Update: Bishop Names New Pastor for Dallas Megachurch That Voted to Leave UMC
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. appointed the Rev. Andy Lewis and reassigned the Rev. Matt Tuggle, but Highland Park's leaders say the move changes nothing and Tuggle will preach Sunday.
See where this is ›DALLAS —
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. of the Horizon Texas Conference announced Thursday, Oct. 29, that he had appointed the Rev. Andy Lewis as pastor of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas and reassigned Senior Minister Matt Tuggle “to other duties,” The Christian Post reported. The move came days after members voted to leave The United Methodist Church.
The congregation, which now calls itself Highland Park Methodist Church, still occupies the property at 3300 Mockingbird Lane. In an Oct. 29 letter, lay leaders Caroline Nowlin and Mark Freeman said the bishop “claimed to have reassigned” Tuggle and the Rev. Paul Rasmussen, and that his declaration “does not change anything.” They wrote that members “will worship as usual” this Sunday with Tuggle in the pulpit. The Church Council called the bishop's action “retaliatory,” The Christian Post reported.
Members who remain loyal to the denomination will worship temporarily at University Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, which invited them to attend with Lewis on Sunday, Nov. 1. Highland Park's lay leaders said that service is “separate from and not affiliated with our church.” The Christian Post described University Park as an LGBT-affirming congregation.
Lewis was assistant to the bishop in the North Texas Conference and later in the Horizon Texas Conference, and the lay leaders' letter calls him the bishop's most recent chief of staff. He founded a church plant in McKinney and later served as senior pastor of Holy Covenant United Methodist Church in Carrollton and First United Methodist Church in Lewisville.
Saenz, who is also president of the denomination's Council of Bishops, said he was “grieved” by the situation. He has rejected the congregational vote as illegitimate. In that vote, held Oct. 25-26, 90.35 percent of 4,775 ballots favored leaving.
The conference sued the church in August in Dallas County District Court over a restated certificate of formation filed in November 2022 and amended bylaws that removed references to the denomination. In September the church filed a response and counterclaim, saying the changes were valid under Texas law. The church aims to finish its separation work by Dec. 1.
What we don't know yet: The lawsuit is still in court, and who will finally hold the property has not been decided. It is also unclear what Rasmussen's new assignment is or how many members will follow Lewis to University Park.
