them openly and aboveboard? In my opinion, he is no better than people who send anonymous hate notes. His actions were underhanded and cowardly.

"This is definately not the church or pastor I would want."

Fair is fair. Judging from your hateful posts, I doubt you're the kind of member First Baptist in Jacksonville would want.

That spirit grew into the Inquisition in the dark ages and manifested in countless other instances in which clerics used secular kings and princes to war against those who would dare critique the clergy. At the heart of it there is no difference between a policeman slavishly desiring to earn brownie points from his pastor by such "service" and medieval kings pleasing the pope by murdering protestants for them. If you do not realize the "same-ness" in these things, and imagine that I exaggerate in making such comparison, then you do not yet understand why 1 John 3:15 says that "whoseover hates his brother is a murderer." You secretly think, "No he isn't, he's merely a hater." You do not yet understand Christ saying that he that lusts after a woman has committed adultery with her already in his heart (Mt. 5:28), and you think HE exaggerates. You do not yet grasp the significance of and the truth that "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries ..." and that THESE "defile a man" (Mt. 15:19). That which ended in the "police" in the dark ages burning innocent Christians at the stake in service to their "pastors" had its ORIGIN in the hidden thoughts of the human heart. In an earlier time such clerics would have had the prince of the region send forth soldiers. Nowadays they can't pull that off, but the same black "thing" slithers inside their heart. The police involved (if they be truly saved persons) ought to go learn what the Scripture meaneth, not to be "menpleasers" (Eph. 6:6 & Col. 3:22). Great damage has been done to the saints of God because men have sought to please their "clerics." It is all too often not spiritual "pleasing" (which is by living forth the life of Christ & conforming to the Word), but rather mere carnal seeking of man's approval, slavishly desiring the pastor's pat on the head and being admitted to his favor and his inner circle. That kind of "menpleasers" are denounced by the Lord. They do it to be seen of men (Mt. 6:5, 23:5), "having men's persons in admiration because of advantage" (Jude 1:16). If you honestly ponder the inner workings of the heart that ended up with the gunmen of Jim Jones' Peoples Temple gunning down their victims on the airstrip as they fled, you will find that was the very same thing, with no difference: the gunmen were doing nothing more nor less in their hearts than "pleasing father" (Jones). Not one other "reward" would come to them from those shootings but a pat on the head from their shepherd, and the glory of being seen as zealously committed to serving him, and enjoying the status of being in his inner circle. Some men just want their human master to pat them and say "good dog." THAT is not the kind of obedience and service to which the New Testament enjoins us. The obedience and service and pleasing manifested by the saints is to be Jesus Christ indwelling us, right character, standing tall, doing what is right because of God and His Word, NOT that "pat me on the head" cringing slavish "eyeservice as menpleasers" (Col. 3:22) God so despises. In God's order there are not "clerics" and "underlings." Rather, he who hankers to be "first" or "chieftest" among the people of God, is ordered to be the "servant of all" (Mk. 9:35, 10:44), and indeed the PEOPLE are told to VIEW them that way! That's right, the so-called "servant's heart" of "ministers" is not some inner humble heart attitude that they may assume in their generosity toward the people. Rather, Christ speaks to the RECIPIENTS of that service, telling THEM to have it so: "Whoever will be chief among YOU, let HIM be YOUR servant." Notice who Christ is speaking TO, as opposed to who He is speaking ABOUT. Use simple common sense: As it is CLEAR He is telling people to take that attitude toward "ministers" then it follows that the people will either do NOTHING with this command, leaving it merely for "ministers" hopefully to shape "inner heart attitude" with, OR, common sense suggests there must be some way of OBEYING and IMPLEMENTING the command.

So ask yourself, HOW are the people to see to it that THEY be "YOUR servant" as per Mt. 20:27? Again in Matthew 23:11 Christ is not speaking to those serving, but rather to those being SERVED when He repeats, "He that is greatest among you shall be YOUR servant." The INSTRUCTION to see to it that this is how it is, is not given in these verses to those who would potentially serve, but to those who are to BE served. THEY are told to have it thus. Too many Christians admonish themselves about esteem and regard toward their "ministers" to the expense of THE REST of the Word of God about it, so that Christ's very ORDER is not operating. It is an imbalance whereby the "humble" so "humble" themselves, that nothing is done to halt the rise of "popery" in our midst. THIS is the very means whereby in the 3rd century the papacy was enabled to rise. God save us from "loyal sheepdogs" who crave a pat from "shepherds" which may be no true "shepherds" at all. In Christ's order both the served and the serving are BROTHERS one to another. In the carnal "heirarchial" way, we create almost three "races" of beings in the congregation: 1. shepherds, 2. sheep dogs, and 3. the sheep. There are those on the floor level, those at the top, and the sheep dogs in the middle that love to play "fetch" and run to and fro as their masters at the top wish. A "church" so "tiered" as to be populated with "sheep" and "dogs" and "humans" is not a BROTHERHOOD. No human is a sheep's brother, nor is any sheep a dog's brother. The "WAY" by which Christ's order allows us to live as true BROTHERS is shown in this and my previous post.

This is a blatant example of the church using the police for their own security force. Where is Rutherford on this? With the state of crime in Jax is this what the cop should be doing?

Tell the truth. Do your best no matter how trivial the task. Choose the difficult right over the easier wrong. Look out for the group before yourself. Don't whine or make excuses. Judge others by the actions.

FBC is likely the most powerful organization in Jacksonville. I'm not saying that ominously, but just stating probabilities. I know several members that are really good people (of course by my measure anyone that doesn't abuse kids or animals is "good"). The pastor is probably right that he isn't paid nearly as much as other megachurch pastors. But I beg to ask a question: Is this a calling or a job? I thought Christ told his disciples to forsake their livelihoods and follow Him. (At least some of them - I just really don't feel like looking it up tonight).http://usa-canada-uk-ny-europe-realestate.blogspot.com/