Pastor Sues Megachurch for $12M After Leaders Allegedly Booted Him and Reneged on Promise to Care for Him
A former megachurch pastor who served for 50 years at the Fountain of Life Assemblies of God Church in Florence, New Jersey is now suing for $12 million after the church allegedly expelled him from the pulpit then reneged on a promise to take care of him for the rest of his life.
According to a civil complaint cited by nj.com, the now retired 91-year-old Paul Graban built the Fountain of Life from a small church some half-century ago into the 2,200-seater it is today.
Earlier this year, however, according to the pastor's son Ron Graban, his father was released from his duties at the church with a promise that they would take care of him for the rest of his life.
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"There was a change of philosophy and they basically said pastor, we don't like the way you're running it, we don't like what you've done, and we want to take over now and we want to spend the money the way we want to spend it," Ron explained.
Since his father was pushed out, says Ron, the church has not been honoring the promise to support his father.
"From the beginning they said that we would take care of you until you died. Ok, have they followed through on that? No, they have not. Their attitude has been fighting it legally every step of the way," Ron said.
According to paragraph 25 of the lawsuit, the church's elders agreed that the pastor is entitled to 20 percent of the non-dedicated funds of the church. The suit alleges that the church has assets of approximately $60 million, so the former pastor should get a $12 million cut. The church, however, denies the valuation of its assets, as well as the agreement.
Ron explained that he is not filing the suit for the money, but because of the way the church has treated his father.
"It's absolutely the principle. They've made promises that they have not kept, so now he is saying okay, if you want to act that way then we are going to enact the contract and that's where he is right now," Ron said of his father.
"As new guys came in, they're like kids with an inheritance, they want to spend it (church's money) and have a good time with it," said Ron.
The Christian Post reached out to the church by telephone several times for comment on Wednesday morning, but did not receive a response by press time.
My9 New Jersey
