Headlines from 1990
Dec. 7, 1990
December 10, 1990
Publication:The Courier-Journal
Location:Louisville, Kentucky
Issue Date:Monday, December 10, 1990
Page:1
MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1990. 35 CENTS LATE KENTUCKY EDITION, 38 PAGES, COPYRIGHT 1990, THE COURIER-JOURNAL, LOUISVILLE, A GANNETT NEWSPAPER CHURCH MEETING ENDS IN FRAY STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL HAYMAN
The Rev. Dennis Lyons, left, and a police officer told the congregation of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church to leave yesterday. Beleaguered pastor resigns amid turmoil
By BILL WOLFE Religion Writer
The pastor of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church resigned yesterday after a congregational meeting erupted into fights. The altercations were quelled only when a dozen Louisville police officers evacuated the church, which is near downtown.
Police said no arrests or serious injuries stemmed from the fracas, which began shortly before 3 p.m., the climax of a rancorous meeting. Church members had been debating whether to call a business meeting to vote on firing the pastor, the Rev. Dennis Lyons.
Opposing sides — who shortly before had been lifting hands in praise of God — began raising hands against one another during a heated argument.
The episode — the culmination of a series of confrontations between Lyons and officers of the church — brings into question the future of a preacher some considered a bright star in Louisville’s black religious community.
St. Paul hired Lyons in 1983, and he was admired both in church and elsewhere for his ministry to the poor and homeless. He also worked with prisoners, prostitutes and drug addicts.
He has been involved in civil-rights groups; he frequently leads street revivals in areas reputed to be centers of drugs and violence; and conducts a nightly radio program on a Louisville station.
But Lyons has also had several scrapes with the law, including a 1989 felony conviction for mishandling money at a funeral home he owns. And he became locked in conflict with church officers this year over control of congregational policies and finances.
A congregation member who supported the Rev. Dennis Lyons was held back by a friend as a
police officer (wearing glasses) and others crowded nearby yesterday at the church. The fighting,
which brought out a dozen Louisville police officers, ended with Lyons resigning as pastor.
After a Sept. 9 service during which an argument broke out over control of the day’s offerings, Lyons sued his opponents and obtained a restraining order to keep them from “disrupting the worship services.” The officers, responding in court that Lyons had mismanaged and misappropriated money, asked the court to terminate his pastorate. Circuit Judge William Knopf tried to turn the dispute back over to the congregation for the members themselves to resolve.
Yesterday Lyons’ opponents had planned to call a business meeting immediately after the church service. Lyons hoped to delay a vote on his future there until Dec. 23, arguing that not all the members had received copies of a new set of church bylaws adopted last month under court order. The initial scuffle yesterday began between the pastor’s wife, Joan Lyons, and Vena O’Bannon, the wife of Edward O’Bannon, chairman of the church’s board of trustees. Church members jumped between the two women, but other fights soon broke out in aisles and hallways.
Two police officers, on
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Church meeting Continued from Page One
keep the peace, called for more officers, who quickly arrived and ordered the whole crowd of more than 150 people off the church property. Some members blamed Lyons for the incident. “He wanted to start a fight,” said Nathaniel Webster, chairman of the finance committee. When the fighting broke out, Lyons told Courier-Journal photographer Michael Hayman, “That’s what I wanted to happen,” Hayman said. Afterward, however, the pastor said he had been misunderstood, that his comment had been, “This is what I knew would happen.” Lyons said he was resigning, effective immediately.
“I think that this is best for the people. That’s who I’m concerned about,” he said. Now, he said, he plans to spend one or two weeks “in prayer and fasting” before deciding his next move. Lyons engendered both fierce loyalty and adamant opposition during his years at St. Paul.
Supporters said he reached out to them in a way that no other minister had, and some say they’ll follow him if he takes the reins of another church. William Tilford, 43, said that he became a Christian about one year ago through a Salvation Army ministry but that it was Lyons who helped him rebuild his character and his life. “I’ve been in prison three times. I’ve been a drug addict for over 20 years,” Tilford said. Despite that history, he said, Lyons “made me feel welcome.
He made me feel wanted.” ends in fray “He’s been better to me than some members of my family,” said Dee Netter, a member of St. Paul for three years. When she needed money, Lyons helped her, Netter said. “He’s been right at my side every time I’ve been upset. …
Brother Lyons is dedicated to what he’s doing here.” Even opponents give Lyons credit for being an effective and entertaining preacher who mixes music and sermon in dynamic fashion. “The man is a good preacher. He is a good teacher. If the man had done just halfway right, the man could be one of the biggest preachers here in town,” said Edward O’Bannon. “He was sort of a charmer,” said Willie Slade, church treasurer.
“He’s very pleasant to be around. He made the people think that he was all glitter, all gold. And in all reality, he wasn’t.” “It’s not so much what he’s done inside the church he’s had so many problems outside,” said 35-year member Chauncy Bender, who predicted that Lyons’ resignation would split St. Paul’s membership. Those problems have included numerous charges of failure to support a child from a previous marriage and the conviction last year for mishandling money he received in advance for burial plans at his funeral home.
Lyons was put on probation for five years. This year he was convicted on a bad-check charge that could send him to prison. A hearing is set for February on a motion to revoke his probation because of the new charge and because of failure to make child-support payments. Lyons said his legal problems all stem from unpaid bills at his funeral home, which he owns but no longer operates because he lost his license last year as a result of the felony conviction. “I’ve got at least $80,000 that people owe me for funerals,” said Lyons, who said he was trying to help poor people by extending credit.
His bad-check case this year, Lyons said, happened when a check he deposited into his account bounced. He was sentenced to 30 hours of community service. Lyons blames his problems at St. Paul on Edward O’Bannon, the chairman of the trustees and the leader of a prominent church family, who Lyons contends wants to dominate church affairs. Both sides agree that Lyons came under fire for allowing women to preach at the church.
According to Slade, the congregation voted last year not to allow women in its pulpit, but Lyons continued to invite women up to speak. Lyons defended his actions, saying church members just “have not been taught that women have a place in the ministry of God.” Other ministers have looked at Lyons’ problems with compassion and sadness and some embarrassment for their profession. “Anything like that hurts,” said J. E. Moore, former moderator of the central district of the General Association of Baptists in Kentucky.
The Rev. Jerome Johnson, associate pastor at St. Paul, hopes to follow Lyons to a new ministry. But he said neither Lyons’ friends nor his foes should be pleased with the way things turned out. “It hurts me to my heart,” Johnson said.
“I wish it hadn’t come down to this.”
Fast forward to 2024
CONNECT THE DOTS:
Bishop Lyons has a special relationship with Tyra Walker, JCTA Secretary, co-chair for Kentucky Alliance and candidate for Metro Council. Although Tyra and Bishop are not blood relatives, Lyons has had at least one child with Tyra’s mother, Lillian Phillips. Sadly, both mother and child are now deceased.
