JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A defamation lawsuit against a Florida Baptist megachurch has been settled under confidential terms, according to the formerly anonymous blogger who filed the complaint in 2009.
First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, pastor Mac Brunson apologized at the close of the April 1 morning worship service for once labeling former longtime church member Tom Rich “obsessive-compulsive” and a “sociopath,” the Florida Times-Union reported April 2.
“Mr. Rich is not obsessive-compulsive and is not a sociopath,” Brunson said in a statement quoted in full on the FBC Jax Watchdog blog started anonymously by Rich in 2007, a year after Brunson moved from First Baptist Church, Dallas, to replace retiring First, Jacksonville, pastor Jerry Vines. “I regret making those statements. I want to apologize to Mr. Rich and his family.”
The Watchdog’s criticism of Brunson’s leadership led to Rich’s identity being exposed after a police detective serving on the church’s security detail got a subpoena and he and his wife being voted out of membership.
In 2010 the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office paid Rich $50,000 as part of a settlement in another lawsuit saying their investigation violated the First Amendment.
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