Posted on 12/03/2004 9:24:40 AM PST by Interesting Times
A Christian Coalition of America ex-official's lawsuit for $123,500 in unpaid compensation has put nepotism of the coalition's president and the acrimonious divorce of her daughter center stage in Virginia courts.
The coalition, once a powerful national voice for traditional family values founded by televangelist Pat Robertson, contests the claim filed by Tracy E. Ammons of Alexandria on grounds his compensation was funneled through a consulting company belonging to his ex-wife, now the coalition's vice president for communications.
Roberta Combs, the coalition's president since Mr. Robertson stepped down nearly three years ago, hired her daughter, Michele Ammons, as national events coordinator, and Mr. Ammons, her son-in-law, as the organization's human resources director and legislative consultant in Washington.
The three family members relocated from Washington to Charleston, S.C., in April 2003.
Mr. Robertson tapped Mrs. Combs as executive vice president in 2001. She was Mr. Robertson's South Carolina campaign chairman when he ran for president in 1988 and headed the state's Christian Coalition affiliate in Charleston.
Mr. Robertson stepped down as coalition president and turned over control to Mrs. Combs in February 2002 as the organization settled a racial-discrimination lawsuit brought by 10 black employees in the Washington office.
That claim was settled with an out-of-court payment of some $300,000 to the employees. With legal costs, the coalition's insurance company paid out close to $1 million, participants in the case said.
Mr. Ammons' lawsuit stems from his divorce from Mrs. Ammons.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Michelle and Roberta really know how to put the "Christ" in Christian Coalition- after the divorce, they fired him and then had him arrested for lack of child support payment.
Mixing religion and politics is necessary at this time, but it's always very difficult. The Christian Coalition had great promise but has accomplished disappointingly little. Maybe informal coalitions and meetings among Christians, such as lay behind the last election, work better.
This is too bad. But the way the Democrats do it is far worse: put venal ministers on their payroll and bus whole congregations to the polls.
Nice...
The organization was awesome... until Ralph left. That was some serious brain drain and the organization was never the same.
Yes. On the other hand, I think the reason Ralph Reed left is that he was blamed for intervening in the primaries and backing Bob Dole instead of Pat Buchanan. Dole then proceeded to get nominated and instantly kick the Christian Coalition in the face. I think Reed took the blame for a bad decision. At the time a lot of folks were angry.
Pat Buchanan hasn't looked very good since then, either. I admit I was fooled for a while. So the basic problem was that Reed had a huge, well-oiled machine and no good candidate to back at that time.
It is a shame to the entire church when a Christian organization -- particularly one that claims to speak for born-again and spirit-filled christians willfully ignores scripture that they in the next breath purpost to unerringly follow.
1 Corinthians 6:1-9 1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? 6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. 7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? 8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. 9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
Beleivers can not divorce but can be divorced by the other party -- They can respond but not initiate the action.
Christains can not sue other beleivers and or husbands. But if a beleive is sued they can respond.
If we as beleivers can cavalierly run roughshod over these scriptures why hold any pretense over beleiving anything else in the book. Well see we really really really beleive this --because it agrees with how I want to order my life. And it is convieniant for me, it is profitable for my church, it puts a good face on what we do as beleivers.
Normally I would blast all this unchristain unrepentant arrogant behavior but I will leave this task to others this go around.
It may have been better that cycle to focus on winnable races- gov/sen/house/state legs/etc.
The Buchanan/Dole thing had pretty much nothing to do with his departure.
Note that both he and Robertson left the organization at the same time. Reed immediatly went on to create his own money printing factory at Century Strategies. They were both replaced with second-stringers - I think Robertson was replaced by the guy who lost the LA senate race that year.
Although there are a great many reasons to be concerned about all of this, the most important question for supporters of the Christian Coalition is.... whether Roberta Combs is effective. I've lost my job before. Most people have. It's not the end of the world. No one has an innate right to be the obstacle to success for an entire nation. So how is the Christian Coalition performing? Can it do better than it is doing now? Are those who support the Christian Coalition's values satisfied with its recent effectiveness and performance?
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