[size=13pt]Paula White: Without Walls Sues Lakeland Pastor[/size]


A lawsuit claims Randy Coggins lured members to his new church.

By Gary White, The Ledger

A Lakeland pastor faces a lawsuit from Tampa-based Without Walls International Church after leaving its Lakeland satellite ministry in July to form his own congregation. Randy L. Coggins and his newly created Bridge of Hope Church are defendants in a civil complaint filed last week in the 10th Judicial Circuit Court in Bartow. In the complaint, Without Walls International claims Coggins used his position as executive pastor at Lakeland’s Without Walls Central to lure members of the congregation to his own ministry, Bridge of Hope Church. The suit seeks damages in  excess of $15,000. Coggins said he wasn’t aware of the lawsuit until being told about it Monday afternoon by a reporter. He reviewed a copy of the six-page complaint. “This caught me totally by surprise, and my heart is very heavy,” said Coggins, 45. “I just pray this will be able to be resolved in a Godly and Christian manner. These are churches we’re talking about, and churches are not supposed to engage in this arena.” Coggins was hired in February as executive pastor at Without Walls Central, a North Lakeland ministry operated by Without Walls International Church Inc,  The main Tampa church, founded by Randy and Paula White in the early 1990s, once ranked as the second-largest congregation in the country. The complaint alleges that in July Coggins made “derogatory statements and allegations” about Without Walls International from the pulpit of the Lakeland branch, just before branching off to create his own church. Coggins, who uses the title “bishop,” would not respond to the details of the complaint.

Bridge of Hope Church originally met at the Lake Mirror Complex, according to a Facebook page created by the church, but recently shifted to the Seventh Day Adventist Church at 1435 Gilmore Ave. in Lakeland. Coggins declined to give the size of the congregation. The complaint accuses Coggins of breaching a code of conduct pledge he signed upon being hired and of converting “personal property, cash and assets for his personal use.” Orlando attorney Eric V. Hines, who filed the complaint on behalf of Without Walls International, declined to comment Monday. Messages left at Without Walls International and Without Walls Central were not returned Monday.

Without Walls purchased the former Carpenter’s Home Church in 2005 for $8 million, renaming the 9,000-seat sanctuary Without Walls Central. Senior pastors Scott and Cindy Thomas led the congregation until the end of last year, when they departed to form Free Life Chapel, which meets at The Lakeland Center. Without Walls International has generated controversy in recent years.

The Whites divorced in 2007. The church has faced congressional scrutiny and financial distress, along with the embarrassment of Randy White’s DUI arrest in May.

http://exministries./2011/08/19/paula-white-without-walls-sues-lakeland-pastor/

i wonder how the christian women pastors will function if during service the monthly cramp begins or the it is the blood that begins to flow like broken water main pipe or her water broke because the baby is in a hurry to come out?

Sweernecta, why not not stick to the topic, which doesn't need sexist comments to underline the sorry saga of greed?

This is happening because they are not operating with Bible Truths. A simple application of 1Cor.6:1-6 & Matt.5:38-48 will tell Paula White not to take such action.
It's because they are just using the ministry to fleece unsuspecting members.


https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-740557.0.html

I half-expected this to be a joke when I first saw the title . . . not sure why since the notoriety of these Floridian 'pastors' at the Lakeland complex is well known around the country.

Because of just 15grand, she's embarrasing herself like this . . . smh . . . its worse than pathetic, this is just plain sad.

I must say, by their fruits, you shall know them.