Lawyers

A few months ago, a good friend of mine confided in me some details about one of the last meetings he had with a UBF leader before he left the ministry. He thought it would be a private meeting with the leader. But he was surprised to see other people in attendance. One of them was a lawyer, acting on behalf of the UBF leader. Despite his shock, the meeting went well and the small matter was resolved peacefully.

This week I made contact with an old friend. He shared with me that he had received a threatening cease-and-desist letter from a UBF lawyer. He had published some articles and documents that revealed a lot of the negative side of UBF’s history.

If anyone else has had to deal with a UBF lawyer recently or in the past, please contact me.

Today I make this post as a public request to UBF leaders and lawyers. Please don’t escalate things into the legal realm! Those of us who have left UBF are actually very reasonable. Some have become very bitter and angry at times. I myself have made mistakes and have not done everything perfectly. However, we have acted out of love for God and love for our neighbor; that is our heart. We want facts and answers, not silence and legal battles.

If you in UBF do want a legal battle, however, you will need to keep in mind that you will be dealing with me. I am not a lawyer in any sense. But I have had quite a bit of experience with the courts. I have experience with handling cease-and-desist letters, evictions and legal arbitration. Once I stood in court listening to a Prosecuting Attorney scream at me. I am poor compared to UBF, but I do have access to lawyers through my business. And the lawyers in Detroit are quite good.

So let’s heed the warnings Apostle Paul gave us and not escalate things into lawsuits:

“1 If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother goes to law against another–and this in front of unbelievers! 7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” 1 Corinthians 6:1-7 (NIV)

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