Mt. Bethel leaders are asking members to update their social media accounts to show their support for the church.
The leadership of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has provided a lengthy update to members about the decision by the Bishop of the North Georgia Conference to seize the East Cobb church’s property and assets.
In an FAQ format posted on the church website, Mt. Bethel claimed that Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson made a “false declaration” in declaring that “exigent circumstances” were present in order for her to seek an asset seizure, and for the conference’s board of trustees to take over church operations.
The decision was announced late Monday, and Mt. Bethel issued a heated response via a press release.
In the FAQ posted Wednesday, Mt. Bethel said that declaration “has been refuted in complaints that are presently under review by a higher authority,” a reference to the Southeast Jurisdiction College of Bishops of the United Methodist Church.
“As such, her actions are in disobedience to the order and discipline of the UMC,” read the Mt. Bethel update.
It continued that there are three complaints before the College of Bishops, and that Mt. Bethel has been seeking a “civil mediation process” that Haupert-Johnson has ignored.
In her announcement Monday, Haupert-Johnson said while the asset seizure and management takeover are immediate, Mt. Bethel has 10 days to make the transition.
In its update Wednesday, Mt. Bethel said that if the bishop “chooses to take legal action, we are prepared to defend our rights through the Georgia courts.”
The statement concluded:
“Mt. Bethel’s leadership remains undeterred in their trust of the Lord’s providence and protection, and faith in the protocols and processes of due process afforded the Church by the UMC Book of Discipline, and are grateful for the prayerful support of members, local ministry partners and community faith leaders,” read the statement.
East Cobb News has left messages with North Georgia Conference and Mt. Bethel leaders to get more information about some of these issues and others.
But neither side has responded to requests for interviews or information. Both continue to issue competing, strongly-worded statements, through the media and, in the case of Mt. Bethel’s Wednesday statement, directly to its membership.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Board of Trustees of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church has voted to seize the assets of Mt. Bethel UMC and will operate the church effective immediately, the latest move in an escalating crisis with the East Cobb congregation.
In a statement issued late Monday, North Georgia Conference Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson said that “exigent circumstances” prompted the move, after Mt. Bethel strongly and publicly refused to accept the appointment of a new senior pastor, and made other moves she said violated the denomination’s Book of Discipline governing document.
Other details of the “exigent crisis” were explained at this Q & A, which include claims that Mt. Bethel leaders signed a 20-year lease of property to its Mt. Bethel Christian Academy “without complying with the policies outlined in the Book of Discipline” and planned “to use credit lines, transfer interests in assets, and sell property” without getting proper approval from the Conference.
The North Georgia Conference statement said that Mt. Bethel leaders and attorneys were notified Monday by Conference attorneys that the property seizures are immediate, and that the church has 10 days to complete the transfer.
According to UMC policies, individual congregations do not own properties or assets but are held in trust for the denomination.
The Monday decision means, according to the Conference, that it holds title to real, personal, tangible and intangible property.
“Unless this crisis is resolved by that time, the annual conference in June 2022 will decide whether to formally close the local church,” the Conference said. “In the meantime, the conference Board of Trustees will control all of the assets.”
Mt. Bethel church activities and operations will continue under the management of the trustees, according to the statement. This is the first time the North Georgia Conference has undertaken such a seizure.
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson
“The Trustees are mindful of the concerns of employees, families, and members of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church and the families connected to the Mt. Bethel Christian Academy,” according to the statement, which you can read in full here. “Employment, instruction, activities, and worship at the church and Academy will continue, but under the direction and control of the Conference Board of Trustees.”
A Mt. Bethel statement issued Tuesday accused Haupert-Johnson of “engaging attorneys to go to civil court to seize assets that the faithful people at Mt. Bethel have freely and joyfully given for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed: assets which will become property of Mt. Bethel once it completes a process for disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church, initiated in April 2021. The Bishop is purposely delaying that process.”
The Mt. Bethel statement said the bishop “continues to escalate a crisis of her own” and that the church “will do all in their power to resist the aggressive actions against their church, and they will do all they can to restore the reputational damage Haupert-Johnson is inflicting on many local United Methodist churches that simply want to do ministry without the drama of her intrusive and threatening actions.”
The Mt. Bethel statement also said that she “hastily initiated an ill-timed and an ill-considered move that not only jeopardizes great ministry and missions at Mt. Bethel but also the health and reputation of her entire annual conference.”
East Cobb News has contacted the Conference and Mt. Bethel for further comment and information on the transition process.
The Conference statement Monday said that Mt. Bethel was notified on June 18 to resolve the issues surrounding the appointment of Rev. Dr. Steven Usry as the new senior pastor, effective July 1. They included the church’s refusal to provide office space and pay him a full salary.
In addition, Mt. Bethel retained senior pastor Dr. Jody Ray, who had been reappointed by the bishop to a non-ministry role with the Conference on racial reconciliation issues.
He refused, turned in his UMC pastoral credentials and was named the Mt. Bethel CEO.
In a pastoral letter sent out in late June, Haupert-Johnson said these moves were not in accordance with the Book of Discipline.
The Conference statement on Monday said Mt. Bethel leaders did not respond to the June 18 letter.
The Mt. Bethel Q & A prepared by the North Georgia Conference said Mt. Bethel also has been notified that it is not a church in good standing.
Mt. Bethel held a press conference in April announcing its intention to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, but that action cannot happen until after the UMC General Conference in September 2022.
UMC churches not in good standing are not eligible for disaffiliation, according to denominational policies.
The UMC, the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination, has been roiled by theological disputes in recent years.
That vote was to have taken place in 2020, but due to COVID-19 concerns the UMC General Conference has been delayed until next year.
Mt. Bethel, with 10,000 members, is the largest church in the 800-church North Georgia Conference and is a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, which is made up of more theologically conservative congregations.
Should Mt. Bethel disaffiliate, it is likely to join the Global Methodist Church, a theologically conservative organization that is not an official denomination but that is planning to begin operations after the Protocol is approved.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
