The Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church filed a lawsuit Aug. 10 against Highland Park Methodist Church, claiming church leadership is attempting to sever ties with the denomination through changes to its bylaws.
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. / Video screenshot
For nearly 100 years, Highland Park Methodist Church has stood on the southwest corner of Mockingbird Lane and Preston Road, serving as Texas’ largest United Methodist congregation. But bylaw changes made in 2022 have recently put the church under fire.
Those changes include stripping “United” from the church’s name, reserving the right to appoint and oversee its own pastoral team and church council without interference from higher-ups or church members, and revising its incorporation clause.
All of these actions violate the Book of Discipline, which sets the rules for how United Methodist churches and their leadership must operate. The changes prompted the Texas Annual Conference and its leader, Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., to seek a resolution with the church over the past several months and, ultimately, to file the lawsuit.
In a video address, Saenz said, “In recent months, I have become aware of changes made in 2022 to the church’s governing documents, changes that were not approved through the process required by the United Methodist Church and that limited the voice members have long had in the life of their own church. Since last fall, conference leaders have sought to resolve this directly with Highland Park’s leadership. But that request has not been accepted …”
The Rev. Matt Tuggle, senior pastor at Highland Park, confirmed that meetings have taken place to resolve the matter. However, in a recent video message to his congregation, he said the lawsuit blindsided him and other leaders involved in the process.
“We met with the Bishop twice in the last week, offering proposals for how to move forward together,” Tuggle said. “At no point did the Bishop give any indication that his staff had been preparing for legal action for several months and that a lawsuit was pending.”
Tuggle also argued that the accusations are “without merit” and that he and his team are following guidelines set by Texas courts in 2020 for handling church matters under neutral principles.
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The ruling Tuggle referenced appears to be Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth v. Episcopal Church, in which courts ruled in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, allowing it to retain $100 million in property and setting a precedent for Texas courts to apply “neutral principles” in resolving church property disputes.
For United Methodists, the Book of Discipline states that if a United Methodist church dissolves, its property is held by the United Methodist Church, not by church leadership. However, the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth was seeking to leave the Episcopal Church and become Anglican — a circumstance that does not apply to Highland Park, which has continued to operate as a United Methodist church and has not expressed any desire to leave the denomination.
The Texas Annual Conference’s website maintains that this is not a property dispute but rather “about governance, covenant and accountability.” The conference says it is not asking the court to rule on what is contained in the Book of Discipline, but instead on whether the church is bound to it as a United Methodist congregation. The suit contends the court can make that determination without “delving into ecclesiastical matters.”
“Our purpose is not punishment; it is restoration,” Saenz says. “Bringing the original governance structure back into alignment with the Book of Discipline, so this church can move forward faithfully.”
It remains unclear how Texas courts will handle the case. As Highland Park prepares to defend its position, Tuggle urged his congregation to pray for the church, its leadership and the leadership of the conference.
“Be assured that through all of this, we will continue to act with honesty, humility, care, and grace,” Tuggle said. “We are going to keep being the church that God has called us to be, and we are going to keep doing what God has called us to do, both on the street corner and from the street corner.”
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