(RNS) — When the Rev. Jerry Beeson discovered financial irregularities in his new church’s bank accounts, he tried to do the right thing.
In October 2024, Beeson had moved up from Texas to become pastor of Living Waters Tabernacle Church in Meeker, Oklahoma, after his predecessor, the Rev. Michael Hall, had been made a bishop in the Pentecostal Church of God. As Beeson looked at the bank accounts, he now alleges, he found that Hall and his wife had misused church funds.
Following church protocol, and not wanting to cause a public scandal for the church, Beeson, a former newspaperman turned preacher, reported what he had found to denominational officials. He is still paying for his actions.
Instead of looking into the matter, Beeson says, denominational leaders took over Living Waters in May, changed the locks, seized the bank accounts and kicked out its leaders. Beeson was fired.
But until Thursday (Oct. 30), when the bishop and his wife were arrested and charged with embezzlement, Hall kept his job, with disciplinary power over all pastors in the Oklahoma District of the Pentecostal Church of God.
According to a local news report, county prosecutors now allege that Michael and Vickie Hall used more than $170,000 in church funds to pay for improvements on their home, to make purchases at Walmart and Hobby Lobby, and to buy a vehicle for their kids.
Booking photo of Michael Hall on Oct. 30. 2025. (Photo courtesy of Lincoln County Jail)
An attorney for the Oklahoma District said Hall has been suspended pending the outcome of the legal case. “Similarly, Bishop Hall’s credentials and position as Bishop with the District have also been suspended,” Philip Haney, legal counsel for the district, told Religion News Service in an email.
“I will only say this,” said Ed Lindsey, who represents Bishop Hall, in an email, “the Halls are innocent of any wrongdoing and are going to be vindicated in court.”
The Halls’ arrests are the latest development in a conflict that began a year ago, not long after Beeson was hired at Living Waters. Beeson thought he’d landed the perfect job. Living Waters, a congregation of about 100, was doing well. Hall still lived nearby, meaning Beeson would have a close colleague who knew the church well.
“We thought we had a great setup when we got here,” said Beeson, referring to himself and his wife, Sheri. “You know, Bishop lives down the street. If I need something, I can lean on him.”
But after noticing something amiss in the church finances, Beeson talked with lay leaders at Living Waters, then contacted the national Pentecostal Church’s General Council. He was following denominational bylaws that state that any accusation against a minister (except child abuse, which must be reported to legal authorities) has to go through a detailed denominational process. That process includes finding more than one witness, signing an official form accusing a minister of wrongdoing and keeping any accusations confidential.
Anyone making a false accusation can be punished. “If the district board determines that the charges are unsubstantiated, the accusers shall be required to meet the district board for full accountability of their actions,” the bylaws say. “The false accusers shall be required to submit to the same process of discipline.”
