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By DEBRA GRUSZECKI | Tuesday, October 22, 1991 | (No comments posted.)
HAMMOND - A Schererville lawyer has threatened to sue the First Baptist
Church of Hammond on behalf of a client he said was "terrorized and detained"
by security men who forced him from the church and barred him from future
services.
Lawyer Voyle Glover said he also has protested to Police Chief James
Bobowski about the conduct of city policemen who work for the church, 523
Sibley Blvd., while off duty.
Michael Block, a computer programmer who has attended the church for 10
years, claims he was "terrorized and held against his will" on Aug. 11 by
guards reacting to a report that he handed out literature critical of First
Baptist's pastor the Rev. Jack Hyles, said Glover, a former church member.
The pamphlet, "Fundamental Seduction: The Jack Hyles Case," written by
Glover, delves into Texas-based evangelist Robert Sumner's allegations of moral
laxity, doctrinal heresy and financial impropriety by Hyles. The allegations
surfaced in 1989 in "The Biblical Evangelist" newspaper.
Hyles has long denounced and denied the allegations by Sumner but was
unavailable for comment throughout last week.
In a letter dated Sept. 5, Glover told Hyles that Block, acting on legal
advice that he has a constitutional right to attend the church of his choice,
allegedly has been "assaulted," "terrorized" and “humiliated” by
members of the church and by the ministry.
"If you do not address the problem internally in a lawful and decent manner,
I assure you Mr. Block will address it publicly and externally through the
courts," Glover's letter said. "Indeed, he may do that anyway."
Glover said Block told him he was asked to leave the church after Sunday
school classes Aug. 11. He then was asked to step into a hallway, where he was
met by the church's security director, before being escorted to a building in
downtown Hammond to discuss the literature he handed out two weeks earlier.
Block has alleged he was barred from attending church services. He also says
he was told by an off-duty Hammond police officer working for the church that
he would be arrested and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct if he
entered the property. "The officer was in uniform," Glover said.
The letter went on to say that on Sept. 1, Glover said alleged actions by
church members "placed (Block) in fear of his life."
"His return was greeted with hostility by various church members," Glover
wrote. "It was clear to him that he was being ostracized. He was followed
closely ... was harassed and a rock was thrown at his vehicle, striking it and
denting the car. Those actions, coupled with the recent actions were unlawful."
Glover said Hyles did not respond to the letter and Block has developed a
"wait-and-see" attitude about his treatment in the church. "He has the right to
make a cause of action now," Glover said, but he does not yet plan to file a
lawsuit. "We are keeping our options open."
Bobowski has confirmed getting a letter dated Aug. 14 about the conduct of
his officers who also work for the church, but he declined comment on it.
Glover said Bobowski called him afterward and said he'd talk to his men.
Since then it seems police personnel employed by the church have an "arms'
length relationship" with it, “which is the way it is supposed to be,"
Glover said.
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