Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas and the Horizon Texas Conference remained at odds this week over changes to the megachurch’s governing documents.
The Horizon Texas Conference filed a lawsuit in Dallas County District Court on Aug. 10, asking the court to resolve questions surrounding Highland Park UMC’s governing documents and a property deed that has been in place for decades.
Conference leaders contend that Highland Park UMC continues to operate as a United Methodist congregation under the Horizon Texas Conference. They allege that the church council revised the congregation’s articles and bylaws in 2022 and early 2023 without informing the broader congregation or the conference and without obtaining approval through a properly convened charge conference, which they say is required under the UMC Book of Discipline.
According to the conference, the revisions eliminated longstanding references to The United Methodist Church, the regional conference and the denomination’s Book of Discipline.
Highland Park UMC, which has more than 16,000 members and is among the conference’s largest congregations, has disputed that account and strongly criticized the lawsuit.
The Rev. Matt Tuggle, who now serves as senior minister, spoke about the lawsuit in an Aug. 12 video message to the congregation, saying church clergy and staff were “taken entirely by surprise” and “caught completely off guard” when the case was filed.
“We have been faithful United Methodists and have always supported United Methodist leadership,” Tuggle said in his statement reported by Park Cities People and The Christian Post.
The Rev. Paul Rasmussen, who served for years as the church’s senior minister before retiring in February and becoming minister-in-residence, issued an Aug. 19 statement comparing the conflict to the biblical story of Cain and Abel.
“For the Horizon Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church to file a meritless lawsuit against our church is both bewildering and disappointing.”
Rasmussen, in remarks also reported by UM News, cited Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John, writing that “Jesus warned his followers that ‘in this world you will have trouble’ [in] John 16:33.”
“He stopped short of pointing out, though, that the trouble and pain often come from the people you love the most. Family. Friends. Brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s interesting that the first violence in the Bible is between two brothers,” Rasmussen wrote.
Arguing that “conflict among family is severe and often irreparable,” Rasmussen described the conference’s lawsuit as “among the more unnecessary and egregious betrayals of a loyal ministry partnership I’ve witnessed in 26 years as a United Methodist pastor.”
Rasmussen said his statement was not intended to litigate the substance of the case, calling the allegations “outrageous and false.” He added that “lay leaders and lawyers will address those corporate issues in due course, in the capable hands of the courts.”
He also pointed to Highland Park UMC’s long record of support for the denomination over its 110-year history. Rasmussen noted that more than 7,600 congregations across the United States departed the UMC between 2019 and 2023 under a temporary disaffiliation provision that has since expired, while Highland Park chose to remain.
The lawsuit is still pending before the Dallas County District Court.
