1 Corinthians 6:7-8 (Living Bible)
To have such lawsuits at all is a real defeat for you as Christians. Why not just accept mistreatment and leave it at that? It would be far more honouring to the Lord to let yourself be cheated. But, instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong, cheating others, even your own brothers.

These well known Scriptures have, no doubt, been quoted many times to numerous people by AOG pastors across our land.

Today I wish to quote these very same verses to the seven National Executive pastors of the Assemblies of God churches in Australia who are going to law against a brother in Christ, their only complaint being “defamation”.

A scandal and a disgrace
It is outrageous that seven men on the AOG National Executive are taking a brother to court. They are doing this of their own volition, after hardly any consultation with the AOG Fellowships at large; and without calling for a vote on the issue among the AOG pastors of Australia.

If a vote were to be taken, I don’t believe those seven members of the National Executive would be given the go ahead to take Henry Sheppard (a brother in Christ) to court.

Who is taking this action?
Lately some AOG National Executive members have been heard to say to their respective congregations that they are not taking a brother in Christ to court, but the Assemblies of God in Australia are. How deceptive! Does that mean that you and I are responsible before God for this court action?

Now I ask myself, Who is actually taking Henry Sheppard to court, and who will be paying for the court costs? Will it be those seven men on the National Executive or the Assemblies of God who pay?

When I went into the District Court for the first hearing, it wasn’t the AOG’s name that I saw on the noticeboard informing people of the court action. The litigation was taken out by Wilfred Andrew Evans, Philip Henry Hills, David Frederick Cartledge, Brian Charles Houston, John Charles Lewis, John Warwick and Alun Wynford Davies.

These are the men who should pay the legal expenses. But, no doubt, they will expect the Fellowship to pay for all those lawyers’ fees.

I’d hardly call the summons Henry took out for money owed to him by the A.O.G. any comparison to taking a brother to court and suing him for thousands of dollars for “defamation”.

For these seven men to say, in effect, that Henry took out a summons, so now we can take him to court, is like when Adam said to God that the woman gave him the forbidden fruit so he ate it. It’s just an excuse.

An example to the flock?
Moreover, unlike Henry, these men are Executive members—so called “pastors”. They are meant to be our examples and we are supposed to be able to follow their example. These are the ones God holds responsible to defend the truth in His church. Their action in taking a brother to court is like snubbing their noses at Scripture. Rather suffer to be defrauded, the Bible says. These men seem more intent on protecting their reputations than upholding the Word of God.

If it was a criminal matter, such as robbery, murder, assault, etc., needing to be dealt with in the criminal courts, I might agree, as Romans 13:1-6 encourages us to respect authorities and magistrates, thus validating their office and existence. Unfortunately these seven men are taking a brother to the civil courts, contrary to 1 Corinthians 6:1-8, which teaches that Christians need to be able to settle matters between themselves and not sue one another over petty issues (like “defamation”) and, if necessary, to even be prepared to suffer being defrauded.

Attacking the church?
For these seven men to say that Henry is attacking the church and must be stopped is simply not true.

Henry has been exposing much of the rot that is evident among the Executive and it is very sad to see that the Fellowship at large are either ignoring the real issues or are deceived.

What does God think of it all?
Henry Sheppard has written a book where he addresses the unfair treatment dished out by the AOG National Executive to another brother in Christ, Greg Sowerby.

The book, The Evidence, reveals documented evidence and police reports completely exonerating Greg Sowerby and exposes the National Executive’s disgraceful treatment of him.

There are only a few parts in the book that could be called defamatory, and Henry Sheppard has long ago withdrawn them. Yet these seven men are going to bankrupt this man and cause him to lose his home. What does God think of it all?

A can of worms...
This action of taking a brother in Christ to the civil courts (which has never happened before in the history of the Assemblies of God in Australia) may well open up a can of worms. You can be sure that other court actions will follow, maybe some served on pastors, if this issue is not checked.

These Executive members are setting in motion a precedent that is bound to generate alarming consequences for the AOG church in Australia.

I find it disturbing to see the audacity of these men who continue to stand up in their pulpits and preach, without even considering to step down for a short time, at least, while the litigation is in progress. Their large congregations are blissfully ignorant of what is going on. Pastors in smaller churches would not be allowed to get away with this sort of conduct.

I pray for these seven men that God will soften their hearts and bring them back to the truth that sets us free.

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