UMC bishop defends lawsuit against HPUMC, claims tried to 'avoid' conflict

Officials with a regional body of the United Methodist Church are defending a decision to sue a Dallas megachurch.

On Aug. 10, the UMC Horizon Texas Conference filed suit against Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas County District Court seeking clarification on questions involving the church’s governing documents and a longstanding property deed. The conference said the action followed months of unsuccessful efforts to resolve the matter directly with HPUMC leadership.

In a statement updated Aug. 19 on the conference website, Horizon Texas Conference Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. described the situation as "a challenging and important moment for Highland Park United Methodist Church, the Horizon Texas Conference and all who care about the congregation, The United Methodist Church and the broader Wesleyan movement."

A week later, in an Aug. 26 video message to the congregation at HPUMC, Saenz said he's not approaching the dispute as an adversary but as their bishop.

Saenz, who said he was "grieved" by the dispute and compared it to the Apostle Paul's deep concern for the church in Galatia in the New Testament, said, "[Paul] told them, 'I wish I could be present with you now.' I understand that longing, and I wish I could be with you to listen to you, speak with you directly, and walk through this difficult moment together."

Saenz said he understands the pain surrounding the lawsuit and expressed hope that the longstanding relationship between Highland Park and the UMC can be restored.

He denied the dispute is about whether Highland Park has faithfully served the UMC, and explicitly acknowledged the congregation's lengthy history and its contributions to UMC churches and ministries across Dallas.

“You have helped seed and strengthen churches across Dallas,” he said. “You’ve given generously and carried out extraordinary ministry. None of that is in dispute.”

Instead, Saenz said the disagreement concerns who has authority to govern the congregation and how that authority is exercised.

“None of us owns Highland Park United Methodist Church,” he added. “Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Not the bishop, not the senior pastor, not the church council.”

Saenz asserted that church leaders are temporary stewards of institutions built by previous generations and intended for future generations. That stewardship, he said, requires accountability, transparency and safeguards protecting the congregation’s voice.

“That is why these governing documents matter,” he said.

While the Rev. Matt Tuggle and other HPUMC clergy said they felt blindsided when the lawsuit was filed, Saenz said the church’s senior pastoral leadership and council had been aware of the conference’s concerns for nine months.

“Those were not months spent planning a lawsuit,” Saenz said. “They were spent working to avoid one.”

Saenz also directly addressed concerns that the conference could threaten the pensions of Highland Park pastors.

“Quite the opposite,” he said. “My responsibility as bishop is to protect our United Methodist clergy from those consequences, not to cause them.”

He said he doesn't intend to allow pastors to lose benefits they have earned because of governance decisions they didn't make.

Despite the public dispute, Saenz said he believes those decisions can still be reversed, adding, “My hope remains for restoration."

He described that restoration in three parts: bringing Highland Park’s governance back into alignment with United Methodist order and the UMC Book of Discipline; restoring safeguards and the congregation’s voice in church governance; and restoring the relationship between HPUMC and the UMC at large.

Founded in 1916, or more than half a century before the UMC was launched in 1968, Highland Park is the largest congregation in the Horizon Conference and is the church attended by former President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush. 

According to UMData, as of 2024, HPUMC has around 15,000 professing members, averages over 4,000 weekly worship attendees, and has funds totaling more than $22 million.