UPDATE: Details of Arrested Tennessee Pastor's Split w Seventh-Day Adventists

An assistant for the Tennessee pastor who was arrested Friday on the grounds of the Loma Linda University Seventh-day Adventist Church provided background Monday on a faith-based dispute that started decades ago.

The founder of Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church left the Seventh-Day Adventist Church of North America because he believed the primary church was using a trademark issue to "persecute Christians," Creation assistant pastor Lucan Chartier said.

Walter Ogden McGill, 66, was being held Monday evening at Central Detention Center in San Bernardino. He was ineligible for bail, according to inmate records.

McGill was arrested on a federal contempt of court warrant about 8 p.m. Friday July 13 in Loma Linda by U.S. Marshals based in Los Angeles.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church of North America and McGill are involved in a trademark infringement dispute, according to court records.

The mother church's concern over trademarking its name was the reason McGill decided to form Creation Seventh Day Advenist Church in Guys, Tenn., in the first place, Chartier said Monday in phone interviews.

Chartier, 26, said he first learned of the Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church when he was 17.

"I was living in Oklahoma and I came across the church on the internet," Chartier said. "That's how I first came in contact with Pastor McGill."

McGill visited other Seventh Day Adventist congregations before he came to Loma Linda last week to try to tell people the real story behind the dispute between Creation and the larger church, Chartier said.

In the 1980s the Seventh Day Adventist Church of North America acquired the trademark for which they recently sued the Creation Church, Chartier said.

"We believe the reason they trademarked the name at that time, in the 1980s, was because they wanted another group called Seventh Day Adventists Kinship International to cease using the name," Chartier said.

The group held some of its first meetings in Palm Desert, and today Seventh Day Adventists Kinship bill themselves as "supporting and advocating for gay Adventists since 1976."

Eventually, Pastor McGill decided to form Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church because leaders of the main congregation were trying to use a trademark issue to "persecute Christians," Chartier said.

Seventh Day Adventism as a religion forbids the use of civil courts in all matters, especially religious matters, Chartier said. One of the founding prophets of Seventh Day Adventism, Ellen G. White, wrote about it in the 19th century, Chartier said.

McGill and his followers cannot let go of the Seventh Day Adventist name because it is part of their faith, Chartier said.

"The name is part of our religion," Chartier said. "We cannot deny we are Seventh Day Adventists."

McGill, who also calls himself "Pastor Chick," came to Southern California to surrender to federal authorities on Sunday, according to church officials. He has stated his intent to fast while in jail.

George Johnson Jr., communication director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America, issued a statement just before noon Monday.

"It is not the intention of the Seventh-­day Adventist Church to shut down Pastor McGill's ministry. Recent developments are the result of actions taken by the court because Pastor McGill did not comply with the court's ruling.

"We believe that Pastor McGill has the right to exercise his religious beliefs and operate a ministry, however to falsely identify himself with an organization of which he is not a part, is not acceptable.

"This false association confuses the public, media and at times our own members. The Seventh‑day Adventist Church has defined processes and procedures for establishing and maintaining congregations."

McGill began the Creation Church in 1991, and in 2006, the Seventh-day Adventist Church sued for trademark infringement because McGill used "Seventh-day Adventist" in his church's name, Johnson said.

Although the Church won, McGill refused to stop using the name, Johnson said.

"The idea that this is about appropriating or stealing identity and that this is confusing to people, this is absurd," Chartier said. "Since the church was created in 1991, not one person has mistaken the Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church for the larger congregation.

"When they sued us they were unable to produce any single piece of evidence to show that anyone was in fact confused," Chartier said. "They've accused us of defrauding money as well, and they were also unable to produce any evidence to show that occurred."

Although Chartier is named in the federal court ruling that preceded McGill's arrest, he said he was not aware Monday of a warrant for his arrest. Chartier declined to say where he was speaking from, other than "California."

Chartier said that if he becomes aware of a warrant for his arrest, he will turn himself in.

The Seventh-­day Adventist Church is a Bible-believing Protestant church, Johnson said. Its members base their faith, hope and future in Jesus Christ. "Seventh-day" indicates their adherence to the biblical Sabbath, while "Adventists" means they anticipate the promised return of Christ and identifies their faith community and distinct value system. The Church has more than 17 million members worldwide and 1.2 million members in North America.

The roots of the Loma Linda University Church go back to the original Loma Linda Sanitarium hospital, which was established in 1905.

"Employees of the Sanitarium soon began meeting in the parlor for church services," according to the church's website. "The Loma Linda Seventh-day Adventist Church was officially organized with sixteen members on January 6, 1906."

Approximately 6,500 members of the Loma Linda University Seventh-day Adventist Church comprise the largest Adventist congregation in North America, according to the church's website.

For more background and a copy of the April 2012 court ruling that preceded the federal warrant for McGill's arrest, .

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