Shuttleworth defrocked

The long-simmering row between controversial pastor Jeffrey Shuttleworth and the Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU) took a decisive turn last week, as the denomination’s highest decision-making body voted overwhelmingly to revoke his ministerial credentials.

By a reported vote of 136 to 1, with seven abstentions, a Special Assembly of the JBU last Wednesday accepted a recommendation from its Accreditation Status Review Committee to strike Shuttleworth from its Register of Accredited Ministers. The move formally bars him from leading any JBU-affiliated congregation.

The decision comes amid an escalating legal battle over the ownership of lands occupied by Tarrant Baptist Church (TBC) in St Andrew, where Shuttleworth served as pastor for 17 years. In court filings earlier this year, Shuttleworth – who styles himself as “apostle” – claimed he had already withdrawn from the JBU.

In a June 13 statement to the JBU membership, General Secretary Reverend Merlyn Hyde Riley confirmed the decision, noting it was taken “in keeping with the provisions of the JBU Constitution” and following a report from the ASRC based on “complaints received” about Shuttleworth, who had served as pastor of the Tarrant-Balmagie Circuit of Churches.

“As at June 11, 2025, Rev Shuttleworth has been involuntarily removed from our Register of Accredited Ministers. This means that he no longer has rights, privileges, entitlements, duties and obligations as would normally apply to an accredited minister of the Jamaica Baptist Union (in effect he can no longer pastor JBU churches),” Hyde Riley wrote.

While the union did not disclose specific details of the complaints, Hyde Riley acknowledged that Shuttleworth retains the right to appeal.

“Our hearts are heavy, and we encourage your prayers for our brother Jeffrey, the Tarrant Circuit and the wider JBU constituency in the days ahead,” Hyde Riley concluded.

The move marks a dramatic chapter in a saga that has intensified over the last few years. Shuttleworth, known for his fiery, ultra-conservative preaching, has cultivated a loyal and independent following through his group, Freedom Come Ministries – reportedly numbering over 10,000 members as it disclosed in a court filing. The group is based at 51 Molynes Road, the same location as Tarrant Baptist Church and the 27-year-old TBC Radio, where Shuttleworth is a prominent voice.

Shuttleworth’s attorney, Hugh Wildman, told The Sunday Gleaner that a formal statement would be issued in due course. However, others close to the embattled preacher, including retired minister Eswine Haye and congregants at a service on Saturday, declined to comment.

On Friday, one member declared support for Shuttleworth.

“They can always take their title. God is not into denomination. God want kingdom people,” said the member who did not want to be named. “When God comes is He going to say you are a Baptist, Catholic or Anglican? He’s going to take His followers from out of the denomination. They can always take the title all because him nuh stand up with them with their Lodge and all kind of things!”

Not “troubled”

Shuttleworth is not “troubled”, said another member, who often pickets with the Freedom Come Ministries.

The vote to defrock Shuttleworth comes in the shadow of a legal showdown over the TBC property, which has an undeveloped value of approximately $50 million. With the buildings and other assets considered, the overall value would increase substantially. According to court filings, Shuttleworth, reportedly acting on his congregation’s behalf, moved to have the property registered in his name – sparking concern and legal action from the JBU.

“There are no proprietary rights in the JBU over the property,” Shuttleworth argued in an affidavit, asserting that the church “was” a member of the union and that he had long exercised full control over its land and building.

But the JBU contends otherwise, citing the 1969 Jamaica Baptist Union (Incorporation and Vesting) Act, which vests ownership of such properties in the JBU Corporation for the benefit of its churches.

The dispute escalated in late 2024 when the JBU filed suit to block Shuttleworth’s registration attempt. In January 2025, the Supreme Court granted the JBU an injunction halting the registration process. Shuttleworth later agreed to the court order.

In public statements, Shuttleworth rejected the allegations, asserting on TBC Radio in February that “the truth will come out” in court. “You will not hear much from me to defend myself because there is no need to defend myself. The Lord will defend me,” he said.

In one of his court filings, Shuttleworth said he has had to move from under JBU’s control because of its alleged embrace of “alien” principles and what he claims is a “sympathetic” posture towards the LGBTQ community.

Among those grappling with the fallout is Reverend Dr Glenroy Lalor, a former JBU president (2022-2024) who grew up in the very church now embroiled in the bitter controversy.

“I am from Tarrant. I was baptised at Tarrant. I got married at Tarrant. ... I can speak to this from a personal perspective, because that is the church that nurtured me,” Lalor said in an interview on Friday. “To see what the church itself is going through, it’s painful on a number of levels.”

He continued: “Our forefathers in the JBU never envisioned that we’d get to a situation where we would have to do something like this. We assume a certain level of cooperation and spirituality from all of its ministers.”

Nothing to do with

the land dispute

Lalor, who made it clear he was speaking in a personal capacity, contended that the vote had nothing to do with the land dispute and that the union made numerous efforts over several years to resolve the matter through dialogue and reconciliation.

“He has never responded to any of my correspondence,” Lalor said, noting that even personal attempts from colleagues and friends to reach out were rebuffed.

He emphasised that while the union had now taken formal action, its doors remain open to Shuttleworth for reconciliation.

“The JBU, having taken this decision, is never ever… closing the door. The doors are always wide open for dialogue, for communication, for reconciliation.”

Lalor, who leads the nearby Bethel Baptist Church in Half-Way Tree, argued that the vote to remove Shuttleworth’s credentials was no rubber stamp, dismissing the notion that the pastor had long ceased association with the JBU.

“There are three ways that you remove yourself from the JBU. One of them is when you die. The second is you resign. And to the best of my knowledge, Reverend Shuttleworth has never resigned,” he said, noting that the third method is through the vote that took place last week.

He acknowledged that the JBU has been criticised for not taking action earlier, but according to him, “all of us serve the churches at the behest of God through the union … and if I can’t live up to this commitment, I’m going to ask the Lord either to release me from it or to walk away”.

Despite the fracture, Lalor said he still regards Shuttleworth as “a brother and a colleague ... and a child of God,” and reiterated that the union’s goal is not punishment but spiritual preservation.

“This is not something we have done often or in living memory anyone can remember us ever doing,” he said. “And for the JBU to get to this point, it means that they tried every single thing over many years to secure cooperation.”

The Jamaica Baptist Union, which counts over 300 churches and more than 40,000 members in its fellowship, was founded in 1849. It is known for its commitment to community development, education, and social justice.

Asked for his message to the flock at Tarrant, Lalor said, “We are the body of Christ. We have one allegiance, and it is to the Lord Jesus Christ. And none of us must put ourselves in a position that will do any damage to the body of Christ.”

jovan.johnson@gleanerjm.com