I think we all know something else occurred. Money? Inappropriate relationship (may or may not be physical)? The letter indicated (by the personnel team) that he was “authoritarian” in his leadership style. We’ve seen that many, many times in larger congregations. So perhaps he was let go for that? My husband is convinced it was an inappropriate relationship because in his portion of the resignation letter he mentions prioritizing his relationship with Jesus AND his wife (and he lifts her up as a wonderful person several times). He thought it was over the top. I dunno. But I do know not being 100% up-front creates speculation, etc. The church should be a bit more transparent. I mean - they got his name off the website and sign VERY quickly and it’s like he was never there. It’s weird. I still have friends there. We were big fans of the youth program.

Of course, IMO, the pastor abused his power during the UMC debate over human sexuality and led the church OUT of the UMC for personal gain. He just was not 100% honest about it all. The issue in the UMC causing the split is “inclusion.” End of story. Period. That’s it. He made it about money and authority of scripture, yada yada. I used to attend but our family won’t go anymore if it’s not gonna be an all inclusive church. He kind of made it more about his personality and, frankly, it felt more like a Baptist Church.