Members of the Methodist Church in North Texas have signed a petition targeting Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
It charges Sessions, who is Methodist, with “child abuse" and "immorality" for supporting the separation of families at the border.
At First United Methodist in McKinney, Pastor Tommy Brumett said compassion is a cornerstone of his church.
From Facebook to the pulpit, he is using many platforms to call for more compassion at the border and call out Jeff Sessions.
“I need you to pray about what’s going, on on the southern border, because Jeff Sessions, who’s a good Methodist, is quoting the bible at me,” Pastor Brumett said during Sunday’s Father’s Day sermon.
He was talking about a quote made by Sessions during a speech last week about separating families at the border.
"I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes,” Sessions said.
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The quote was the tipping point for many in the Methodist church.
More than 600 members have since signed a formal complaint asking church leadership to "dig deeply into Mr. Sessions' advocacy and actions that have led to harm against thousands of vulnerable humans."
“Jesus said let the children come to me, do not hinder them,” Pastor Brumett said.
"I'm pretty sure what Jesus said about children is more important than what the Apostle Paul said about obeying the government,” Brumett said during Sunday’s sermon.
Brumett says he did not know about the complaint until after it was made public.
He said the response to his sermon has been overwhelmingly positive.
“We may disagree about policy but we don’t disagree about how we should treat one another,” he said.
Pastor Brumett is hosting a prayer at 12:15 p.m. Friday for those caught in the crisis on the border.
Sessions and his pastor can go through mediation to resolve the complaint.
It is highly unlikely, but if there is no resolution, the Attorney General could be expelled from the church.
A spokeswoman for Sessions said he has no comment on the matter.
