"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
"Am I the only one who sees the irony of what has happened here tonight? We have one group of sinners trying to kick another group of sinners out of the very place where we are trying to invite all sinners to attend.”
Comment overhead at 05/01 meeting at TRBC
May 12 WKRN Report (Watch how he counts the votes in the video)
See WSMV Video By Clicking On The Photo Above (Note: Large File - Please be Patient)
Plaintiff Personal Affidavits Related to the Lawsuit
Affidavit of Billy Carey (25 KB)
Mr. Carey claims that the church has the means to produce additional documentation concerning finances but refuses to give these to the plaintiffs. He notes that he saw members of the staff with more detailed reports but they would not provide them to individuals or the plaintiffs.
Affidavit of Kathy Lyon (41 KB)
Ms. Lyon, Jerry Sutton's Administrative Assistant from 1998-2004, details her work on Sutton's book while on the church payroll, instances where she observed Sutton spending church funds for personal items/meals, and other instances of the Senior Pastor using church funds for personal gain. She also details how she worked on Sutton's book for over 6 months almost exclusively of all other duties, even going so far as to work from home in order to meet the publisher's submission deadline. She was paid $1500 for 6 months work. Now, as a thinking person, does this sound like Bro. Jerry paid all of the expenses of this assistant or did the church pick up the majority of her salary?
Jerry Sutton fired her only 3 weeks after giving her a glowing letter of praise and then said that it was only a "Letter of Recommendation" so that she could get another job. Why did he fire her? Read the letter and ask yourself who is being truthful here.
Affidavit of Theresa Robinson (220 KB)
Ms. Robinson details her experiences on various committees where Jerry Sutton hand picked committee members and chairmen either directly or via staff members in direct violation of the church's by-laws. She also disputes Sutton's claim that he never had check signing authority. Finally, she lists Budget & Finance Committee meeting minutes from August 2006 - August 2007. These minutes are certainly eye openers and show how Sutton ignores the by-laws in most areas, most notably those involving financial issues, all with the blessing of many staff members who we can only guess go along in fear for their jobs.
Affidavit of Dennis Shipp (155 KB)
Dennis Shipp, a financial examiner for the State of TN for over 25 years, details his findings on reviewing the financial information that he has been able to obtain so far. Let's just say that Mr. Shipp's extensive training and experience in discovering misappropriations of funds and fraud leads him to believe that both have occurred at Two Rivers.
Affidavit of Ken Jones (25 KB)
Ken Jones was the Treasurer of Two Rivers for 28 years, leaving the church in 2002. Mr. Jones states that Budget & Finance Committee and Human Resources Committees met on a regular basis during his tenure and meeting minutes were always taken. Mr. Jones goes on to outline his understanding, as the chief financial officer of the church, that Jerry Sutton was NEVER given permission to use Ms. Lyon or any other staff member to work on his books while on the church payroll. Sutton was to pay for the work of these people out of his own pocket. It didn't happen. Mr. Jones goes on to say that, if Ms. Lyon was used to write the book while on the church payroll, Jerry Sutton hid it from the church.
(25 KB)