Embattled In Conflict, Mt. Bethel UMC Files Counterclaim To Lawsuit

EAST COBB, GA — Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church, embattled in conflict for months, filed a counterclaim Friday to the lawsuit against it by the North Georgia Conference, just in time for the Monday deadline.

The North Georgia Conference’s lawsuit against Mt. Bethel, filed Sept. 8, asks to seize control over the East Cobb church’s assets after mediation attempts failed. It also seeks a permanent injunction to prevent Mt. Bethel, which has been trying to disaffiliate from the UMC for months, from retaining any control over its assets.

In the initial lawsuit filings, it includes a notice saying that the church had 30 days to provide a response excluding the date of the complaint, or else “judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.”

Mt. Bethel, which boasts 10,000 members and is the largest church in the North Georgia Conference, entered into mediation in July with the Conference after months of conflict. In April, the popular senior pastor Rev. Jody Ray was reassigned by Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson to a post related to racial reconciliation. Ray refused the new assignment and claimed it was not made following the proper protocols, and the church announced its intent to disaffiliate.

“If the Regional UMC Administrators really believe the rhetoric they have been spreading—that [Mt. Bethel’s] 50-member Administrative Council unanimous vote was a rogue take-over by a few local church leaders who do not in fact speak for the majority—then, LET THE CHURCH VOTE!,” reads the filing by Mt. Bethel.

The Southeastern Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy and the Southeastern Jurisdiction College of Bishops determined that Haupert-Johnson acted in compliance with the denomination's Book of Discipline when she reassigned Ray, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In July, the church and the Conference entered into mediation talks that ultimately proved unsuccessful, resulting in litigation.

"While the Conference and its representatives have engaged in negotiations with local church officials and have made good faith efforts to resolve the issues without litigation, the current situation has not changed and it is untenable," the Conference said in a statement. "The Conference Board of Trustees will continue to take all necessary and appropriate actions to ensure compliance with the tradition and the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church."

Mt. Bethel is also not providing office space to Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, the Conference’s designated successor to Ray, nor paying him his full salary, according to East Cobb News.

“Despite this [lawsuit] by the Regional UMC Administrators to punish Mt. Bethel, Mt. Bethel continues today to perform ministry in the name of Jesus Christ throughout Metro Atlanta and in places all over the world,” the filing states. “It is sadly ironic that the Regional UMC Administrators accuse Mt. Bethel of violating unwritten ‘conditions of disaffiliation’ while themselves violating the express text of the Book of Discipline disaffiliation procedure the General Conference adopted.”

Following the lawsuit, Mt. Bethel petitioned in Cobb Superior Court to allow Keith Boyette — the head of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and licensed attorney in Virginia — to join its case, ECN reported. WCA is being tapped as a future spot for conservative Methodist congregations, and Mt. Bethel has been actively involved in its creation.

But the North Georgia Conference is trying to stop Boyette from taking on the case.

North Georgia Conference attorney Tom Cauthorn filed a petition Sept. 30, saying Boyette should not be allowed to participate because he “encouraged the congregation of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church to disregard mandates and other doctrine” handed down by the Conference.

The national UMC is scheduled to meet in September 2022 to decide whether to accept protocols to allow congregations to leave.

If the aforementioned Protocol for Reconciliation through Grace and Separation is approved by UMC delegates, Mt. Bethel and other conservative churches would be allowed to disaffiliate, and possibly form their own denomination. The UMC, which is one of the largest mainline Protestant denominations in the U.S. and the world, has been split for many years, largely over LGBT rights. While some in the church want to perform same-sex marriages and allow openly LGBT clergy, others, including Ray, do not.

"I want you to remember this day that your Daddy didn't bow the knee or kiss the ring of progressive theology...which is no theology," Ray told his congregation after he was reassigned, as reported by ECN.

Mt. Bethel is seeking immediate injunctive relief from the Cobb County Superior Court.

SEE ALSO:

• Mt. Bethel Sued By Methodist Conference After Mediation Fails
  
• Mt. Bethel Enters Mediation With Conference To Settle Dispute
• Embattled East Cobb Church Warned Of Coming 'Spiritual Battle'
• Mt. Bethel UMC Assets To Be Seized 'Immediately' By Conference
• Cobb Church Breaks With Methodists Over Pastor's Reassignment