What's the latest regarding the lawsuit between the Rio Texas Conference and 28 local churches? The case is in the hands of the Texas Supreme Court, but the Court has not yet issued a decision. The Conference filed suit against churches seeking disaffiliation because the Conference alleges that the churches owe payments connected to pensions, insurance and other expenses under the UMC Book of Discipline.
The Bexar County district court dismissed the Conference's lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction, and the Fourth Court of Appeals affirmed that decision on October 29, 2025. The appeals court concluded that resolving the Conference’s claims would require interpreting the Book of Discipline, a document that includes matters of church doctrine and governance. It also rejected the Conference’s alternative argument that a court should enforce the Conference’s decision as the higher church authority. The Texas Supreme Court accepted the Conference’s appeal and the justices heard oral arguments on November 3, 2026.
The question before the Supreme Court is a preliminary one: may a civil court hear the Conference’s claims, or does the First Amendment require the courts to stay out of this dispute? The Court is not being asked at this stage to decide how much money, if any, the churches owe. Nor is it deciding who owns church property. The appeals court specifically described the case before it as a dispute about obligations under the church’s disaffiliation rules, not a dispute over ownership of the property the churches occupy.
There are two broad possible outcomes. If the Supreme Court agrees with the churches, it could affirm the dismissal. The Conference’s claims in this lawsuit would then remain dismissed, and this case would not proceed to a civil trial. If the Supreme Court agrees with the Conference that its claims can be considered under neutral principles of law, it could reverse the lower courts and return the case for further proceedings. That would give the Conference an opportunity to continue pursuing its claims; it would not mean the Conference had already proved that the churches owe money or that it had won a judgment. The merits would still need to be addressed.
The Conference’s position is that its claims concern financial obligations that courts can decide without ruling on religious matters. The church's’ position is that those obligations arise from the Book of Discipline and cannot be separated from the church’s internal rules and governance. Those are the arguments the justices must weigh. For now, the legal status is unchanged: the churches won in the district court and the court of appeals, and the Texas Supreme Court has heard the Conference’s appeal but will not likely release their ruling until the spring of 2027.
KEEP THE FAITH.
