Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – August 30, 2024 – The apostle John wrote in telling of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ “It is finished! And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30) And so it is in the two-year battle involving the congregants of the First United Methodist Church of Jonesboro.
The two parties, First United Methodist Church of Jonesboro (FUMCJ) and First Methodist Church (FMC) reached a resolution in the lawsuit filed by First Methodist Church (FMC) in December 2022 against the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church. FUMCJ was involved as an intervenor in the case.
FMC is the group that voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. The congregation now meets at the Fowler Center on the Arkansas State University campus. John Miles, the long-time pastor of the Jonesboro church, is the lead pastor for FMC.
FUMCJ meets at the historic Methodist property in Downtown Jonesboro. Michael Roberts is senior pastor at FUMCJ.
According to a news release received from FUMCJ member and former editor for The Sun, Roy Ockert, the two parties entered mediation and reached the following agreement Wednesday evening:
• FMC confirms it is not First United Methodist Church of Jonesboro and has no rights to FUMCJ property or interests.
• FUMCJ will hold all legal title to its real and personal property in trust for the United Methodist Church, as provided in the denomination’s governing document, the Book of Discipline.
• FMC, First Methodist Church of Jonesboro Inc. and any entity using a specifically identified Employer Identification Number will pay FUMCJ a cash settlement of $1.1 million. (The first $300,000 due on Sept. 9; the remaining $800,000 due by Oct. 11.)
• FMC relinquishes all claims to any estate or trust funds where FUMCJ is a beneficiary.
• FMC will cease using the domain fumcjonesboro.org, which is an asset of FUMCJ.
• FMC assumes all FUMCJ’s debt, excluding mortgage indebtedness incurred prior to Aug. 1, 2023.
• FMC will not use FUMCJ’s EIN, name or related identifying information.
• FUMCJ is responsible for paying the current mortgage balance on its property, and the mortgages and promissory notes with First Community Bank remain unaffected by Petitioner FMC’s lawsuit.
• All claims in the lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice (meaning it cannot be refiled), and a joint motion to dismiss will be filed within five business days of the settlement payment and fulfillment of the terms of this agreement.
• The parties will take no action or make comments to disparage or harm any other party regarding the lawsuit or their settlement agreement.
Miles told Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter John Lockwood “This has been a difficult process. The outcome was not what we had hoped for … but we are glad to put it behind us, and our church is thriving.”
Roberts said he was pleased with the settlement. “We are deeply grateful for the resolution of this matter, which allows our congregation to continue worshiping and serving in the place we call home.”
Lockwood described the history of the battle in his Arkansas Democrat-Gazette story:
“The agreement comes after more than two years of conflict between those wishing to remain United Methodist and those seeking to leave.
Under church law as contained in Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, properties owned by local churches have traditionally been “held, in trust, for the benefit of the entire denomination.”
In 2019, however, delegates to a specially called General Conference in St. Louis added paragraph 2553, allowing for the “disaffiliation of a local church over issues related to human sexuality.”
In order to enter the process, a supermajority of a congregation — two-thirds of those members present at a local church conference — had to vote for disaffiliation. Departures were contingent on churches satisfying certain financial obligations and obtaining approval from the annual conference.
The Jonesboro church, which opposed the ordination of gays and same-sex weddings, was concerned by what it viewed as the denomination’s failure to uphold traditional Christian teachings on human sexuality.
On July 31, 2022, its members voted 944 to 412 for disaffiliation, but the move was rejected at a Nov. 19, 2022, special session of the Arkansas Annual Conference, with 254 clergy and lay members ratifying the departure and 335 withholding approval.
The next month, with the support of then-Pastor John Miles, members of the congregation voted 629 to 9 to leave the denomination anyway and attempted to adopt new bylaws and elect new leadership.
Conference officials had warned Miles not to proceed with the Dec. 15, 2022, meeting, telling him the proposed action items were “clearly contrary to the Constitution of the United Methodist Church” and would not be “recognized by the State of Arkansas or the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church.”
On Dec. 16, 2022, the bishop overseeing Arkansas at the time, Gary Mueller suspended Miles “from all pastoral duties effective immediately.”
Miles, who is no longer affiliated with the denomination, continued to preach at the church. The breakaway group later sued the Arkansas Conference in Craighead County Circuit Court.
First United Methodist Church Jonesboro members who remain loyal to the denomination began worshipping elsewhere and eventually elected new leadership, later intervening in the ongoing litigation.
In July 2023, Arnold gave the loyalists possession of the church campus, ruling that the other side was “not likely to succeed on the merits” if the case proceeded.
After being ordered to vacate the building, Miles and the rest of the First Church congregation began meeting in the Fowler Center at Arkansas State University.
Some weeks, attendance at First Church tops 1,000, Miles said. First United Methodist Church Jonesboro attracted roughly 200 worshippers on a recent Sunday.
Before the church split, First United Methodist Church Jonesboro had been one of the 100 largest United Methodist congregations in the country, based on average weekly attendance.”
