"I never met with the bishop. He never spoke with me, phoned me or e-mailed me," Baker told VOL. "The only bishop who has been in touch with me is the Rt. Rev. Maurice "Ben" Benitez who ordained me. He has been supportive and very kind."

At the diocesan website, another story is told. "When Baker rejected a process of discernment with Bishop Wimberly, the bishop offered a pastoral approach. Together Bishop Wimberly and Baker discerned a path forward, leading to Baker's resignation and renunciation of orders on Thursday, followed immediately by the Canon's meeting with the vestry to offer the diocese's support and resources for the transition period."

Wimberly's letter suggests that he sat down with Baker but this meeting never took place. "I never saw him; he made no effort to contact me. Nothing. I was summarily dismissed by canon Doyle," he told VOL. "Would an orthodox bishop be so quick to can an orthodox priest" he asks?

Baker's disillusionment with The Episcopal Church had been coming on for some time. He had watched with dismay the spiritual lawlessness and breakdown of faith and morals climaxing with the consecration of an openly gay man in the person of V. Gene Robinson. "I knew it was over then," he told VOL.

Here is his story: "I was ordained by The Rt. Rev. Maurice Benitez following my graduation from Virginia Seminary in 1981. I served under the Rev. Claude Payne at St. Mark's, Beaumont for five years. I then served in St. Andrew's Pearland for five years. In January 1991 Bishop Benitez invited me to plant a new congregation in the rapidly growing area of Sugar Land. I planted Holy Cross in 1991. We grew from my wife and two daughters to 300 in attendance. We built a 23,000 square foot building and had one of the highest if not the highest per family giving in the Diocese.

"I have served the Diocese as a member of the Christian Education Department. I was the chair of the Department of Evangelism for several years as well as serving on the Executive Board and Board of Episcopal High School, Houston. I led many summer Children's camps and served on Cursillo Teams.

"In 2004, during Bishop Wimberly's first Diocesan Council the orthodox voice was completely silenced by a very clever use of Robert's Rules of Order. Following the 2006 General Convention when it became very apparent that the Episcopal Church had no intention of repenting of its ways, I began to explore alternative options to the Episcopal Church. For me, to have a bishop from another country would defeat the purpose of having a bishop. Also I think other Anglican(ish) options will be considered (over time) by those in our communities as part of the same liberal church that is promoting anti-Christian, anti-family behavior. Those of us in the struggle know homosexuality is only the symptom of a much larger disease - the neglect of Scripture."

"Prior to renouncing my orders, I held three meetings with key leadership expressing my growing struggle with staying in the Episcopal Church and staying true to my relationship with Jesus Christ. I was waiting for the outcome of the meeting hosted by Bishop Wimberly before I made my final decision. I was never given that opportunity. Three individuals within the leadership formed a 501Copyright3 non-profit organization so that if the bishop acted as he has with other orthodox clergy, demanding their renunciations, we would have somewhere to go to. This proved to be smart move on their part. I had also attended a church planters' conference being led by the Evangelical Covenant at their expense." www.Covchurch.org

Baker's then private ruminations about the TEC found their way to diocesan headquarters. "Someone went to the bishop's office and informed him about my struggles. I was called into the office by Canon Doyle on Thursday, September 21. When I arrived all of the necessary paper work needed to dismiss me had already been prepared for me to sign. I first signed a godly admonition demanding I cease all discussion of leaving the Episcopal Church. I could have fought the bishop's judgment and gone through a trial or I could simply resign, or renounce my orders. I chose to renounce my orders."

"I was devastated. I had put 25 years of faithful service into the Episcopal Church. Every ministry grew, which I led, during that time. I was on the cutting edge of church planting during the Decade of Evangelism and now I was being dismissed without even the courtesy of a conversation with my bishop," he told VOL.

Hurt, but undeterred, Baker decided to look outside the Anglican realm and, together with a number of his congregation launched a new non-denominational congregation called Life Church Fort Bend. "Last Sunday we baptized 6 people and had over 100 adults in worship, plus 40 kids in Sunday school." Clearly God has not abandoned us or his people.

The new congregation is working hard to raise necessary funds to launch in early 2007. We are considering aligning ourselves with the Evangelical Covenant Church, an independent evangelical denomination founded by Swedish immigrants," he told VOL.

"My question is this. If Bishop Wimberly is so truly orthodox, why would he be in such a hurry to dismiss one of his orthodox clergy without even meeting with him?"

The website story about Baker's dismissal says that the majority of the vestry remains in charge at Holy Cross to help lead the congregation through the current transition and to help plan future goals for growth and mission. The bishop's staff is working closely with the leadership to evaluate the financial and physical state of the parish. Doyle met with church leaders and will assist them in rebuilding the vestry.

'To many of you this news will come as a surprise. To others and to myself it is an important step in Mike's spiritual journey,' Bishop Don Wimberly wrote in a letter sent to the entire congregation. 'His [Baker's] dissatisfaction with the Episcopal Church has grown over the past few years. I know this has been a painful time for him and for those who have served closely with him,' Bishop Wimberly acknowledged in the letter.

Another evangelical priest in the Diocese of Texas told VOL, that Wimberly plays the game of orthodoxy but he carries a corporate big stick. "The bishop talks about unity, but it is based on the big stick he carries, and if you step over the line you are out. You don't wipe them out if you are not part of the corporation," he said.

END