A while back I wrote about an engagement with one of the larger churches in town. I wrote truthfully, though I didn’t get into much of my personal and irrelevant opinions. Now, a month later, they’re threatening my manager – who hired me for the job – with litigation and “make your life difficult” demands. This should be good!
*UPDATE* 1/26/2006
Thank you all for your support! I contacted the gentleman who originally contacted my manager to try and work out the problem between us. I haven’t heard from him yet, and it has been several days now. That lends me to believe that this is probably his personal venture, and not that of the church’s. It turns out that he was the director for the play I wrote about. So I hurt his feelings and he wanted to try and use the church’s presence to overwhelm me. If anything does come of this, you’ll see it here!
Also, if you’re planning on using any of this material for your own purposes, please contact me directly to discuss it. I do feel I need to know what I’m being involved in.
How darest thou, Olaf, of pagan Viking decent, speakest ill of the great director of the Free Chapel christmas play, with your fire-breathing! He will smite thee from the stilts that support your towering frame with the rage only a director of a church christmas play can harness! Woe is me if I am to stand in the way of such a blow that will be dealt upon thy noggin for speaking such words! You will not be able to juggle the coming blows, for their number will be vast and their repetitions numerous indeed. Lo, I see it now. Great peril in the distance, and a christmas play extra’s death-dealer the director will be, affording you no mercy.
Yes, this should be good! Let’s see how “peaceful” this church handles this situation with their threats.
Whatever the consequences, I thank you for telling “your truth” and keeping the post up.
I can’t imagine a church threatening litigation for something so benine. And really? “Make your life difficult?” Isn’t that extortion? From a church? Shocking. But, I’ve heard things about the way that place has handled others in the past, so, it doesn’t surprise me. First hand account from you says it all! Keep us posted. Very interested in seeing how this turns out.
You just gotta love hypocrisy on a grand scale from a seemingly respectable institution. I just can’t wait to see how this all pans out.
Thank you for speaking your mind and not giving in to meritless threats.
I did some searching and found this, very interesting. Apparently Free Chapel has no problem forcing it’s agenda on other business owners. I was appalled to read where some of their followers physically attacked a 16 year old girl. How very typically christian. “We don’t agree with you, so we choose to hurt you.”
Oh yeah, here’s the link to the other article.
http://www.theroc.org/updates/printer.htm
It disturbs and saddens me when individuals use the church to back up threats. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. This is the kind of thing that turns people away from Christianity. Churches should use their positions in the community to help those less fortunate, not waste time and energy picking on an individual.
“Make your life difficult”? Is there a Christian Mafia I don’t know about?
Ok, I was ready for something scathing here- and frankly I was disappointed. If the representative of Free Chapel was going to get in a tizzy, it should have been over something, oh- I don’t know- MILDLY offensive? And in several places you even COMPLIMENTED the church!!!
If you were threatened in front of someone, I would get a statement. Also, I would try to make sure that any conversation with church representatives are done in front of other people that can testify concerning what transpires.
This is not only ridiculous, it is sad. Sad that anyone would waste their time on threatening someone who hasn’t stepped out of bounds. I hope your manager is seeing it your way and not theirs.
I wondered if your blog would pull up if you goggle their name–and it doesn’t, at least not on the first pages. So, here’s the real question–why are they reading/monitoring your blog?
Blessed be…
Thank you kind sir, Mr. Gradin, for graciously opening this door for me.
May I have your permission to print these, and all other comments, that will most assuredly will follow?
They will be useful for a host of other issues that need to be exposed. Let’s just say that you and I could do a little “inside trading” here…….and that’s just hint number one.
…………”Judge not, lest YE BE JUDGED!”
If you start your own church in retaliation can I be Witchfinder General? I already have a lot of the supplies. Oooh, We will need a huge wicker staute too….
The greatest gift given by God is free-will, otherwise we’d all be puppets. One can’t “force” a healthy relationship with God, nor an opinion of Him. Proud-pushy man doesn’t speak for “Christ” on this one.
An aquaintance recently asked that I visit your site to check out this issue. Approximately 3 weeks ago, a top Atlanta radio station had a call-in show asking if anyone had ever been “black-listed” from an establishment. I heard this show and heard a caller speak of a “mega-church” in Hall, Co. and how they practiced this sort of “ritual”……they were SHOCKED!…..is this the church where the “First Lady” thinks of herself as celebrity status……a.k.a. ‘The Tammy Faye of Hall County’?…..mmmmmm…such a coveted title I must say. Does her Escalade have “spinners” yet?….
If you were ‘black-listed’ by this so-called “church”……consider yourself lucky.