The United Methodist bishop who filed a lawsuit against the largest church in his jurisdiction has written a letter to all members there urging them to return their church to the fold.
Ruben Saenz Jr. serves as bishop of the Horizon Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. Last month, he filed suit against Highland Park United Methodist Church over changes a small group of church leaders made to the congregation’s governing documents. The changes were made in 2022 but not publicly known until this year.
The church’s senior pastor and key lay leaders say the changes were necessary to protect the congregation and its assets amid what was a chaotic time for the UMC, with thousands of churches leaving the denomination. By their account, the previous bishop knew about the changes and affirmed them.
Ruben Saenz
By Saenz’s account, none of this was known to him or conference leadership until late 2025.
His two-page letter to every member of the Dallas megachurch lays out what the bishop believes is necessary to return to full fellowship with the conference. He wrote:
The conference continues to ask that Highland Park United Methodist Church restore the governance that was in force before November 2022. The specific restoration includes the reinstatement of ‘United’ in the church’s full legal name, the reinstatement of references to the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church in the governing documents, and the restoration of members’ participation in the governance and leadership of their church. These are not simply matters of corporate structure; they protect the voice of Highland Park’s members in the decisions of its leadership and reflect the congregation’s place within the wider United Methodist connection.
A key issue in the dispute is the church’s assertion that it and other larger churches cannot be effectively governed within the parameters of the Book of Discipline, which lays out specific requirements for all UMC churches.
Saenz addresses that head-on:
Highland Park’s leaders have stated publicly in recent weeks that a church of its size and complexity cannot operate effectively within the framework of the Book of Discipline. I believe there is room within United Methodist polity to address those concerns. Other large congregations have, with the cooperation of their charge conference and district superintendent, developed organizational structures that reflect the complexity of their ministries while remaining within the connection. I invite Highland Park’s leadership to work with the conference to explore what that could look like for a congregation with Highland Park’s distinctive needs and ministry.
HPUMC leaders have not yet responded to the bishop’s letter. It also is not clear how the bishop’s letter was delivered to the church’s thousands of members.
Related:
HPUMC case tests limits of United Methodist connectionalism | Analysis by Mark Wingfield
UMC sues Dallas church for making unilateral governance changes
Lawsuit asks, ‘What does it take to be a good United Methodist church?’ | Analysis by Mark Wingfield
Does Methodist connectionalism serve large and small churches equally? | Analysis by Mark Wingfield