Texas High Court Justices Suggest Methodist Church Pension Dispute Belongs in Courts

Texas courts should decide whether more than two dozen churches must pay to leave the United Methodist Church, several state high court justices indicated during oral arguments on Tuesday.

The justices suggested that a dispute over liability for pastor pension funds is a standard breach of contract case. They did not treat it as a matter for the United Methodist Church to decide outside the legal system.

The case involves 27 churches that departed the United Methodist Church after it amended its policies in 2019 to strengthen its opposition to same-sex marriage. The source describes the amendment in those terms and does not give the church’s full rationale.

The source reports that the denomination established procedures at that time for local congregations that disagreed with the changes. The report is incomplete at that point, so the terms of those procedures and how they applied to the 27 churches are not available here. Courts applying ordinary contract principles to commitments made, as the justices appeared to suggest, reflect accountability for obligations that were entered into (Luke 12:48).

Source: Read the original report