Texas megachurch pastor retires after arrest for solicitation of prostitution at massage parlor

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Saturday, January 25, 2025

The Rev. John F. Fiedler, a former minister on the almost 15,000-member Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, retired final month following an arrest for solicitation of prostitution at a therapeutic massage parlor whose new proprietor was recognized by authorities for selling prostitution, in keeping with police and court docket information.

Fiedler, 72, had been a pastor at HPUMC from 2013 till his retirement on Dec. 31, 2024. Church information present Fiedler joined the megachurch in 2013, the place he preached on the 11 a.m. sanctuary service till he was chosen to direct the Mark Craig Management Community to coach servant leaders.

“The Mark Craig Management Community empowers servant leaders working within the church and within the public sector to combine religion into their work. By the Networkʼs two-track program, our objective is to broaden religious affect by sending servant leaders into the neighborhood,” a doc about this system explains.

From September to Might, fellows in this system beneath Fiedler’s management honed their preaching abilities in addition to the finer factors of pastoral care, church administration, and worship logistics.

Police information first cited by The Roys Report, stated Fiedler, who’s married with three grownup kids, was caught up in a prostitution bust carried out on Oct. 2, 2024, at Therapeutic massage Ease situated at 3400 E Hebron Parkway in Carrollton, Collin County.

An investigator was “suggested by Carrollton code enforcement officers that the enterprise was bought to a different feminine who had priors for promotion of prostitution out of Oklahoma in relation to a therapeutic massage institution.”

Court docket information present that Fiedler surrendered to police on Oct. 31, 2024, in response to a warrant that had been issued for his arrest for solicitation of prostitution. With no prison historical past and a dementia prognosis, he was launched on his personal recognizance that day with a $1,000 bond.

A consultant of Highland Park Methodist Church couldn’t instantly touch upon Fiedler’s arrest when contacted by The Christian Publish. His final look on Highland Park Methodist Church’s stage was reportedly on Oct. 6.

Fiedler additionally seems in a video titled “North Texas Annual Convention Retirees” revealed final June wherein he praised his spouse as an “invaluable” accomplice in ministry.