Pastor John Gray has been named in two significant lawsuits tied to his Greenville, South Carolina, megachurch: an ejectment action brought by Redemption Church over the campus he took over in 2018, and a wage claim filed by his former chief operating officer. Both cases were filed in Greenville County Common Pleas in early 2020, both were resolved without a trial, and both unfolded alongside personal scandals that drew national attention.
The Property Fight With Redemption Church
Gray inherited the Haywood Road campus, including a 4,000-seat sanctuary and a fitness facility called The Imagine Center, when Ron Carpenter left Redemption Church in 2017 to lead a congregation in San Jose. The December 9, 2017 transition agreement made Gray senior pastor, president, and board chairman, but Redemption kept ownership of the 17-acre property. Required leases were never executed, so Gray’s rebranded Relentless Church occupied the campus on a month-to-month basis.1Greenville News. Redemption Relentless Church Transition What Went Wrong
On November 27, 2019, an attorney for Redemption sent a 30-day termination notice and threatened ejectment if Relentless did not vacate by the end of the year.2Greenville News. John Gray Redemption Relentless Eviction Dispute Redemption then filed for ejectment on January 2, 2020, alleging Relentless had fallen behind on mortgage payments and that Redemption had to step in to avoid foreclosure.3The State. Redemption Church Eviction Filing
Relentless denied the allegations and counterclaimed for actual and punitive damages. Its filing accused Redemption of unilaterally raising rent on The Imagine Center from roughly $18,600 to $41,000 per month, said Hope Carpenter had sent messages to church members calling Gray “a shady man” and “dishonest,” and alleged Carpenter had misrepresented his financial stability during the transition.1Greenville News. Redemption Relentless Church Transition What Went Wrong Gray’s attorneys framed the dispute as “a fight over church members” rather than a landlord-tenant case.4ChurchLeaders. Redemption Church Greenville Bungled Succession
The parties reached a confidential mediated settlement in October 2020, and Relentless stayed on the property. In January 2021, Relentless went back to court asking a judge to enforce the deal, alleging Redemption was trying to introduce “substantive changes.” Redemption said obligations to third parties had delayed finalization, and Carpenter called the allegations “straight up false.”5Greenville News. Relentless Church Accuse Redemption Breaking Settlement The ejectment case was dismissed on March 19, 2021 by stipulation of Redemption.6Greenville County Court. Case 2020CP2300012 Details Carpenter later told reporters, “There are no more lawsuits.”7Christian Post. Ron Carpenter Settles Legal Disputes With Pastor John Gray
The Wage Lawsuit From the Former COO
Eleven days after Redemption filed for ejectment, Richard Travis Hayes, Relentless Church’s former chief operating officer, sued Gray and the church for more than $75,000 in unpaid wages under the South Carolina Payment of Wages Act. His complaint, filed January 13, 2020, broke down the claim into three pieces:8HTV Prod Media. Hayes v. Relentless Church Complaint
- Roughly $39,769 in uncollected annual draw-type pay.
- Roughly $12,652 in accrued but unused vacation.
- Roughly $23,151 tied to a $25,000 raise Hayes said Gray had approved in 2018.
Hayes said he resigned on December 5, 2019, citing “material ethical and business concerns.” The church said it had fired him the day before for violating its confidentiality policy.9Greenville News. Pastor John Gray Relentless Church Sued Allegedly Unpaid Wages He sought treble damages, pre-judgment interest, attorney fees, and a jury trial.8HTV Prod Media. Hayes v. Relentless Church Complaint
The church’s 15-page counterclaim, filed January 24, 2020, denied owing Hayes anything and turned the accusations around. It alleged Hayes had set up accounting records giving himself a larger salary and benefits package than he had earned at Redemption, without the board’s knowledge; used church funds for personal expenses including house payments, lawn care, pool loans, utilities, and car payments; and claimed a $20,000 annual housing allowance without approval.10WYFF4. Relentless Church Pastor John Gray File Counterclaim Against Employee The counterclaim also accused Hayes of sharing confidential financial information with Ron Carpenter and signing unauthorized contracts favoring Redemption, including the rent increase on The Imagine Center that Relentless was fighting in the property case.11NewsOne. John Gray Relentless Church Counterclaim Hayes disputed the allegations.
Scandals Running Alongside the Cases
The lawsuits landed in the middle of a stretch of controversies for Gray. In late 2018, he was criticized for buying his wife, Aventer, a $200,000 Lamborghini Urus. Gray denied any church money was involved, saying in a Facebook Live video that “not a nickel, not a penny” came from the congregation and that he paid for the car with income from a book deal and his reality show.12Christian Post. Relentless Church Members Support Pastor John Gray After Controversy Over Lamborghini Reporting during the wage case also disclosed that Relentless Church had purchased a $1.8 million home for Gray.9Greenville News. Pastor John Gray Relentless Church Sued Allegedly Unpaid Wages
In August 2020, a Houston woman posted a YouTube video saying she had exchanged nude photos with Gray and received money from him. Gray’s attorneys called the claims blackmail and said they intended to refer evidence to the Greenville County Solicitor’s Office and the FBI.13Greenville News. Relentless Church Pastor John Gray Victim Extortion Attorneys Say No criminal charges tied to that referral have been publicly reported. Gray stepped back from leading the church for a period, though he kept preaching, and later apologized publicly for what he called “inappropriate relationships,” attributing part of his struggles to childhood sexual abuse. Aventer Gray said the couple came to the “brink of divorce” but stayed together.14Christian Post. Pastor John Gray Apologizes for Failures in Marriage An online petition circulated calling for his permanent removal from the pulpit.15Change.org. Permanent Removal of John Gray From Pastoring Relentless
In January 2020, the Oprah Winfrey Network confirmed it had “no plans” to renew Gray’s reality series, The Book of John Gray, ending a three-season run. The network did not give a reason, but the announcement came weeks after the property and wage suits became public.16Greenville News. Oprah Winfrey Network John Gray TV Show Cancelled
Where Things Stand Now
On July 7, 2022, Gray was hospitalized with a saddle pulmonary embolism, a blood clot blocking the pulmonary artery. Doctors said his artery was 50 percent blocked. He was treated at Flowers Hospital in Dothan, Alabama, and then at Northside Hospital in Gwinnett, Georgia, and was released after about a week when the clots dissipated faster than expected.17Christian Post. John Gray Released From Hospital After Health Scare18WYFF4. John Gray Relentless Health Update He returned to the pulpit about a month later.
At a New Year’s Eve service closing 2023, Gray announced Relentless Church would be renamed Love Story Church, effective Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024. He described the previous six years as “laborious, often painful, litigious years” and told the congregation, “Relentless was just the chapter, love is the story.”19Yahoo News. Pastor Gray Renaming Relentless Church20Greenville News. Relentless Church to Be Renamed on Easter Sunday Gray remains lead pastor of Love Story Church at the same Haywood Road campus, with Aventer Gray as co-pastor.21Love Story Church. Love Story Church Homepage