UMC appoints new leader to megachurch amid legal battle

A United Methodist bishop appointed a new leader for one of the denomination’s largest churches on Thursday after it voted to leave the denomination. Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. said he appointed his chief of staff to lead a congregation made up of members who want to stay with the United Methodist Church. Earlier this week, 90% of members of the Highland Park church in Dallas approved a resolution to cut its connection to UMC. But Saenz, leader of the Horizon Texas Conference, said that under UMC guidelines, a congregational vote does not sever a local church’s relationship with the denomination. Instead, Highland Park will remain a United Methodist congregation under the charge of the UMC’s Horizon Texas Conference, Saenz said.

The megachurch, meanwhile, said that Saenz’s update does not change anything. The congregation will worship as usual with its current clergy this Sunday. Saenz failed to honor the congregation’s overwhelming vote to end its ecclesiastical ties with the denomination, Highland Park leaders said.

The century-old church has the largest membership of any United Methodist church, with more than 15,000 members, according to UMData.

Where do these developments leave the Methodists in Dallas? Saenz’s announcement effectively creates two churches. Highland Park UMC will be overseen by Saenz’s appointed leader, Rev. Andy Lewis. It will meet in the sanctuary of another church this coming Sunday. Saenz said he did not want the “faithful United Methodists of Highland Park” without a place to gather and worship for a single Sunday. Meanwhile, Highland Park Methodist Church has dropped the term united from its name and will meet at its usual location.

What’s the dispute between the church and the denomination? UMC’s Horizon Texas Conference and Highland Park have been in battle over changes church leaders made to their church bylaws. Horizon Texas Conference sued Highland Park in August, contending that the church wrongly changed its bylaws to remove denominational oversight. The church argued that its bylaw changes complied with Texas law and the conference's governing documents.

Dig deeper: Read my report from earlier this week for more details on the conflict between UMC and Highland Park.