Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush have reportedly expressed support for their longtime Dallas church's leadership after an overwhelming congregational vote to leave the United Methodist Church sparked a dispute over pastoral authority and church governance.
According to The Christian Post, citing The New York Times, Bush chief of staff Freddy Ford confirmed that both participated in Highland Park Methodist Church's congregational vote. The couple have belonged to the church since the 1980s.
Ford said the Bushes "are grateful to Reverend Matt Tuggle for so faithfully guiding the congregation through these rough waters." The reported statement praised the pastor without detailing how either Bush voted.
The congregation voted Oct. 25-26 on whether to sever its ties with the UMC. Of 4,775 ballots cast, 90.35% supported leaving, according to the church council. Leaders subsequently announced that the congregation would worship as Highland Park Methodist Church and aimed to complete operational changes associated with the separation by Dec. 1.
The Horizon Texas Conference disputes the vote's validity under church law. Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. maintains that Highland Park remains a United Methodist congregation and has appointed the Rev. Andy Lewis as its senior pastor, removing Tuggle and senior pastor emeritus Paul Rasmussen from their leadership assignments.
Highland Park's church council has rejected that intervention and continues to recognize Tuggle as senior minister. Members wishing to remain United Methodist have been offered worship services with Lewis at nearby University Park United Methodist Church.
The confrontation follows an August lawsuit filed by the conference over changes Highland Park adopted to its bylaws in 2022. The conference alleges that those revisions improperly removed denominational oversight and weakened members' authority over church governance. Highland Park disputes those allegations and has defended the revisions as lawful under Texas law.
The dispute also raises unresolved property questions. United Methodist rules generally require congregational property to be held in trust for the denomination. A temporary provision allowing qualifying churches to leave with their property expired at the end of 2023. The congregation's vote therefore has not settled the competing claims surrounding its departure.
For Highland Park, founded in 1916, the immediate result is a divided church community: its existing leaders are proceeding with separation, while conference-appointed leadership is caring for members who want to remain within the UMC. Litigation remains ongoing.
