Another pastor at Cross Timbers Church in Argyle has resigned.
In an email sent to congregants this week, elders at the Denton County church said executive pastor Byron Copeland had told them of his decision on Monday. The email included a note from Copeland, who said “I sense that God is calling me to a fresh season of life.”
“You are in great hands, and I believe your best days are ahead,” Copeland said.
Copeland was announced as interim lead pastor during a service July 28 after the resignation of lead pastor Josiah Anthony because of “inappropriate and hurtful” behavior toward “current and former members of the [Cross Timbers] family and staff,” a church elder told the congregation.
Anthony has not responded to multiple email and phone requests for comment.
On July 29, Copeland told The Dallas Morning News that Anthony had “emotional affairs” with female staff members at the church. The News later asked Cross Timbers if the affairs occurred while Anthony was lead pastor, and the church responded July 30 with an email signed by its leadership team that said that they did.
After learning Anthony made “inappropriate comments” of a sexual nature in messages over text and social media, church elders clarified in an Aug. 1 email to congregants that they do not consider any of the instances to be “emotional affairs.”
“Because the power dynamic of these interactions were never equal, we do not consider these to be consensual,” they wrote. “This behavior will not be tolerated at our church.”
In their email, the elders also shared that the church’s founding and former lead pastor, Toby Slough, would replace Copeland as interim lead pastor.
“The elevation of Toby to this position is not due to the lapse of Byron’s service to Cross Timbers,” they said. “Rather, it is Bryon’s gracious deference to the most trusted and qualified person to tend to the hearts of Cross Timbers, and lead our church family forward during this time.”
In a subsequent phone conversation with The News, Copeland said he felt Slough was a better option to serve as interim lead pastor during what he called a “very difficult time” for the church.
“He can lead in ways that I can’t lead, just because there’s so much trust there over many, many years,” Copeland said.
Copeland joined Cross Timbers in 2023. The church was founded in 2000, according to its LinkedIn page.