Ohio Court Dismisses Suit Against Pastor For Misuse of Church Funds

Today's Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reports that a Franklin County (OH) Common Pleas Court judge earlier this month dismissed a lawsuit that had been brought by 18 members of Columbus' World of Pentecost Church against the church's pastor and church officers. The pastor, Rev. David Thompson, had taken out a third mortgage on the church’s property for $130,000 and used another $800,000 of the church's funds in an "energies scheme". Plaintiffs, claiming a breach of fiduciary duty, sought return of the funds and removal of Thompson as pastor. Originally Franklin County Judge Charles A. Schneider took jurisdiction over the case which claimed that defendants had no right under the church's bylaws to take the funds without consent of the church’s members. He appointed Thompson's father as temporary pastor and ordered him not to speak from the pulpit about the case. However, as the case progressed, the judge found that the church bylaws were full of biblical references. He ultimately concluded that deciding the case would involve the court too extensively in religious matters, in violation of the First Amendment. The Columbus Police economic crimes unit continues to investigate the case.