Pulled from the Net

Amendment I of the United States Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." To "abridge" means to curtail, to shorten, to lessen, to diminish, to cut off, to deprive or cut off from (i.e., to abridge one's rights). Patrick Henry once said, "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government, . . . lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." There is no question that what happened to Gary Trout so long ago was a shocking and frightening violation of the separation of church and state. This is his story of how the government overstepped its bounds in clear violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution by its invasion into church polity. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution severely circumscribes the role that a court may play in resolving a church dispute; nevertheless the church he pastored unbelievably became a state-run church. Now after twenty four years, the Lord has led him and convinced him to tell the untold story. The true, complete story is often unheard. He recounts the events which have never surfaced that contributed to the calumnious and calamitous condition that put him in court, removed him from preaching, and restrained him from acting as pastor in any manner. This is the story of government intervention in church affairs, the astounding events that transpired during that time, and the victory finally won at the state's highest court, the West Virginia Supreme Court in a unanimous decision filed on July 3, 1989.