"Brother Al, I need you to come down here." Al Grounds recognized the voice of his long-time friend, Sheriff John Cooper, on the other end of the line. "There are some papers on my desk for you." Al's mind began to race. Papers? Before he could put his question into words, he heard: "I also have a warrant for your arrest."

"A what?" Al asked.

"A warrant for your arrest. Look, Brother Al, you don't need to worry about anything. Just come down to the office. I know you'll do the right thing, and so will I."

As Al hung up the phone he wondered if this had anything to do with the annoying phone calls and letters he'd received from an attorney representing several of his former church members. The lawyer kept saying he was filing a lawsuit against Al and his deacons, but Al never thought anything of it. No court would hear a case that was essentially an internal church dispute.

A few weeks earlier a disgruntled group from his church, Calvary Baptist in Fair Oaks, Kentucky, called a special business ...