It sounds like there may be a case here.  Not for anything that happened in his duties as pastor, but for violating confidentiality as a Licensed Professional Counselor.  Texas has specials laws covering this area.

Like the lawyer said “Secular counseling ... was the origin of their relationship,” the counseling began before he was Pastor and she may have a legal claim for violating professional confidentiality.

I understand that some churches require members to sign a copy of the church bylaws or a statement that they will accept church discipline or something like that, in an attempt to head off litigation like this.  It sounds like in this case the church would have been fine, except for the previously existing counselor/patient relationship.

I would think this case would be an anomaly though, that most Pastors who are counseling parishioners are doing so in a pastoral setting, not as secular professional counselors, which should be more protected.

As far as pastoral care goes, I would think involving the church elders is OK, but I’m not sure about publishing details in a public newsletter.  I guess it would depend on the details revealed and on what is in churches by-laws.

He put it in the newsletter??? He was supposedly a profession counselor, and he did that? if you are going to take a case liek this to court, it ought to be one you can actually win. Ol’ Buddy was not using godly or common sense when he did that.

Looking at the brief before the Texas Supreme Court, the Pastor’s claim seems to be that a Licensed Professional Counselor, who is also a Pastor, is protected by the First Amendment as a Pastor even when sued for professional negligence based on services rendered during secular counseling sessions; and that, since he is also a Pastor, he is not bound by “reasonable and prudent standards of care applicable to licensed counselors” when providing secular counseling care.

I don’t think he has a leg to stand on.  Once he became her Pastor he should have referred her to someone else for professional counseling, or at least taken some steps to separate the professional care he had been providing the woman from the pastoral care he was now providing the woman. 

Texas has laws governing professional counseling and Pastors need to be familiar with these laws as they concern the separation of professional counseling versus pastoral counseling.  Her case revolves around the fact that her relationship with the Pastor began before he was her pastor, when he was working as a professional counselor.  Her conversations with him took place at his professional offices, in his capacity as a professional counselor, before he became Pastor of her church.  Information revealed to him in his professional counselor capacity was revealed by him in his pastoral capacity, which would seem to cross some legal and ethical lines.

I would not support someone suing their Pastor or church over pastoral care or church discipline, but in this case it seems the woman may have a valid cause against Buddy Westbrook, Licensed Professional Counselor.

If counseling occurs on Church property, regardless of who does the counseling, it’s a Church matter. The woman is a member of the Church and there are certain contractual agreements in becoming a member.  She knew of the disciplinary measures for infidelity in advance.

A lot of the comments that I’m reading here is a good illustration of just how influential the American Bar Association has been in creating a litigant America.  Involving the courts is simply going to further weaken the 1st Amendment for everyone, not just the Church.

The courts have NO jurisdiction over the Churches unless there is clear evidence of criminal wrong doing, i.e. plotting murder etc.  Otherwise, its simply an ecclesiastical matter that concerns no one else.

Allen K. Williams