BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - A pistol-packing preacher who was fired by church leaders last year as pastor of Friendly Baptist Church finds himself in the middle of an unfriendly court battle.

Pastor Cedric Stringer was hired by Friendly Baptist Church in 2012 and fired in 2013, but refused to leave, according to a lawsuit filed in Jefferson County Court. He then sent letters to the deacons and trustees who fired him, telling them they were fired, and replaced them with substitutes who support him, the lawsuit alleges.

"He told us can't nobody fire him but God," said Michael Alexander, one of the deacons who opposed Stringer.

Attorney Chriss Doss, representing the ousted deacons and trustees, agrees that the church has had an unfriendly atmosphere in the past year. "It has gone through somewhat of a transition," Doss said.

Alexander said Birmingham police have been called to the church four times, most recently on June 1, when Stringer was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct at the church, which is at 920 Sixth Street North, a block east of Parker High School. Stringer was carrying a concealed handgun at the time, Doss said. "They did find a .45 pistol," Doss said. "He has a pistol permit."

Doss, an ordained Baptist minister, said that in most Baptist churches, deacons and trustees run the church, not the pastor.

The last year has been an unfriendly time for Friendly Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. (Photo by Greg Garrison/ggarrison@al.com)

"It's primarily a matter of control of assets," Doss said. "There is a situation where a minister has ignored the majority rule and basically he attempted to replace the deacons and the trustees on his own by simply announcing these things. It's been quite exciting."

Jenifer Wallis, an attorney representing the pastor and his supporters in the lawsuit but not representing the pastor in criminal matters, said the police calls were unnecessary.

"That is an unfortunate effect of the plaintiffs' claim stirring a disturbance," she said. "No one wants for a church to be engaged in a lawsuit."

Alexander said the pastor has suspended Sunday services until a court decides the matter. A hearing on the case may happen in July, Doss said.

Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly connected Pastor Cedric Stringer to a protective order against another person named Cedric Stringer. Michael Whisonant Jr., an attorney for Pastor Stringer, said Pastor Stringer doesn't know the person in question in that complaint.