Events moved smoothly for the first few years of Jones' tenure, but opposition began to appear in 1965. Voices rose demanding regular elections for the office of a presiding bishop. The situation threatened to split the denomination, and a number of lawsuits answered with counter-lawsuits were filed. The courts finally ordered an election, and in 1968 a constitutional convention held its first session on January 30, 1968. The convention established clear guidelines for the election of church leaders, and later that year the elections were held. Eventually, James Oglethorpe Patterson was elected presiding bishop. This effectively removed Bishop O. T. Jones Sr. from office. He remained Jurisdictional Bishop in Pennsylvania.
