#18 of 54. Letter from James Coffin, Mar. 14, 2007

“If, after investigation, you that feel [sic] what he [Lincoln Steed] says is true, then I would encourage you, as leaders, to fulfill your moral/spiritual obligation to safeguard the integrity of the church as a whole and recommend to the Florida Conference that I be terminated for behavior that is—to repeat Lincoln’s words—‘insupportably unchristian, inhuman, and improper for anyone connected with the pastoral ministry.’” —James Coffin, letter dated March 14, 2007.


LETTER

March 14, 2007


Pastor Halvard B. Thomsen, Chair
Liberty Editorial Board
Seventh-day Adventist Church Headquarters
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring , MD 20904-6600

RE: Inaction regarding defamatory letters circulated by Lincoln Steed

Dear Pastor Thomsen,

On January 18, 2007, I wrote to you, responding to your letter of December 4. In that letter you noted (concerning Lincoln Steed’s defamatory letters and conversations about my sons, my wife and me) that it wasn’t your intent “to intrude into such private matters or to cast judgments.” I explained in my response that when something is deliberately taken public, as Lincoln chose to do, it’s no longer a private matter. Lincoln sent out an unknown number of letters to my fellow church employees, including my conference president, declaring me to be guilty of behavior that’s “insupportably unchristian, inhuman, and improper for anyone connected with the pastoral ministry.” (And this was done without any prior communication with me regarding his concerns.)

Only when Lincoln repeatedly and categorically refused to discuss his accusations with my wife and me did I come to you, as the advisers/administrators to whom he’s accountable. I didn’t ask that he be fired or censured for his actions. As objectively and as dispassionately as I could, I simply alerted you to the problem, provided alternative perspectives and made certain requests. I stated: “I’m merely asking that, in a spirit of Christian brotherhood, you use your influence and relationship to Lincoln to bring a halt to what’s going on. I’m asking that you seek to help him understand the impropriety of what he’s doing and urge him to cease such actions, to not re-engage in them and to undo, to the degree possible, what has been done already” (italics not in the original). It’s the latter part of my request that you haven’t honored and about which I write yet again.

When a family member takes the extraordinary step of circulating letters to people who are total strangers to him—in addition to making oral comments to his acquaintances—defaming his brother-in-law, his sister and his nephews, he clearly takes seriously what he’s saying. Further, he obviously hopes that the recipients of his letters and comments will also take his words seriously. And I can assure you that I take them seriously. So I’m asking that you also take them seriously. I’m asking that you declare Lincoln’s actions to be inappropriate—because on the very face of it they are—and urge him to provide a retraction to all who received his initial communications. However, if you feel you can’t take such a step because of the limited information you currently have, I’m asking that you investigate Lincoln’s allegations against me to determine their validity.

If, after investigation, you that feel [sic] what he says is true, then I would encourage you, as leaders, to fulfill your moral/spiritual obligation to safeguard the integrity of the church as a whole and recommend to the Florida Conference that I be terminated for behavior that is—to repeat Lincoln’s words—“insupportably unchristian, inhuman, and improper for anyone connected with the pastoral ministry.” If, on the other hand, you determine that his statements are unwarranted, then I would request that you fulfill your moral/spiritual obligation to safeguard the reputation of a church employee who has been defamed and take whatever steps are necessary to pressure Lincoln “to undo, to the degree possible, what has been done already.”

I’m willing to provide you with whatever documentation and explanation you seek. I’m even willing to come to Silver Spring to meet with you to answer any allegation Lincoln might raise in addition to what has already been circulated. But I want this matter laid to rest––totally and completely, once and for all. And it’s appropriate that I should expect your help. He’s your employee, after all, and it was to other church employees that he spread his allegations. His efforts to discredit me in the eyes of those who work under me, above me and as equals qualify not only as defamation but also as harassment.

Lincoln, a high-profile denominational employee, deserves to be treated seriously. He has publicly disseminated major allegations against my family and me in an attempt to discredit us. Those allegations may be either true or false. I maintain they’re false. But, either way, it’s a disservice to him to ignore them merely because they’re inconvenient and hard to deal with.

Likewise, I, another denominational employee, deserve to be treated seriously. Lincoln has described my family in terms normally reserved for universally recognized perpetrators of extreme evil. Circulating letters that declare my sons to be guilty of a “systemic inhumanity . . . that defies all norms of Christianity and human decency” is no casual indictment. (Again, these accusations were circulated without one word to them beforehand regarding his concerns.) But if you feel you can’t, just on the face of it, condemn your employee’s actions, then at least do all of us the courtesy of investigating and establishing the truth or otherwise of what he claims. (Obviously, a fair investigation must be predicated on the opportunity for full input from both Lincoln and me.)

For more than thirty years I’ve tried to give excellent service to this denomination. In whatever capacity I’ve found myself, I’ve tried to go beyond the call of duty in my expenditure of time and energy and creativity. My family has had to make significant sacrifice because of my commitment to the cause. I’ve taken seriously my responsibilities as a youth pastor, as an editor and as a senior pastor. I’ve sought to treat all people fairly—including Lincoln.

I’ve sought to be an advocate for the weak and disenfranchised. I’ve sought to be a healer of broken relationships. When I’ve failed—or have even been perceived to have failed—I’ve sought to shoulder more than my fair share of the blame to help foster healing. I believe that any objective onlooker would find it totally reasonable that I should ask you, as the employer/overseer of someone who has undertaken a deliberate campaign of defamation against my family and me, either to summarily declare his actions to be inappropriate or, at the very least, seek to determine the validity of the allegations. To refuse to do either is a dereliction of duty on your part.

I fully appreciate that you have a busy schedule, so I didn’t expect an immediate reply to my letter of January 18. But I would have thought that more than seven weeks provided adequate response time. I likewise understand that all of us have items in our “too hard” basket that we wish would just disappear.

But this situation isn’t going to disappear. I’ll continue to press the issue because truth and justice haven’t been served—and I believe that in your heart of hearts you know I’m right. My persistence is more for my wife and my sons than for me. It’s one thing for someone to defame me. It’s altogether different when it’s my wife and children who are maligned. But, the sad fact is, when something is done to hurt me, it also hurts them.

If there is some other venue in which this matter should be addressed, then tell me what that venue is. But at least extend the courtesy of responding in a timely manner to my requests and questions. To do otherwise is to be an accessory-after-the fact to behavior that’s both unethical and illegal. By your unwillingness to appropriately counsel your employee, you are aiding and abetting behavior that I don’t think you really wish to support. Can you truthfully tell me that you don’t believe that what Lincoln did was inappropriate?

Again, I thank you for having spoken to Lincoln, “asking him not to involve the Church in these matters or by his writing to imply any connection of his personal family matters with those of Liberty magazine.” I now ask you yet again to put pressure on Lincoln “to undo, to the degree possible, what has been done already”—in other words, for him to send a letter to all recipients of both his written and oral comments, clearly and unequivocally acknowledging the impropriety of his actions and disavowing his defamatory comments, without adding new ones. And if he refuses to send such a letter, I’m asking you to get from him a list of those with whom he has communicated and send a pointed and specific letter yourself. Nothing short of this will be acceptable. This is neither an unreasonable nor an inappropriate request—though I recognize that it’s uncomfortable for you and nothing short of tragic that the need for such an action even exists.

I wish you God’s guidance and His richest blessing in your ministry. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,


James Coffin

Copies to
Eugene Hsu, Consulting Editor, Liberty
Jan Paulsen, Consulting Editor, Liberty
Don Schneider, Consulting Editor, Liberty
John Graz, Consulting Editor, Liberty
Robert Kyte, Office of General Counsel
Mike Cauley, President, Florida Conference
Lincoln E. Steed

Copyright © 2008 James Coffin