Well, if you didn’t know, you see, Pastor Chris Hodges is the founder of Church of the Highlands, and that’s been a topic of discussion in the last year. Why exactly? Well, there was a lawsuit against him, which we now know as the famous Pastor Chris Hodges Lawsuit. And to be honest, there are serious accusations against Hodges and other top leaders from the Association of Related Churches (ARC) in this case. It could change how churches are run and who is responsible for them. Let’s look at this case in detail, shall we?
Church of the Highlands is actually kinda a mega-church in the US, with more than 60,000 members and many campuses, led by Pastor Chris Hodges, you know? Well, for those who don’t know, it also has strong ties to ARC, a prominent North American church-planting organization. And, that is precisely what brings us to Celebration Church, which Stovall and Kerri Weems started in 1998 in Jacksonville, Florida. According to the Weemses, Hodges and other ARC officials specifically targeted their congregation.
Which Claims Are Being Made In This Pastor Chris Hodges Lawsuit?
The thing that led to this Pastor Chris Hodges Lawsuit is the fact (or should we say the “claim”) that Chris Hodges along with Dino Rizzo, and John Seibeling are all being accused by the Weemses of conspiring to acquire Celebration Church in order to advance their own church expansion enterprise. They claim that the goal to gain control of Celebration Church’s assets was the driving force behind this takeover. That’s not it though, there are other allegations too, like defamation, spiritual and emotional abuse, and money mismanagement, so that’s that.
The Legal Battle Begins
This very lawsuit actually came into the picture in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 12, 2023, but later on, rapidly dismissing the charges as baseless, Chris Hodges and ARC have placed their trust in the legal system to prove them innocent. Though the hearings regarding this case took place in August of that year, and not to forget, there were petitions to dismiss the action being considered.
Digging into the Details Of Pastor Chris Hodges Lawsuit
The Weemses’ charges center on allegations of financial misbehavior. They contend that ARC unfairly accused Celebration Church of financial wrongdoing and pushed them into giving a sizable portion of their income. Their charges center also on emotional and spiritual assault. Lawyers for Celebration Church conducted an internal probe labeling Stovall Weems as a “narcissist,” characterizing his staff-damaging, manipulative leadership style.
Defense and Counterpunches
Chris Hodges and ARC, both call the claims baseless, and they are fighting for their innocence, even in the public eye. All in all, so far, they maintain their statement that ARC is actually a nonprofit committed to supporting newly established churches, and the allegations are again, totally baseless. As you could have imagined the attorney of the Hodges doing his job, yes, they simply emphasized that his client’s intentions were to do some good for the community.
