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| Graphic of Andy Stanley - from Protestia |
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| Not just Ski, but Tim Glende, Ski, Bishop Katy, and other WELS followers of Andy Stanley attended the conference and worshiped with their hero, Andy. |
Andy Stanley Says Christians Don’t Have To Believe In All The Bible’s Miracles
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| Tim Glende and James Skorzewski no longer post their photos with Katy Perry on their Facebook pages. That must have been such a thrill for these overgrown teens. Two WELS Pastors and Four Meritless Lawsuits
Recently, two WELS Pastors, Tim Glende and James Skorzewski, and two of their staff members filed four almost identical lawsuits against a WELS layman, Jonathan Donnan, a former member of their congregation. Specifically, they asked a secular court to issue four restraining orders, ordering Jonathan Donnan to stop “harassing” them. In the courthouse lobby before the first case was heard, a local attorney who handles a lot of cases in that court (and who had absolutely no connection to this case) looked at the court’s calender, and said, “When you see four restraining order petitions against one person, then usually that person did something extremely bad, or it’s a bunch of bullies ganging up on someone.” Jonathan’s wife, Mara, who was sitting nearby, piped up and said, “It’s the second one. It’s a bunch of bullies ganging up on someone.” History According to Jonathan Donnan’s wife, Mara, Pastor Skorzewski said numerous sexually inappropriate things to her over the course of months, and on at least one occasion, Pastor Glende also joined in with this disgusting behavior. (At the time, Mara was a member of The CORE, a WELS church, and also Pastor Skorzewski’s executive assistant). After a long ordeal involving the Circuit Pastor, District President, and even the Synod President, Pastor Skorzewski finally resigned. However, Skorzewski almost immediately requested CRM status. (CRM means that a man is deemed to be blameless, above reproach, and qualified to receive a call as a pastor). Jonathan did not think the man who behaved so inappropriately toward his wife should become a pastor again, and he thought the WELS pastors from the district who would be asked to comment on Skorzewski’s CRM status should have more information. So he wrote a letter to the pastors of the Northern Wisconsin District giving them information about Pastors Skorzewski’s and Glende’s behavior toward his wife. This letter was signed by Jonathan, his wife Mara, and also concerned WELS pastors Lidtke and Suhr. Having received comments regarding Skorzewski’s potential CRM status from other WELS pastors, District President Engelbrecht then also sought comments specifically from the membership of St. Peter & The CORE, which had been Skorzewski’s congregation before he resigned. To this end, an informational meeting was scheduled at The CORE for August 13, 2013. At the beginning of the meeting, Pastor Glende said the purpose of the meeting was so that the congregation could seek direction and make decisions about the ministry “specifically on this campus,” The CORE. During this meeting, District President Engelbrecht summarized Skorzewski’s behavior and the Donnan’s reaction and the steps the District took to rehabilitate Skorzewski, he solicited questions, and then he gave the members of St. Peter & The CORE thirty days to submit comments to the district leadership regarding Skorzewski’s proposed CRM status. During this meeting, District President Engelbrecht also said that he was an ardent supporter of Skorzewski and his ministry. Jonathan Donnan showed up at this meeting because he wanted to protect his wife’s reputation and honor. After DP Engelbrecht’s summary, Jonathan believed that DP Engelbrecht had portrayed Pastor Skorzewski’s behavior in the best possible light, while portraying his wife’s reaction in the worst possible light. Therefore, Jonathan sat through much of the Q&A section with his hand raised waiting to be called upon. Finally, Pastor Glende said that he would allow Jonathan to speak; however, he first informed the congregation that Jonathan was not invited to the meeting, had no legal right to be there, and that if Jonathan started attacking people, then he would be asked to leave. Jonathan said that was a rude way to call upon him. The entire exchange then quickly devolved into whether Jonathan had a right to be there because he was not a member of St. Peter & The CORE. Jonathan believed that as a Christian husband he had a duty to try to defend his wife, and that St. Peter & The CORE’s constitution and bylaws could not overrule his moral obligations. After a short period of time, Jonathan left the meeting, but announced that he was there to defend his wife, and would be outside to speak with anyone who wanted to hear the whole truth. While Jonathan was outside, he could hear laughter and applause inside as the meeting continued without him. While Jonathan was outside, he also received a lecture about forgiveness and about how he did not understand forgiveness. A few days later, Pastors Glende and Skorzewski and two church staff members filed four almost identical lawsuits against Jonathan Donnan. They asked the Outagamie County Family Court to issue four restraining orders telling Jonathan to not write any more letters to WELS pastors about Glende or Skorzewski, to not show up at any future meetings at St. Peter & The CORE where they would be discussing personnel issues, and to have no further contact with St. Peter & The CORE or its staff. Pastor Glende’s case was heard first. Pastor Glende spent about two hours presenting his case. He himself testified extensively along with two laymen from his church. Legal Issues In order for a behavior to be harassment, it has to serve no legitimate purpose. Does writing a letter to the men (WELS pastors) who would help decide Skorzewski’s CRM status serve no legitimate purpose? And does showing up at a congregational meeting where they are discussing how your wife was treated, and where the District President is seeking comments and advice about whether that pastor should get CRM status, does that serve no legitimate purpose? Is that inappropriate behavior? Or could those be the behaviors of a man trying to protect and defend his wife? The allegations Mara made against Skorzewski were not false. A false allegation would serve no legitimate purpose, but a truthful allegation does. If certain WELS pastors and a certain WELS congregation are going to be specifically asked to provide comments about whether Skorzewski should serve as a pastor again, is it legitimate that they should also hear from the victim or her representative? The August 30 Court Hearing Under oath, Pastor Glende testified that Jonathan’s behavior served no legitimate purpose because it hindered the ministry of St. Peter & The CORE, and it was just an attack. (Court transcript, page 40). According to Pastor Glende, Jonathan’s behavior served no legitimate purpose because the decision about whether Skorzewski would serve as a pastor was made back in January and April. Pastor Glende stated this numerous times throughout his testimony. Below is just one example. Under oath, Pastor Glende said that Jonathan’s “behavior was disruptive in our congregation in a meeting. It is — it attacks me personally.” Attorney Maurer then asked Glende: “What’s wrong with that, pastor? What’s wrong with a person attacking on how you handled the situation of allegations of sexual harassment by one of your pastors? What’s wrong with that?” To which Pastor Glende responded: “A group of my peers have said it’s been dealt with, addressed, move on.” (Court transcript, page 39). In summarizing all of the evidence presented by Pastor Glende, Pastor Glende’s attorney said:
— Court Transcript, page 75. Was the issue of Skorzewski’s CRM status absolutely resolved? No. This court hearing took place during the 30 day comment period in which members of St. Peter & The CORE were being asked to advise the District about Skorzewski’s CRM status. And only a few months later, the District granted Skorzewski CRM status, he immediately received a call, and has already been installed as a WELS pastor in Texas. Attorney Maurer tried to get Pastor Glende to admit that the August 13 meeting was about potentially reinstating Skorzewski to the pastoral office. Attorney Maurer questioning Pastor Glende:
— Court Transcript, pages 35-37. Attorney Maurer further questioning Pastor Glende:
— Court Transcript, pages 40-43. Also at issue during the hearing was whether the August 13 meeting at The CORE was about how Pastor Skorzewski treated Jonathan’s wife, and Pastor Glende admitted that was true. After Pastor Glende finished presenting all his evidence, and before the defense called a single witness, the court ruled on the case. The standard the court used was this: It put the best construction on everything Pastor Glende and his witnesses said, it considered Pastor Glende’s case in the kindest possible light, and gave Pastor Glende the benefit of the doubt on everything. Nonetheless, the court ruled that Pastor Glende’s case had no merit, and dismissed his case. Pastor Glende’s case was dismissed even before the defense called a single witness or presented any evidence. Glende had nothing. Aftermath Immediately after the court dismissed Pastor Glende’s case, Attorney Maurer suggested that Skorzewski and the two church staffers should voluntarily dismiss their own virtually identical cases. (Because Pastor Glende’s case took so long, the other three cases were rescheduled to a later date). However, Skorzewski and the two church staffers refused to dismiss their cases, and instead attempted to negotiate a settlement out of court. However, Jonathan refused to give up any of his legal rights in return for them agreeing to dismiss their cases. In response, Skorzewski and the two staffers waited until the very last hour to dismiss their cases, thereby forcing the Donnans to endure the maximum amount of stress, and to pay the maximum amount in legal (attorney) fees. Soon after, the Northern Wisconsin District denied Skorzewski CRM status, but made no announcement. In congregational meetings at both St. Peter & The CORE, Skorzewski then advised the congregation that they should move on without him. (“Around the Council Table,” November 2013 church newsletter). The November 2013 church newsletter also had a special section entitled: “MOVING FORWARD AT THE CORE” which stated:
Shortly after that, Skorzewski applied for CRM status a second time. This time, the Northern Wisconsin District granted Skorzewski CRM status (under the condition that he not be a pastor in the Northern Wisconsin District), and almost immediately Skorzewski received a call to serve as a WELS pastor in Texas. St. Peter & The CORE then announced in their church newsletter that they were holding a farewell party for Pastor Skorzewski to wish him God’s blessings as he prepared to leave for his new call. So a WELS pastor resigned, for cause, because of sin, but before he left for his new call at another congregation, his former congregation threw him a farewell party. On Sunday, April 27, 2014, Skorzewski was installed as pastor at Christ the Rock (a WELS) church in Texas, and Pastor Glende preached at Skorzewski’s installation service. (Vimeo 93511608). At 28:20 in the sermon, Pastor Glende said that Skorzewski was his best friend, and that he wished he could work with Skorzewski forever, but God had a different plan: to bring him to Texas. At about 28 minutes into the sermon, Pastor Glende said, “I’m sure down the road or in the course of time, you’ll hear a great deal about what it is that God used to bring him here. It’s an amazing story.” 4 thoughts on “Two WELS Pastors and Four Meritless Lawsuits” |
Even if the allegations of sexual harassment were untrue, no pastor should be granted such leniency after having sued a brother in Christ, in defiance of God’s command in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8…
This is just an absolutely amazing story. Was the Pastor in question ever exonerated? If not how could he possibly be admitted back into the public ministry? (At least not without years of public penance and contrite repentance.) Surely the sermon preached in Texas is not from a Lutheran Pastor – he must be reformed or Baptist.