Megachurch becomes second OKC church to file lawsuit seeking United Methodist exit. Here's why.

A second prominent Oklahoma City church has filed a lawsuit accusing regional leaders of preventing the congregation from exiting the United Methodist Church.

In their petition, the trustees of Church of the Servant claim Oklahoma United Methodist Conference leaders have been playing "cat and mouse games" to keep the congregation from moving forward with the process to end their church's denominational affiliation. The trustees filed their lawsuit on Monday in Oklahoma County District Court..

Some congregations are moving to sever ties with the international United Methodist Church as part of a rift in the denomination over disagreements about the spiritual compatibility of same-sex marriage and gay ordination, among other things. Thus far, 84 Oklahoma churches have severed ties with the United Methodist Church at two disaffiliation meetings held by the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference. Some churches are severing ties to meet a Dec. 31, 2023, deadline that would allow them to disaffiliate while still retaining their church property and other assets.

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In a prepared statement, Oklahoma United Methodist Conference leaders said they were disappointed with Church of the Servant’s decision to take disaffiliation matters to district court. Much like their position with a similar lawsuit filed by First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City, regional leaders said the courts have no role to play in church affairs.

"As we do with other unfounded and unnecessary litigation, the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church will represent the conference and defend church polity," leaders said in their statement. "Distractions like these are unfortunate, though, because we would much prefer to spend every bit of our energy making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."

Church of the Servant's lawsuit comes just over a month after First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City, informally known as "First Church," filed a lawsuit in June, with church trustees also claiming that regional conference leaders prevented the congregation from disaffiliating. They also were granted a restraining order against regional leaders. Regional leaders have asked the courts to dismiss First Church's lawsuit because they say the courts have no jurisdiction over what they describe as an ecclesiastical matter.

First Church trustees said they are essentially suing for breach of contract and that the matter is a property dispute and not an ecclesiastical issue. A hearing on First Church's lawsuit is set for Friday, July 7.

More: United Methodist disaffiliation United Methodist disaffiliation in Oklahoma

Disaffiliation vote date is key

Church of the Servant, 14343 N MacArthur, held a congregational vote on disaffiliation in 2022, but fell shy of the required two-thirds majority vote by only two votes.

According to the regional conference's disaffiliation process, a church has to wait 12 months before holding another congregational vote on disaffiliation if the two-thirds majority requirement was not met. Church of the Servant's first round of voting was held on Sept. 11, 2022, thus the congregation would need to wait until Sept. 11, 2023, to hold another vote.

A disaffiliation deadline is at the heart of the apparent impasse between the Church of the Servant congregation and the regional conference leaders. Regional leaders have given congregations until Sept. 6 to hold the required discernment meetings and congregational disaffiliation votes. Those congregations that meet this deadline and all other regional conference requirements will be eligible to have their disaffiliation requests ratified by Oklahoma United Methodist delegates at a meeting set for Oct. 13.

Church trustees claim in their lawsuit against the regional conference, Bishop Jimmy Nunn and Crossroads Superintendent Sam Powers that they have repeatedly asked Powers to call for another disaffiliation vote without success.

"Calling that church conference is not discretionary on the part of Defendants," church trustees said in their petition. "Plaintiffs continued requests to call that church conference have gone unanswered under the guise of Defendant Sam Powers needing time for the 'process of prayer and discernment in consultation.'"

Church trustees also said Nunn's final designated disaffiliation date of Oct. 13 is "unilaterally and arbitrarily" set ahead of the Dec. 31, 2023, deadline giving the church the possibility of disaffiliating while still retaining its property and other assets.

In their statement, regional leaders argued that Church of the Servant simply doesn't meet the disaffiliation process requirements that have already been set forth. They said they won't modify the disaffiliation process they have been using for other churches seeking to end their affiliation.

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"It would be irresponsible of us to change the process for one church without fully understanding any and all legal implications of that change," regional leaders said in their statement. "Unfortunately, the lawsuit was filed while our conference leaders and the church were in the middle of discernment about the matter."

Transitions

Church of the Servant was founded by the Rev. Norman Neaves in 1968 with 148 members, according to court documents filed by the church trustees. The church moved to its present location near the Kilpatrick Turnpike and MacArthur in 1993. The congregation grew to include about 8,000 members at one point. More than 1,000 people currently attend in-person worship services at the church and hundreds more attend via virtually, according to the church's lawsuit.

The Rev. Matthew Mitchell served as Church of the Servant's senior pastor and led the congregation through the first disaffiliation vote in September 2022. Mitchell came from Georgia to lead the church in 2017. Earlier this year, he submitted his resignation and he preached his final sermon at the church on June 18.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Seeking exit, Church of the Servant files suit claiming broken contract