This case suggests that church leaders should be careful about making statements to the congregation concerning a former employee, especially if those statements could be viewed as defamatory

Last week, an Oregon appeals court issued an important ruling involving a pastor’s efforts to sue his denomination and two denominational officials for defamation. Church leaders should take note because appellate decisions become reference points for future cases heard around the country.

The court found that the First Amendment guaranty of religious freedom did not prevent the pastor from suing church officials for defamation as a result of statements they shared with the congregation.

(After a dispute involving the payment of a $3,000 support check received by the church from denominational offices), the pastor voluntarily resigned his position at the church. Soon after he left, denominational officials drafted a letter that was read to the church congregation. The letter stated that “there had been a financial misappropriation by the former pastor.” In a subsequent email, a denominational official stated that the pastor had demonstrated a willingness to “lie and steal.”

The pastor, upon learning of these communications, sued the denominational officials who made them, and his national church, for defamation. A trial judge ruled that the First Amendment guaranty of religious freedom prohibited it from resolving the pastor’s lawsuit. But, a state appeals court reversed this ruling and ordered the case to proceed to trial…it insisted that the First Amendment did not bar all claims against churches.