Cobb Church Breaks With Methodists Over Pastor's Reassignment

EAST COBB, GA — Rather than have its conservative pastor reassigned, a prominent Cobb County church has announced that it will leave the United Methodist denomination.

A spokesperson for Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church — the largest congregation in the United Methodist Church’s North Georgia conference — made the announcement Monday from the church sanctuary, according to The East Cobb News.

The break comes in response to what church leaders say was an unexplained conference decision on April 5 to remove senior pastor Dr. Jody Ray from Mt. Bethel and replace him with another minister from a Duluth congregation.

On April 18, Mt. Bethel pushed back publicly, announcing on its Facebook page that it was “not in a position to receive a new senior minister at this time.” Nearly 180 supportive comments — and a link to a petition to keep Ray at Mt. Bethel — followed the post. By Monday, the petition had more than 4,700 signatures. Mt. Bethel has about 8,000 members.

Alluding to “very fragile times” in the United Methodist Church, the petition argued that now is the wrong time to reassign Ray, just after a pandemic and just ahead of a vote that may split the United Methodist Church into separate denominations over their views of LGBTQ marriage and ordination.

In response, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, head of the UMC's north Georgia conference, issued a pastoral letter Monday that quoted a line promised by newly ordained pastors: "You now pledge to go wherever you are sent, to serve however you are called, to exercise your ministry within and on behalf of the whole church."

"'Hostile' Takeover By Evil Ungodly Woman Bishop"

Haupert-Johnson wrote in her letter that reassignments are made regularly and not "out of spite," as a "form of punishment" or to "persecute."

"I fully understand how some congregations may not completely embrace the transfer of the pastor they have known for an extended period of time," Haupert-Johnson wrote. "I acknowledge some individuals in leadership positions may not desire a change because they are used to a certain routine and their pastor has accepted how they conduct the ministry of their church.

"I also understand how emotion can get the better of some among us when faced with change. As the saying goes, change is hard. Occasionally, individuals dealing with such a change attempt to distort the reality and see this as us vs. them situation," she continued in her letter. "They may also not fully inform their congregation members about the traditions of The United Methodist Church in order to accomplish certain personal goals unrelated to their United Methodist faith. Additionally, some may mask the truth and provide false information to their congregants as a way to react to a pastor’s reassignment."

According to Haupert-Johnson, Ray responded to a phone call telling him he'd been reassigned by saying "Let me stop you right there, I'm not interested," then hanging up.

A later meeting between church leaders, the district superintendent and the bishop's assistant went badly, wrote Haupert-Johnson, with "no meaningful conversation." Instead, the church leaders "threatened that $3-4 million would walk out of the church if they were not allowed to deviate from the appointive process and keep their pastor." She added that a sermon on April 18 — known among Methodists as Announcement Sunday — cast the reassignment as a "'hostile takeover' by an evil ungodly woman bishop."

Haupert-Johnson's letter suggested also that pushback from some members of the Mt. Bethel community may have turned ugly.

"It is not healthy, and certainly not normal, for threats to be made to the personal safety of the sitting bishop or of a new pastor," Haupert-Johnson wrote.

An email from the conference's spokesperson said that of 70 appointments announced, "all but one are in the process of smooth transitions."

Ray, who came to Mt. Bethel in 2016, said Monday that he will surrender his UMC credentials, instead serving Mt. Bethel as a lay minister.

The East Cobb News reported that during a recent sermon, Ray told his children that “your Daddy didn’t bow the knee, or kiss the ring, of progressive theology … which is no theology.”

According to the online petition, Mt. Bethel church and its companion Mt. Bethel Christian Academy employ more than 300 people.

Read the story in The East Cobb News.