AT2W

Photo courtesy of websrvs.com

South Dallas Pastor Tyrone Gordon Steps Down In Lieu of Sexual Misconduct Allegations From Male Church Members

News channel KFDI calls them ‘lewd’ allegations which have come against a revered Dallas pastor and community leader. Senior Pastor Tyrone Gordon of St. Luke Community United Methodist Church in South Dallas, Texas has been accused of sexual misconduct on more than one male in his church.

The prominent and charismatic church leader is being accused at this time by a young man who attended his church:

KFDI reports:

A 26-year-old pastor who grew up attending St. Luke has filed a lawsuit, listing graphic allegations that Gordon coerced him and other young people into engaging in sexual acts, sometimes in the pastor’s office.  Rev. Cameron Jerrod Greer is suing Gordon, St. Luke and the North Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Dallas News gave the most recent detailed report on the actual allegations:

The suit makes several allegations against the church, including that its “agents and employees” knew or should have known that Gordon was a “sexual predator” because church leaders had been informed about inappropriate actions as far back as 2006.

Photo courtesy of dallasnews.com

Rev. Cameron Jerrod Greer who is now a pastor of his own church told his story as this: (Warning! This contains graphic details)

Greer, who had been a lifelong member at St. Luke, is now pastor of Cockrell Hill United Methodist Church. He said he was working as an audio and visual technician at St. Luke when Gordon arrived. Sometime around December 2003, Greer said, Gordon touched or rubbed his penis across Greer’s buttocks in Gordon’s office between the church’s 8 and 11 a.m. services. At the time, Greer said four other men were in the pastor’s office area, but he isn’t sure if they saw the act.

Greer said four months later, in April 2004, the same thing occurred in Gordon’s office, and this time, the four men did witness the act. Greer said that the four — who are named in the lawsuit — “acted as if [it] were normal behavior.”

On another occasion, Greer said, he saw one of the four men wiping sweat from Gordon’s body as Gordon stood in his underwear with his pants below his knees. Greer said that he realized that “this was not normal and something else was going on.”

The lawsuit alleges several other similar incidents, the most recent in January 2010. Greer did not report any of the incidents to police, his attorney said.

Greer also accused the church of breaching its fiduciary duty by not warning him about Gordon’s “sexual propensities,” which allowed Gordon to coerce him into “engaging in unwanted sexual acts.”

Greer’s suit also states that church leaders had been told that Gordon was exchanging sexually explicit emails and text messages with “both employees and members” of St. Luke. Source

Gordon submitted his resignation and relinquished his ordination at St. Luke Community United Methodist Church. His last day as pastor of the popular church is Feb 15. Bishop Scott Jones, over the Kansas Annual West Conference of the United Methodist Church said this his statement:

“in the midst of pending complaints, of both an administrative and judicial nature, from individuals inside and outside his congregation.”

Of course, the Bishop and Gordon have addressed this issue in an around about way. Neither one of them addressed the allegations directly and Rev. Tyrone Gordon issued this statement:

“Distractions and factions have arisen which have impaired optimal ministry.”

“After much prayer, deliberation and intense discussions with my family, I have come to the conclusion for personal, spiritual and professional reasons that it is time for us to move on.”

Dallas News reported that many of the members of St. Luke Community UMC did not want to speak on the matter but a Dallas area attorney and member of St. Luke, James Belt said he and others had complained to W. Earl Bledsoe, bishop of the North Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church about what they call ‘Gordon’s lack’ of “congregational care.”

We will update you on the latest in this scandal.