Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church. Photo courtesy of Mt. Bethel.
By Thomas Lambrecht —
In a dramatic and unprecedented move, the North Georgia Annual Conference has initiated action to seize control of the assets of the largest congregation in the conference, Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, Georgia. The conference cited “exigent circumstances [that] have threatened the continued vitality and mission of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church.”
This action comes as an escalation of a months-long conflict over Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson’s attempt to replace the lead pastor of Mt. Bethel, the Rev. Dr. Jody Ray. The bishop’s attempt to appoint the Rev. Dr. Steven Usry as the new lead pastor and move Ray to a conference staff position did not follow the Book of Discipline’s requirement for consultation with Ray or Mt. Bethel prior to making the move. The congregation’s leaders and Ray believed the move would be highly disruptive to the largest congregation in the annual conference that employs 300 staff, including a Christian day care, pre-school, and K-12 Christian Academy day school. This was especially true in light of Mt. Bethel’s stated intention, as a congregational member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and host of the 2018 WCA Global Gathering, to separate from the UM Church and align with the new Global Methodist Church following the enactment of the Protocol in 2022. Therefore, they asked the bishop to reconsider her decision. Instead, the bishop filed charges against Ray, causing him to surrender his clergy credentials. Mt. Bethel then hired him as its “Lay Preacher and Senior Administrator.”
At the same time, Mt. Bethel filed a formal request for disaffiliation from the UM Church under the new process established by the 2019 General Conference. The bishop has refused to initiate the process of disaffiliation and imposed a unilateral condition on such disaffiliation that Mt. Bethel must be “in compliance with the Book of Discipline” before she would consider moving ahead with the process. There is no such requirement for “compliance” as a precondition for disaffiliation, either in the Book of Discipline or in the North Georgia Conference policies and procedures for disaffiliation.
Closing the Church
Under ¶ 2549 of the Book of Discipline, an annual conference can “recommend the closure of a local church, upon a finding that: a) The local church no longer serves the purpose for which it was organized or incorporated (¶¶ 201-204); or b) The local church property is no longer used, kept, or maintained by its membership as a place of divine worship of The United Methodist Church.” Clearly, Mt. Bethel continues to worship and serve as a United Methodist congregation, even during this dispute over the pastoral appointment. They do not fit the criteria that should trigger the closure of the church.
Further in ¶ 2549, “At any time between sessions of annual conference, if the presiding bishop, the majority of the district superintendents, and the appropriate district board of church location and building all consent, they may, in their sole discretion, declare that exigent circumstances exist that require immediate protection of the local church’s property, for the benefit of the denomination. In such case, title to all the real and personal, tangible and intangible property of the local church shall immediately vest in the annual conference board of trustees who may hold or dispose of such property in its sole discretion, subject to any standing rule of the annual conference.”
This latter provision gives the bishop, cabinet, and district board of church location and building authority to unilaterally close a local church that is no longer meeting, if “exigent circumstances” exist that would threaten the viability of the local church’s assets. For example, if the church’s congregation stopped meeting and ceased maintaining the building in good working order, the conference could step in to protect the integrity of the building. This provision was never intended to be used as “punishment” against a local church for disagreeing with the bishop. In addition, this provision is rarely used, mostly with small, dying churches. It has never to my knowledge been used to close a congregation of the size and vitality of Mt. Bethel. Even some progressive leaders are publicly aghast at what they see as an abuse of episcopal power.
“Exigent circumstances” means “requiring immediate action or aid; urgent; pressing.” There is nothing about the Mt. Bethel situation that requires immediate action. There is no evidence that any of the church’s assets are in jeopardy of being lost, damaged, or misappropriated. All the church wanted was to be left alone to continue its excellent and effective ministry in Cobb County until the passage of the Protocol enabled the church to realign with the Global Methodist Church.
The bishop does not really want to “close” Mt. Bethel. She wants the church’s ministry to continue, but under the direction of the annual conference trustees, rather than Mt. Bethel’s duly elected lay leaders. She is therefore perpetrating a legal fiction (the “closing” of Mt. Bethel) to justify her seizure of the church’s assets and usurping control of the congregation’s ministry.
As for the “exigent circumstances” the conference is relying upon to “close” the church and seize its assets, the bishop made a number of allegations about how the church is disobeying the Discipline. Mt. Bethel has refuted all of those allegations, including providing documentary evidence. The church even acknowledged its willingness to accept Usry as an appointed pastor to the church, while continuing to operate under the direction of the church’s duly elected lay leadership. The bishop and conference leaders failed to respond to the church’s reply, moving instead to seize the church assets. Those assets are worth in excess of $34 million, according to annual conference reports.
When it comes to “exigent circumstances,” Mt. Bethel has led the annual conference in many measures of healthy vital ministry in the last five years, including total membership, attendance, giving, missions, and others. If Mt. Bethel is in such bad shape that the conference needs to intervene, the bishop should just stipulate that the whole North Georgia Conference is in “exigent circumstances.”
Acting Out of Love?
Ironically, the bishop and conference say they are “acting out of love for the church and its mission.” Mt. Bethel’s statement in response points out, “While she claims she is ‘acting out of love for the church and its mission,’ enlisting attorneys and the courts to seize assets is a strange way for a bishop to show her love for one of the healthiest churches in her conference.”
The statement continues, “The people of Mt. Bethel Church will do all in their power to resist the aggressive actions against their church, and they will do all they can to restore the reputational damage Haupert-Johnson is inflicting on many local United Methodist churches that simply want to do ministry without the drama of her intrusive and threatening actions.”
Haupert-Johnson caused this crisis through her “hastily initiat[ing] an ill-timed and an ill-considered move that not only jeopardizes great ministry and missions at Mt. Bethel but also the health and reputation of her entire annual conference,” the statement alleges. In response to her failure to follow the required consultation process, Mt. Bethel leaders filed two complaints against Haupert-Johnson that are currently in the process of adjudication through the church’s complaint process. Rather than wait for those complaints to be resolved, Haupert-Johnson has chosen to press forward with an escalation of the conflict, moving it into the secular legal realm.
In response to the bishop’s abuse of the ¶ 2549 process, the church has filed a third complaint against Haupert-Johnson. However, it is likely that this conflict will wind up in secular court before any complaints can be resolved, due to the bishop’s precipitous action to try to seize the church’s assets.
Not only did Haupert-Johnson cause this crisis, she did so contrary to the “truce” agreed to by most United Methodists in the aftermath of the Protocol’s release – a truce intended to last four months but now stretched out to 32 months by the time General Conference meets. As requested by the Protocol, there has been a moratorium on the filing of complaints for pastors performing same-sex weddings and ordained clergy who are partnered lesbians and gays. There was to be an equal moratorium on the closure of churches. Traditionalists have kept our part of the truce. We are waiting for Haupert-Johnson to do the same.
Haupert-Johnson’s actions over the past four months were taken within less than 18 months of the anticipated General Conference meeting to enact the Protocol and allow for “reconciliation and grace through separation.” It was entirely unforced and unnecessary. Is she now planning on also contesting the right of churches to vote to leave under the Protocol once it is passed?
A Way Out
There are ways out of this crisis. One would be for Haupert-Johnson and the annual conference to stand down and discontinue their actions to try to seize control of Mt. Bethel. She could allow Mt. Bethel to continue its vital ministry as it has been, awaiting the action of General Conference on the Protocol in 2022.
Another way out would be for the bishop and conference to respond to Mt. Bethel’s twice made offer to settle the conflict through a process of mediation. The church is willing to work toward a mutually agreeable resolution through mediation, rather than resort to the confrontational process of civil court proceedings. Thus far, the bishop and conference have failed to respond to the church’s offers of mediation.
The real question in all of this is whether Bishop Haupert-Johnson will proceed with a heart of peace or a heart of war. This language comes from the book The Anatomy of Peace, a book promoted by Haupert-Johnson. That book, and its advocacy for resolving conflict through a heart of peace, guided the work of the Commission on a Way Forward and has been touted by bishops as the way we should treat one another during this liminal time of waiting for the Protocol to be enacted.
A heart of war is evidenced by people who are unwilling to compromise, unwilling to meet and hear the other side’s views, those who demonize their opponents, those who use their power to intimidate and force their will on others, and those who seem incapable of thinking, “maybe I’m wrong and could learn something by listening to the other side.” The spirit of “reconciliation and grace” demonstrated in the Protocol was arrived at by people on all sides of the conflict with a heart of peace and a willingness to find an amicable way forward. The Protocol calls upon all United Methodists, and particularly those in leadership, to exercise that same spirit of reconciliation and grace.
A Washington Post article following the 2019 General Conference includes the following quote, “‘I think this is a spiritual exercise,’ said Haupert-Johnson, who favors a split into two denominations, saying she believes population demographics mean Americans will increasingly be under the thumb of African voters unless they split. ‘How do we go about this in a way that you know is of God, led by God? … How do we sense that the Holy Spirit is leading the church now? … If the Methodist church has to get leaner and nicer, I’m all for it. I’m tired of the meanness. I’m tired of the pettiness. I’m tired of the fighting to win at all costs.’” We wish the bishop would live up to her own words.
So far, throughout this conflict with Mt. Bethel, Haupert-Johnson has not displayed a heart of peace, but a heart of war. She has been bound to get her way at any cost, even at the cost of damaging the largest congregation for which she has been given a shepherd’s care. She has demonized the Mt. Bethel lay leadership and is using her power to try to force her will upon the church. She has been so determined to get her way that she has been willing to change her story several times in various public statements and videos as to the rationale for her actions. And she and the conference leadership are so determined to have their way they have disregarded all attempts by Mt. Bethel’s leaders to pursue a negotiated resolution to this conflict.
To the amazement and consternation of seasoned members of the annual conference, Haupert-Johnson’s unnecessary conflict with the lay leadership of Mt. Bethel is ensuring that this conflict winds up in civil court. While no court process can have a guaranteed outcome, Mt. Bethel has a strong case. The bishop has violated church process with regard to the initial appointment decision, as well as with her abuse of the Discipline in trying to seize the church’s assets. The church has a process for resolving such disagreements through complaints, which are in process now. Courts are historically reluctant to get in the middle of intra-church conflicts and may dictate that the status quo be preserved while the complaints are pending. In addition, Mt. Bethel has applied for disaffiliation through the church’s own process. The court could mandate that the church’s process be followed, allowing Mt. Bethel to disaffiliate and preserving the assets of the church until such process is completed. Even if the court decides to hear the case, given the backlog of cases caused by the pandemic, it could be years before the case even comes to trial.
This whole situation was caused by Haupert-Johnson herself. She precipitated this crisis through her initial, ill-considered appointment decision and through her stubborn refusal to compromise or engage in dialog. Now, she appears to be using the crisis she created as a pretext to try to take control of the largest congregation in her annual conference.
Time will tell whether the bishop and North Georgia Conference want to continue with a heart of war to coerce faithful congregations and damage vital ministry. For the sake of the church and the cause of Christ, a better way must be pursued.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
This is a blockbuster analysis of a “Gettysburg moment” for United Methodism. I’m surprised that conservative episcopal leaders have not repudiated Haupert-Johnson’s actions. Have they no witness?
I advocate removal of the Bishop immediately. She has violated her oath of office and the Book of Discipline.
This bishop should be excommunicated for the turmoil she has created!
Have known Jody Ray since he was a young elder. He and his wife, Shelley, are Bible believing, strong Christians.
The bishop appears to be incapable of seeing herself under the authority of a text that she is interpreting — whether the text is from the Bible or The Book of Discipline. This sovereign self is now exercising her self-perceived sovereignty against a congregation. Unfortunate that she has not been checked or balanced or corrected by a committee, council, counsel, or elder in her annual conference.
Tom,
I hate to be mean but you are an idiot. They thought they were going to win in 2019. Now they are a path of war to burn it all down. My Bethel needs to sue her and the UMC for millions. They need to make them feel pain. If all the do is lose a lawsuit and no money on their side they will keep doing this to scare other churches. Mt Bethel should counter sue and try and win monetary damages. This will scare her if her money and UMC money is at stake in a lawsuit. You cannot keep playing defense and hoping to keep the property.
This is what traditionalist get for playing defense. The liberals want to burn it all down. Mt Bethel needs to sue her and the UMC for millions. If traditionalist don’t start asking for millions in counter suits, then the liberals will keep doing this. Quit being so gullible. This whole article is garbage. This is a fight so quit complaining and acting shock. Write an article how you going to fight.
Jody Ray is not “the Rev.” anything. He surrendered his credentials prior to being stripped of them in ecclesiastical trial for his *many* violations of his vows, not just his refusal to go where sent as he solemnly promised to do when he became an Elder.
But of course you will just delete this comment, because there can be only one Party Line™.
This is part of what the bishop promised the conference upon release of the Protocol in January, 2020. This is verbatim from a Podcast transcript posted on the North GA Conference website.
SHE SAID:
I am tired of the name calling and the nastiness. I’m tired of folks piling on with descriptors that are horrific for progressives and conservatives. So I beg you, I beg you in the name of Jesus Christ and his church, let us move forward in a systematic, supportive, relational, loving and mutually supportive way that furthers the ministry of the church.
None of this is official until the General Conference votes on it, but I don’t think that means we have to wait until General Conference to just “see what happens.” I think that is a fruitless task. So I invite you to be in prayer with me. I invite you to do the hard work of living into this. I invite you to build and rebuild relationships between those who disagree with you. There’s a lot of healing work to do and I commit myself to being part of that and to lead you that into the future.
But I do beg of you in the name of Christ, love each other, work with each other. Let’s get on the same page and let’s see beautiful expressions of Methodism in the future. I’m tired of this.
Another way this work is necessary is to avoid years of litigation. Other denominations have had years of litigation and they’ve paid more in legal fees than they put into the mission of the church. And that is a travesty.
I am in prayer for you. I hope you are in prayer for me. We’re in this together and I sense even in the worst times, that God is leading us, that God is renewing God’s church and that God will be faithful to us if we have the mind of Christ and we model his love and grace in all of our relationships. Peace be with you.
Thank you for writing. If Jody Ray were guilty of any violations of his vows, the appropriate process in The United Methodist Church is to file charges against him and allow him to defend himself against those charges through a church legal process. The bishop cannot just unilaterally strip an ordained clergyperson of their credentials. Bishop Haupert-Johnson did not file charges against Ray for “many” violations, only for refusing to accept a new appointment. It is because he felt he could no longer in conscience fulfill his vows that he relinquished his clergy credentials. That was the right and honorable thing for him to do. (In the article, he was a Rev. at the time the action was taken.)
Personal idiocy aside (no offense taken), the way we win this struggle is the same way Christians have always won: through faithfulness, perseverance, and love. We will not win this by out-hating the other side. We can and should stand up for and defend our rights under both church and civil law. But our goal is not to punish those who are acting inappropriately. Rather, our goal is to exhibit the character of Christ in all we do and say.
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. … When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (I Peter 2:21, 23).
In Christ,
Tom Lambrecht
Amen, and thank you!
Those are very nice words from the Bishop, however her actions do not complement her words. Actually it is just the opposite. She, out of nowhere, initiated an unexplained action to replace our Minister. The two previous ministers had tenures 2 to 5 times longer than our current minister. So the precedent has existed that our ministers have been long serving.
I have been a member at Mt. Bethel for 34 years and have known all three. There were no conditions that warranted a change. This was a ministerial change initiated by the Bishop for no justifiable reason(s). Presently she is tripping over herself trying to explain why – – with no facts.
Our church has done nothing provocative. We have been waiting for the Protocol to be voted on and passed at the General Conference. In the interim we had not taken any action to warrant any concern by the Bishop and her staff in the NG Conference. As a matter of fact, at our North Georgia annual Conference in June the Conference voted in favor of approving the Protocol. This clearly reflects the general perspective of the “body” of our Conference and specifically it’s inclination towards that measure.
But the Bishop is continuing her rogue, aggressive actions towards our church. Now she has claimed “exigent circumstances” and released her conference lawyers on us to take over our church property and assets. We are the highest performing church in our conference and nationally our vibrancy compares nicely to other churches. The bishop says; “I’m tired of this” and then initiates surprise attacks. I encourage everyone to not just read the words . . . look at the actions of a person before you comment.
Stay in prayer for us please, for we are under heavy assault from the spiritual forces of evil.
Cloaking the real agenda in fragrant euphemism (covering up the stench) has been modus operandi for some United Methodist bishops. They have mocked us by joking about “conspiracy theories.” Are we fooled?
I understand the sentiment behind your harshly worded response. For the past 50 years traditionalists have allowed one violation after another. Their passive responses has allowed a cancer to spread throughout the denomination and it is too late to cut it out. What can you do when one side is willing to pull every dirty trick they can while the other insists on behaving ethically? The dirty tricksters will gain the material advantage. Waiting for a protocol which may or may not pass at a GC which may or may not happen is going to give the progressives time to drive traditionalists away and push local churches into financial ruin. I think the traditionalists should move now while there are still people and assets yet to save. Time is on the side of the progressives.
Thanks. We all needed that!
Yes he is , NO denomination can take away the calling from GOD
This action she is taking is why the Methodist is a dying denomination
Oh Gary,
You ask, “are we fooled”. Being estranged from my local North GA Conference UMC while trying to endure the outcome — my senior pastor certainly has been fooled. He is all in with Bishop Sue. I was suspicious for awhile until recently with some recent things happening at the church and subsequent exchanges with him about the schism in the UMC in general and this crisis in the North GA Conference in particular. He has chosen sides. My local congregation is larger and affluent. He draws a rather nice salary with the benefits. He came there at the request of our SPRC after the retirement of the former pastor. Yes, our SPRC certainly consulted with the conference before his appointment. I am afraid far too many are “fooled”. The greatest challenge facing the Global Methodist Church will be communicating the difference between it and the coming, and new psUMC. This bishop is a tip of the iceberg of the entrenched UMC bureaucracy and the means it will employ to win the split. The Great Lie underway that traditionalists will be welcomed, respected, and valued in the psUMC is just the beginning.
Thank you for your comments, Kevin. It is not traditionalists who have “allowed one violation after another.” Rather, it is the ineffective accountability system in the UMC. Traditionalists have pursued legislation to uphold the church’s teachings, but we cannot enforce that legislation. Enforcement is up to the bishops and conference leaders. Since they have now declined to enforce the Discipline, that is why we are at the point of separation. The UMC system is not set up for robust accountability to the church’s teachings.
As to traditionalists moving now, the choice would be to abandon church property or to pay hefty exit fees. The cost to local churches would exceed their annual budget. Most local churches would be unwilling to leave under those two options. The Protocol offers our best hope. We remain confident that General Conference will happen and the Protocol will pass.
In Christ,
Tom Lambrecht
Tom points out — “She has been so determined to get her way that she has been willing to change her story several times in various public statements and videos as to the rationale for her actions.” The original rationale is now completely debunked. The BOD violation of Rev. Ray’s notice, the abuse of power with this notice, the bullying tactics used in this notice, and all the accompanying deceptions thereof are clear now. But, perhaps something of significance that’s being missed — the bishop was removing Rev. Ray from the pulpit of the largest congregation, both in-person and online, in the conference to a conference office to SILENCE him from following his calling to preach the GOSPEL and bringing people to Jesus Christ. He was not being moved to another church to continue his most effective and exemplary GOSPEL preaching, but to an undefined position in an office at Century Center, Atlanta to do with “racial reconciliation”. And, this move was so urgent, so pressing that he was to report two months before the July 1 regular conference move date with this one month non-consultation notification. .
.
BUT WAIT!! —- this “new” crucial position that needed to be filled almost immediately HAD BEEN OCCUPIED for the previous five years by the Rev Brian Tillman as Chair of the Conference Commission on Religion and Race — also know as THE MINISTRY OF RACIAL RECONCILIATION. It has to be noted that Rev. Tillman has done extensive work in this area and is eminently qualified, likely more than any other in the North GA Conference.
Since creating the crisis at Mt Bethel, Haupert-Johnson has played her favorite card, the deception card by giving Rev. Tillman a new title. This begs the question, why wasn’t Rev. Tillman given the bishop’s “new” critical position on racial reconciliation in the first place in that he was already successfully fulfilling such a role while holding all the credentials and experience necessary to do so?
Finally, since Haupert-Johnson’s arrival in 2016, the North Ga Conference has lost 21,512 members. It had grown by 46,050 members between 2,000 and her arrival