Lead Pastor Nomination

We're excited about this important step in our church's leadership journey. Our current Executive Pastor, Dr. Roger Sappington, has been nominated following a prayerful and unanimous decision by the Nominating Committee. This is the time for us individually to seek the Lord for direction regarding this nomination. Please be in prayer for our church, for God’s leading and for unity as we move forward.

If you have questions or concerns about this process or about the nomination of Dr. Roger Sapptington, our Elders would be happy to talk to you. Please reach out to them directly by email.

We will host a Q&A session with Dr. Roger Sappington, Elders, and Nominating Committee members during 2nd hour (replacing regular Community Group time). This will be held in the Worship Center. In order to allow the bulk of our Sunday volunteers to attend, Children's Ministry programming will be available for Basix only. Kids are welcome to join you in the Worship Center. This is a great opportunity for them to learn more about the church and what it means to be part of our faith community.

A congregational vote for Lead Pastor will take place during our 9:30 am Worship Service. We will hold our Annual Church Business Meeting during the second hour at 10:45 am (a new time for the originally scheduled 5:00 pm evening business meeting). Active CBC members who have reaffirmed membership for 2025 are eligible to vote. Results will be announced during this meeting. In order to allow the bulk of our Sunday volunteers to attend, Children's Ministry programming available for Basix only.

I grew up in Fort Worth attending McKinney Memorial Bible Church. Through a neighborhood Bible study and conversations with my parents, I came to faith in Christ as a child, confessing my sins and accepting Him as Lord. I studied Aerospace Engineering at UT Austin, where I met Sarah. After working as an engineer at Northrop Grumman, I earned my J.D. and MBA from SMU and transitioned to practicing technology and intellectual property law.

Sarah and I have been married for 28 years and attending Pantego/Central for 26 years. I've taught in the Journey Community Group since 2003, and Sarah and I have served as Home Group leaders since 2014. We view our Community Group and Home Group as our people—those we've been doing life with for decades. We have four children: Lauren, Will, Katie, and Brandon, who grew up actively engaged in our church and now lead Bible studies and serve in ministry themselves. We are blessed.

I was raised in the church and came to trust Christ as my Savior in childhood. My faith deepened through intentional discipleship in high school and active involvement in campus ministry during college. A pivotal chapter began when my father led our family on an overseas mission, sparking in me a lifelong passion for global service. After spending a year in Russia following college, I pursued a career in medicine and practiced surgery for 15 years. Eventually, I stepped away from clinical work to focus full-time on ministry—particularly in the areas of Bible translation, generosity, and leadership development.

My wife, Angela, and I have been married for 27 years and are grateful parents to two sons, Drew and Luke. We love to travel and explore God’s creation together. In my free time, I enjoy photography, cycling, and spending time outdoors.

I became a Christian in middle school during a summer FCA camp when a coach shared the gospel of Jesus with me. I grew up in Abilene, Texas, graduating from McMurry University with a degree in education and then completed my master’s degree in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2020. I began my career in education as a teacher and coach in Duncanville ISD, transitioned to the business world where I spent 10 years in sales and marketing for a construction materials company.

In January of 2015, I joined the Central Bible Church staff as a Community Pastor. In 2019, I joined Pastor Toney Upton to lead the Biblical Community team as a Lead Community Pastor. In 2021, Central Storehouse was launched as a ministry of CBC, then grew to be a separate nonprofit in May of 2024. That August, I stepped off CBC staff to take on Central Storehouse full-time as its Executive Director. I currently live in Euless, Texas with my wife A’Lana and my three children, Jon, Ali, and Jud.

I was born and raised in Garland, TX by parents who divorced when I was 2. At summer camp, I surrendered my life to Jesus. In Christ I've found hope in the resurrection, freedom from anger, and peace that truly surpasses all understanding. I fell in love with Scripture and earned my bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies, Theology, and Communications from Ouachita Baptist University, then graduated with my Master of Arts in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2016.

I was honored to serve as a pastor for 14 years, teaching students to love God and His kingdom. Since stepping off Central Bible Church staff, I have been running a photo and video business that focuses primarily on serving ministries, non-profits, and veteran/first responder organizations. I met my wife Emily in church, got married in the church, and I am actively raising my kids in church. We have three children, Madi, Jaxon and Judah.

Over the past 20+ years our church has admitted members, appointed lay leaders (as Home Group Leaders, Community Shepherds and Teachers, etc), elected and affirmed Elders, and hired staff members who do not hold to the eschatological statement within our Constitution. Our church has allowed for this because of a desire to not be overly dogmatic in this area. However, we agree that our practices as a church need to be in accordance with our Constitution. With that in mind we believe it is necessary to adjust the Constitution to allow for various positions related to the end times and Christ’s return. This decision is one that past Elder Boards over the last two decades have also agreed with.

After working with our two primary Scrolls writers, Dr. Tom Bulick and Eric Wright, we have crafted a proposed new statement that reads:

“We believe in the imminent, heavenly, visible, and bodily return of Christ to receive His people, to establish His kingdom on earth, and to judge the living and the dead (Matthew 24:30-44; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-5:11, Revelation 20:1-15). We affirm that when Jesus returns, God’s promises to His people, including Israel and the Church, will be fulfilled in accordance with His eternal plan. These truths provide Christians with hope and call us to live holy lives as we await His return.”

This proposed statement can be affirmed by all those who hold to the present statement while also providing room for other biblical positions. Though members of our church may hold to various positions related to the timing and exact nature of Christ’s return, we can all hold to the surety of his return and the call upon our lives to live wholly for him until that day.

With any proposed constitutional change there can be questions, and the Elder Board wants to make ourselves available to you. Please email us directly.