Texas megachurch pastor retires after arrest for solicitation of prostitution at massage parlor

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Saturday, January 25, 2025

The Rev. John F. Fiedler, a former minister at the nearly 15,000-member Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, retired last month following an arrest for solicitation of prostitution at a massage parlor whose new owner was known by authorities for promoting prostitution, according to police and court records.

Fiedler, 72, had been a pastor at HPUMC from 2013 until his retirement on Dec. 31, 2024. Church records show Fiedler joined the megachurch in 2013, where he preached at the 11 a.m. sanctuary service until he was chosen to direct the Mark Craig Leadership Network to train servant leaders.

“The Mark Craig Leadership Network empowers servant leaders working in the church and in the public sector to integrate faith into their work. Through the Networkʼs two-track program, our goal is to expand spiritual influence by sending servant leaders into the community,” a document about the program explains.

From September to May, fellows in the program under Fiedler’s leadership honed their preaching skills as well as the finer points of pastoral care, church administration, and worship logistics.

Police records first cited by The Roys Report, said Fiedler, who is married with three adult children, was caught up in a prostitution bust carried out on Oct. 2, 2024, at Massage Ease located at 3400 E Hebron Parkway in Carrollton, Collin County.

An investigator was “advised by Carrollton code enforcement officers that the business was sold to another female who had priors for promotion of prostitution out of Oklahoma in relation to a massage establishment.”

Court records show that Fiedler surrendered to police on Oct. 31, 2024, in response to a warrant that had been issued for his arrest for solicitation of prostitution. With no criminal history and a dementia diagnosis, he was released on his own recognizance that day with a $1,000 bond.

A representative of Highland Park Methodist Church couldn’t immediately comment on Fiedler’s arrest when contacted by The Christian Post. His last appearance on Highland Park Methodist Church’s stage was reportedly on Oct. 6.

Fiedler also appears in a video titled “North Texas Annual Conference Retirees” published last June in which he praised his wife as an “invaluable” partner in ministry.